Happy Birthday Lawrence!

Portrait of Lawrence by Augustus John

T.E. Lawrence, one of the great heroes of the 20th century, was born on this day in 1888. During World War I, he masterminded a revolt of the Arabs against their Turkish rulers. The film Lawrence of Arabia is based on that adventurous phase of his life. 
After the war, Lawrence was welcomed home with much acclaim. Later he joined the Tank Corps at Bovington Camp in Dorset under a pseudonym to avoid publicity, and he lived on and off in the county for 12 years. 

While stationed at Bovington, Lawrence rented and then bought a spartan, isolated cottage near Wareham named Clouds Hill. He sold a treasured gold dagger from Mecca to pay for its renovations. Here he found the peace and quiet he needed to work on 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', his richly evocative autobiographical account of the Arab Revolt. Lawrence was killed in a motorcycle accident a few hundred yards from Clouds Hill in 1935.

Clouds Hill- Inscription over the door 'Ou Phrontis' 'Why Worry?

Now a National Trust property, Clouds Hill contains most of his original furniture and possessions. 

The T. E. Lawrence display at the Tank Museum includes rare film footage and a Brough Superior motorcycle similar to the one he was riding at the time of his fatal accident. 

Wareham Town Museum features a whole section on Lawrence of Arabia with photographs and documents relating to his life in Dorset and the Middle East.

Unusual facts about T.E. Lawrence:

He was a dedicated vegetarian. 

His notes and original manuscript of Seven Pillars of Wisdom were lost in 1919 at Reading station. Despite wide press coverage, they were never found. 

After the war, he changed his name twice to keep his privacy. 

He endured many bullet and shrapnel wounds. 

Seven Pillars of Wisdom has never gone out of print.

Lawrence was just 5' 4" tall.

By Tilly Lavenas