T. E. Lawrence Society

NW Group Visit to Rickaro Books and Horbury, Wakefield
2019-11-16 | horbury, wakefield, WF4 5AB, United Kingdom
You are invited to a private view of impressive Lawrence memorabilia, hosted by collector Richard Knowles, with the opportunity to browse his bookshop in historic Horbury, Wakefield
Many of you know Richard, as he runs the Symposium bookshop and offers an excellent selection of Lawrence books. During our visit he will share his private collection of Lawrence books and artefacts which reflects his long-standing interest in Lawrence. Places are limited so BOOK NOW!
Meet at 11am at Rickaro Books, 17 High Street, Horbury, Wakefield WF4 5AB. Richard will show us a selection of his Lawrence material, including letters and original photographs, and answer questions. We will have time to browse the extensive general selection of second-hand and new books. There are coffee-shops nearby if you arrive early, and parking well signed. We will have lunch at a local café before Richard leads our walking tour of Horbury, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and has an elegant John Carr church of 1790, the Carnegie Free Library begun in 1905 and an early lock-up (jail).
The cost for the day will be £5 per person, payable on the day, plus whatever you might be tempted to spend in the bookshop.
To reserve your place, please contact Harriet Coates on hon.secretary@telsociety.org.uk or phone 07973 916371.

Society Day and AGM in Greenwich
2019-09-27 11:00 - 16:00 UTC | greenwich, dreadnought walk, london, United Kingdom
Our Society AGM Day this year will be in Greenwich, London, on 27th September 2019. In the morning we are guests of the Palestine Exploration Fund as we view their varied collection of Lawrence memorabilia. After a buffet lunch together (cost included), we will share Society news and plans in our Annual General Meeting.
We invite you to join us for what promises to be a most enjoyable and interesting day. The PEF was founded in 1865 and is the oldest organisation in the world created specifically for the study of the Old Levant. The PEF recently moved to a lovely waterfront location on the Thames and they now have much more space to view their important collections as well as an impressive reference library, including those relating to Lawrence. They offer membership and host regular lectures and events in London and beyond; explore their website at www.pef.org.uk. PEF, 5-6 Dreadnought Walk, Greenwich, London SE10 9FP.
Greenwich, is steeped in history and famous as the home of the 19th century ship Cutty Sark, National Maritime Museum, Old Royal Naval College and the Royal Observatory. Members may wish to make a weekend visit as there is so much to see and do.
www.rmg.co.uk/visit-greenwich/top-10-/things-to-do
www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/london-areas/greenwich
Our programme for the day:
11 00 Meet at P.E.F headquarters, overlooking the River Thames
11 15 Tour of PEF, with Lawrence-related artefacts and documents on show
13 00 Buffet lunch at The Sail Loft, 11 Victoria Parade, Greenwich
14 30 Annual General Meeting, in The Sail Loft
16 00 Closing discussions and refreshments
The day is open to members and their guests. We look forward to welcoming new members and established Society supporters at our special gathering. Numbers for the PEF visit are limited, so book early, and the cost of £15 per person includes lunch. All members are welcome to attend the afternoon AGM.

Please complete and return the form below – by email to
Hon.secretary@telsociety.org.uk or by post to TELS, PO Box 728, Oxford OX2 9ZJ
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
I wish to attend the Society Day in Greenwich on Friday 27th September 2019
Name:………………………………………..
Email or address: ……………………………… Telephone:
Dietary requirements:
Please select method of payment:
I enclose a cheque for £15, payable to The T E Lawrence Society
I will pay by bank transfer to The T E Lawrence Society,
at HSBC 40-03-04 A/c 61447327
IBAN: GB50HBUK 4003 0461 4473 27, BIC: HBUKGB4B, Branch: HBUKGB4106J
I will pay by Paypal via the website

NW Group visit to Royal Welsh Fusiliers Museum, Wrexham
2019-09-10 10:30 - 17:00 | wrexham, United Kingdom
The North West Group of the T E Lawrence Society are invited to visit the Reserve Collection of the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum Trust at Wrexham Museum on Tuesday 10th September, 2019.
Wrexham Museum opens at 10.00 am and members should arrive by 10.30 am.
The morning session will concentrate on the archive’s collection relating to Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon and Walter Brook of the 25th Battalion, RWF, who Lawrence immortalised as “Stokes” in his memoirs and will look at the Regiment’s part in the war in the Middle East.
The Museum has a superb café where lunch can be taken.
A talk by Mrs Anne Pedley will be given in the afternoon on Lt Col C H M Doughty-Wylie, VC, whose connection with Gertrude Bell was discussed at last year’s Symposium.
There will be ample time after the talk to have a look around Wrexham’s wonderful museum or for a discussion on the day’s events.
The Museum is very near to Wrexham General station and regular trains run from Chester and the Midlands. For those arriving by car, there is a multi-storey car park next to the Museum.
There will be a £3.00 charge to members on the day to help cover the speaker’s travel expenses.
For enquiries please contact Andrew Wright by email: andrewwright8117@hotmail.com

Anniversary of Lawrence's death
2019-05-19 11:00 - 11:30 | Moreton Cemetary, BH20 7NQ, United Kingdom
There will be the usual small ceremony at Lawrence’s graveside in Moreton, with flowers and a reading. All are welcome and it is likely there will be some Brough’s present also.

Society Lawrence Collection on show
2019-05-18 09:30 - 12:00 | Wareham Library, wareham, Dorset, United Kingdom
The Society Lawrence collection of books and documents will be on show at Wareham Library on Saturday 18th May between 09.30 am and 12.00 pm. This collection was moved to Wareham Library some years back for safe keeping following a requirement to move from Oxford Library.

Lawrence's air accident of 1919 in Rome
2019-05-17 11:00 - 12:00 | Protestant cemetery, rome, Italy
This year marks 100 years since Lawrence’s air accident in Rome, where the pilots Prince and Spratt died –
A commemoration will be held at the Protestant Cemetery, in Rome on Friday 17 May at 11.00 am local time.
More information from Amanda Thursfield, director of the cemetery = direttore@cemeteryrome.it and from Nicholas Stanley Price =
nstanleyprice@tiscali.it

London Group visit to Liddell Hart Archive
2019-05-01 | kings college, Strand, London, United Kingdom
The Liddell Hart archive houses many papers and photos related to Liddell Hart and Lawrence. It is housed at Kings College in London.

North West England Group visit to Staffordshire
2019-03-22 10:00 - 17:00 | RAF Stafford, Beaconside, Stafford, ST18 0AQ, United Kingdom
T E LAWRENCE SOCIETY – ‘NORTH WEST GROUP’ DAY IN STAFFORDSHIRE
– FRIDAY 22nd MARCH 2019
SCHEDULE
Visit to RAF Stafford/ Beacon Barracks for an appointment at 10:00 am to see the ‘RAF Museum Reserve Collection’. We will be able to see Lawrence’s gramophone record collection and get a general overview of the ‘Reserve Collection’ which serves the RAF Museums at Hendon and Cosford. One of our members who is attending has an extensive knowledge of the record collection.
RAF STAFFORD (Formerly Beacon Barracks), BEACONSIDE, STAFFORD, ST18 0AQ – It is proposed that we all meet at the main gate entrance at 9:45 am to gather and in order to pass security and make our way to the Reserve Collection site in time for 10:00 am. We will likely be at RAF Stafford for two hours or so. It is then proposed that we drive our vehicles to The Spiders Web Café which is about one mile from RAF Cosford Museum. This drive from Stafford could take about 45 mins.
Lunch at 12:45 pm or so at ‘The Spiders Web Café’ SYDNAL LANE, ALBRIGHTON, WV7 3NB . Or bring a packed lunch.
We will then have to be at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford where we will have a group guided tour of the Museum arranged. NB. The Museum is free to enter generally but there will be a charge to TEL members of £5.00 per person to cover the cost of the guided tour. There is also parking charges at the Museum. Our tour lasts from 2:00 pm till 5:00 pm. Our tour covers: The National Cold War Exhibition/Test Flight/War in the Air.
RAF MUSEUM, COSFORD, SHIFNAL, SHROPSHIRE, TF11 8UP.
NB// There are only 12 places for RAF Stafford and 15 places for the RAF Museum Cosford guided tour.

Memories from the Front Line
2019-02-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Knowledge Centre The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
Memoirs the Great War from Britain, France and Germany

In the years following the Great War of 1914-18 numerous memoirs of the war were published in Britain, France and Germany, some becoming bestsellers. This talk by Jerry Palmer explores some of the most significant, such as Blunden’s Undertones of War, Barbusse’s Under Fire and Jünger’s Storm of Steel and how they contributed to the collective memory and opinion of the war.
The talk looks at the texts as autobiography and historical reporting, as fact sometimes blurred with fiction. It also considers the works by soldiers, nurses, civilians and dissenters.
Jerry Palmer is the author of Memories from the Front Line: Memoirs and Meanings of The Great War from Britain, France and Germany, which follows six other books and many articles on popular culture and the mass media. He is former books editor for Time Out magazine, Professor of Communications, London Metropolitan University and Visiting Professor of Sociology, City University.

Lecture: Lawrence of Arabia: Romantic, Orientalist, and Western Cultural Artefact
2018-12-19 18:30 - 20:00 | Council for British Research in the Levant, 10 Carlton House Terrace, Londson, SW1Y 5AH
T E Lawrence played a central role in the outcome of the First World War in the Middle East. His own testimony in his famous war memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom has now been ground-truthed by a ten-year archaeological field project. This provides a firmer base for examining his character, achievements, celebrity status, and endless cultural reconfiguration over the last century. These matters remain highly problematic, since Lawrence himself was both a Romantic and an Orientalist, and the many biographers, dramatists, and commentators who have contributed to his enduring fame have used his story to ‘imagine’ the Middle East in specifically Western ways. For a century, the evolving legend of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ has reflected a distorted Western perspective on the region, its people, and its conflicts. This lecture will attempt to critique both T E Lawrence the historical actor and ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ the cultural construct as products of Western imperialism.

Dr Neil Faulkner FSA is an archaeologist, historian, writer, political commentator, and occasional broadcaster. He is the author of countless articles, numerous papers, and a dozen books, including, most recently, Lawrence of Arabia’s War (2017) and A Radical History of the World (2018). He has directed field projects in Britain, Jordan, and elsewhere, including the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project in north-west Norfolk, and the Great Arab Revolt Project in southern Jordan. He wrote the ‘script’ for the successful exhibition Shifting Sands: Lawrence of Arabia and the Great Arab Revolt at Newark’s National Civil War Centre. He is currently setting up projects at Cassino in Italy, to investigate the Second World War battlefield, and at Almeria in Spain, to investigate the archaeology of David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia film locations.
This event is open to all and free to attend, donations welcome towards CBRL’s Post-Graduate Travel Grants.
Seating is unreserved – the lecture room seats 120.

Exhibition: Lawrence of Oxford at Magdalen College
2018-11-07 - 2019-05-01
Magdalen Libraries and Archives are delighted to announce the opening of our new exhibition. Lawrence of Oxford, opening to the public on 7 November in the Old Library, marks the culmination of two years’ intensive collecting around one of Magdalen’s most celebrated Old Members, T.E. Lawrence (better known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’). It is a little-known fact that Lawrence was elected to a Senior Demyship at Magdalen in late 1910, and trained as an archaeologist on a British Museum dig in northern Syria as a member of the College until 1914 when the war broke out.
Co-curated by Dr. Rory McCarthy (Fellow by Examination) and Daryl Green (Librarian), Lawrence of Oxford will explore the influence Magdalen and Oxford had on this enigmatic figure’s early life. It will look at his efforts in the Arab campaign during the First World War, and his later political involvement with the region. It will also examine his work as an author, and those in Oxford whom he directly influenced. New display cases in the Old Library have allowed us, for the first time, to loan in items of national significance from institutions and private collections. The cases will feature archaeological remains excavated by Lawrence, stamps designed by Ronald Storrs and Lawrence for the independent Hejaz state, original manuscripts and letters from Lawrence, maps which influenced Lawrence’s career (as well as those drawn by him), letters and medals from fellow Arabist Sir Wilfred Thesiger, and much more. There will also be some exhibits owned by the Lawrence Society in view, such as Lawrence’s camera.
The exhibition will open to the public on 7 November 2018 and will run until 1 May 2019. The exhibition in the Old Library is normally open on Wednesday afternoons from 2-4:30pm, however private viewings and group tours can be arranged by appointment. A series of events have been programmed to run concurrently with the exhibition (details below). Please contact library@magd.ox.ac.uk to RSVP (events are free but seat reservations are essential).

“Lawrence of Oxford” events

(all events start at 5.30pm, and will take place in the Summer Common Room unless stated otherwise)

5 November 2018
Grand Opening, with talks by curators Dr Rory McCarthy and Daryl Green
21 January 2019
Lecture by Juliet Desplat (Head, Modern Overseas Intelligence and Security Records, The National Archives)
18 February 2019
Lecture by Emma Sky, OBE (Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University)
7 March 2019
Lecture by Anthony Sattin (journalist and author of Young Lawrence)
2 May 2019

T E Lawrence Society Symposium 2018
2018-09-21 - 2018-09-23 | St John’s College, St John's College, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3JP, United Kingdom
15th Symposium of the T. E. Lawrence Society
St John’s College, Oxford
Friday 21 to Sunday 23 September 2018
Commemorated the end of the Arab Revolt with the taking of Damascus in 1918
Another successful and very well attended Symposium in the beautiful surroundings of St Johns College, Oxford. In fact we had the largest attendance of delegates ever, at this symposium.
We linked up with Magdalen College, who presented a unique exhibition and talk on their expanding archives on Lawrence.
We also had a whole afternoon devoted to Gertrude Bell and her friendship with Lawrence, together with her influence on the Middle East. The directors of the film Letters from Baghdad will presented and answered questions about the making of this fascinating documentary. The Gertrude Bell Archive director from Newcastle University also described the massive collection held there.
Other fascinating presentations included the forgotten colleagues of Lawrence who supported the Arab Revolt, portraits of Lawrence, the Hejaz and armoured cars, Lawrence’s other war beyond the Revolt, what Germany and Austria thought about Lawrence, and the military medals awarded to Lawrence.
The programme for the 2018 Symposium can be viewed HERE.

A summary of programmes from each of the past Symposia can be viewed HERE.
St John’s College, Oxford, 2016
St John’s College, Oxford, 2014
St Hilda’s College, Oxford, 2012
St John’s College, Oxford, 2010
St John’s College, Oxford, 2008
St John’s College, Oxford, 2006
St John’s College, Oxford, 2004
Exeter College, Oxford, 2002
St John’s College, Oxford, 2000
Santa Clara University, California, 2000
St John’s College, Oxford, 1998
St Hilda’s College, Oxford, 1996
Magdalen and St Hilda’s Colleges, Oxford, 1994
Jesus College, Oxford, 1992
Jesus College, Oxford, 1990
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Photo of Jesus College, Oxford © Bencherlite via Wikimedia Commons

London Group event: Visit to Lawrence sites in Dorset
2018-08-18 - 2018-08-19
Saturday August 18th (& possibly Sunday 19th), London Group event (all welcome).
Visit to Lawrence sites in Dorset & teaming up with the Dorset group. Diarise now – details to follow.
Contact Nick Lynch on 320lynch@gmail.com

London Group event: Visit to the British Library
2018-07-07 11:00 - 14:00
Saturday 7th July at 11.00. London Group event (all welcome).
A return visit to the British Library, St Pancras, to see some more of the larger collection of Lawrence related manuscripts and documents. Meet in the cafe at the Library entrance, 11am.
Pre-registration with the Library for a reader’s card is advised.
Contact Nick Lynch on 320lynch@gmail.com

London Group event: St Paul's Cathedral
2018-05-19 12:30 - 15:00 | St Paul’s Cathedral, St. Paul's Churchyard, London, EC4M 8AD, United Kingdom
Sat 19th May at 12.30. London Group event (all welcome).
St Paul’s Cathedral, to see the Kennington bust in the crypt and read some of the letters relating to the siting, lighting etc. of the bust.
Book early to get the group rate.
Contact Nick Lynch on 320lynch@gmail.com

Wreath laying for T.E. Lawrence
2018-05-19 11:00 - 11:15
On May 19th between 11am and 11.15am Susan Vincent , Co-ordinator of the Dorset Branch of the Society, will lay a wreath of flowers on the grave of T.E. Lawrence in commemoration of the day he died in 1935. The flowers are a donation from an American Friend who sends them every year.
There will be a short reading from The Seven Pillars of Wisdom followed by lunch and then onto Clouds Hill where there maybe a gathering of Brough Motor Bikes.
All old and potential new members of the Society are welcome to join the lunch and for a definite place please email susanvincent11@yahoo.co.uk .

T E Lawrence Society day in Northwich, Cheshire, Friday 27th April 2018
2018-04-27 | Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse, 162 London Rd, Northwich, CW9 8AB, United Kingdom
T E Lawrence as Aircraftsman Shaw came to Northwich in March 1934 with two colleagues to supervise the fitting out and sea trials of a small auxiliary supply ship for the Air Ministry. This ship was built at Yarwood’s Boat Yard on the River Weaver in Northwich. Shaw and his colleagues stayed for three weeks at the Crown & Anchor Hotel in the town centre.
Northwich as a town was built on the industries of salt, chemicals, boat building and the inland waterways. This town is much changed since the 1930’s but still has some evidence of its industrial past remaining. The Anderton Boat Lift and the Lion Salt Works are both major local attractions.
The current plan and proposal for the day is as follows:
1:00 pm – Meet at the Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse. CW9 8AB. www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk Members are invited to tour the Museum which is a quite superb small town and industry museum. It is a fitting place to gain a level of knowledge and understanding of the town. Admission for adults is £4 with concessions available.
The Museum has a free car park where members could leave their cars all day. It is a 20 min walk from Northwich railway station.
3:00 pm – A walking tour visiting the main sites of Lawrence’s time as they are now. The walk would be about 1.5 miles in length. The walk will visit the site of Yarwood’s Boat Yard, the town centre and site where the Crown & Anchor once stood and the Penny Black pub.
5:00 pm – Members are invited to have a pub meal at the Bowling Green pub which is adjacent to the Museum.
7:00 pm – Illustrated talks in a hired room at the Museum as follows:

Images of Lawrence by Nigel McMurray (60 mins).
On the Trail of Lawrence in Cheshire by Andrew Wright (20 mins).

A charge of approx. £10 to members for the day should cover the costs of the event.
Andrew Wright andrewwright8117@hotmail.com
Tel: 01565 734677

Pole Hill, The Cloister and Bancroft’s School visit, Saturday 21st April
2018-04-21
Society members are invited to take a tour around Chingford, Woodford and Epping Forest, on the borders of NE London and Essex, to visit three of the locations associated with the friendship between T. E. Lawrence and Vyvyan Richards.
Pole Hill near Chingford was the location of the wooden ‘Cloister’, owned by Vyvyan Richards and often visited by Lawrence. It was here that they planned to set up a printing press to produce fine books although this never came to fruition. The Cloister fell into disrepair in the years after the First World War and was eventually relocated and reconstructed a couple of miles away, within the Conservators Yard of Epping Forest. Richards was a schoolteacher at nearby Bancroft’s School and Lawrence made some memorable visits there.
The day will begin at 9.45am in the car park of Chingford Station, served by frequent trains from Liverpool Street Station. Here we will take the opportunity to view the large Heritage Millennium Mosaic on the side of Chingford Assembly Hall (a portrait of Lawrence has pride of place in the centre of the design). We will then depart by car to the Conservators Yard in Epping Forest. The Friends of Epping Forest have kindly agreed to give us a tour of the reconstructed Cloister here – not normally accessible to the public – followed by a talk given by one of their members. They will then escort us by minibus to Pole Hill, to see the Cloister’s original location and other features and to admire the fine views over London and the Lea Valley. We will then have lunch nearby before visiting Bancroft’s School in the afternoon. Please note that being a weekend we will not have access inside the school but we will be able to walk within its grounds and view the exteriors of the very impressive school buildings. The tour will end no later than 4.00pm. Roding Valley Underground Station, served by the Central Line into London, is 1 mile away.
The cost of the day will be £10 each to cover a donation to the Friends of Epping Forest. This does not include the price of lunch. Please note that the respective locations are all a couple of miles apart. Although the Friends are providing a minibus between the Conservators Yard and Pole Hill we will need to provide our own transport for the rest of the day. It would be greatly appreciated if people coming by car would give lifts to those who have come by train.
The Friends of Epping Forest have stipulated a limit of 9 people but I am trying to negotiate a few more places if needed. If you are interested in attending the day please contact Ian Heritage at journal-editor@telsociety.org.uk to secure a place and get further details.
For people travelling from a long distance, there is a Premier Inn in Chingford and a number of other hotels and guest houses in the area. There are several other things to see nearby for those wishing to make a weekend of it, including the historic Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge in Chingford, the Royal Gunpowder Mills Museum in Waltham Abbey, the recently refurbished William Morris Museum in Walthamstow and the ancient Epping Forest itself, which has some lovely walks.

T E Lawrence; An Unusual Genius, a talk by the Chairman of the Society
2018-02-23 | Benson Village Hall, Sunnyside, Benson, Oxfordshire, OX10 6SD, United Kingdom
Philip Neale, Chairman of the Society will present a talk, T E Lawrence; An Unusual Genius, as part of the Bensington Society Talks programme. The talk will be held at Benson Parish Hall with a 7.00 pm meet for 7.30 pm start. Details for how to attend this talk can be found at the Bensington Society website:

T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt: The Archaeology of a Desert Insurgency 1916-18
2018-02-03 | National Civil War Centre, 14 Appletongate, Nottinghamshire, Newark, NG24 1JY, United Kingdom
Professor Nicholas Saunders, from the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Bristol University, presents a talk inspired by his upcoming book Desert Insurgency: T.E. Lawrence, Archaeology and the Arab Revolt, at the National Civil War Centre, Newark on Saturday 3rd February 2018 at 2 p.m.
Between 1916 and 1918, the Arab Revolt in southern Jordan created a unique archaeological record of a desert insurgency which changed the Middle East and brought modern guerrilla warfare to the world. Ten years of fieldwork between 2005 and 2014 by Bristol University’s ‘Great Arab Revolt Project’ investigated these remains for the first time. The discoveries were extraordinary – a vast conflict landscape of guerrilla actions and counter-insurgency tactics unknown to anyone except the Bedouin for 100 years. Ruined Hejaz Railway stations, Turkish Army camps, Rolls Royce armoured car raiding camps, hilltop forts, machinegun strong-points, and the extraordinary remains of the iconic train ambush immortalised in David Lean’s 1962 Hollywood epic Lawrence of Arabia. This is the archaeology of a snapshot of momentous historical events, whose legacy affects all of us today.

T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt: The Archaeology of a Desert Insurgency 1916-18
2018-01-29 15:14 | National Civil War Centre, 14 Appletongate, Nottinghamshire, Newark, NG24 1JY, United Kingdom
Professor Nicholas Saunders, from the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Bristol University, presents a talk inspired by his upcoming book Desert Insurgency: T.E. Lawrence, Archaeology and the Arab Revolt, at the National Civil War Museum, Newark, on Saturday 3rd February 2018 at 2 pm. Between 1916 and 1918, the Arab Revolt in southern Jordan created a unique archaeological record of a desert insurgency which changed the Middle East and brought modern guerrilla warfare to the world. Ten years of fieldwork between 2005 and 2014 by Bristol University’s ‘Great Arab Revolt Project’ investigated these remains for the first time. The discoveries were extraordinary – a vast conflict landscape of guerrilla actions and counter-insurgency tactics unknown to anyone except the Bedouin for 100 years. Ruined Hejaz Railway stations, Turkish Army camps, Rolls Royce armoured car raiding camps, hilltop forts, machinegun strong-points, and the extraordinary remains of the iconic train ambush immortalised in David Lean’s 1962 Hollywood epic Lawrence of Arabia. This is the archaeology of a snapshot of momentous historical events, whose legacy affects all of us today.

Shifting Sands, Lawrence of Arabia & the Great Arab Revolt Exhibition at the National Civil War Centre
2018-01-01 - 2018-03-11
Photo credit: Doug Jackson
Who was the larger-than-life character who fought with the desert tribes during the Great Arab Revolt to help topple the Ottoman
Empire? How much of Lawrence’s story is true? How did the events he took part in shape today’s war-torn Middle East? Discover the extraordinary tale through artefacts, testimony and the results of years of research by a team of archaeologists in Jordan.
The National Civil War Centre’s acclaimed exhibition is the culmination of nine seasons of excavations in southern Jordan by the archaeological team of the Great Arab Revolt Project led by Dr Neil Faulkner and Dr Nick Saunders of Bristol University.
Entry to the exhibition is free with normal museum entrance. Keep an eye on the National Civil War Centre’s website HERE for details of lectures and events run alongside the exhibition.

82nd Anniversary Commemorations
2017-05-19
To mark the 82nd anniversary of Lawrence’s death, on 19 May 2017 the Society laid a floral tribute on his grave in the cemetery at Moreton in Dorset, where we were joined by a small group of supporters.
In a short reading given by the graveside, the Society also remembered the taking of Akaba one century before. In fact, on 19 May 1917, Lawrence and a small party of Arabs would have been on the 10th day of their ride from Feisal’s headquarters in Wejh to the spring pastures of the Howeitat tribe, where they hoped to recruit the Howeitat for the audacious attack on the port of Akaba from inland that Lawrence had devised.
Akaba was eventually captured from the Turks on July 6, and Lawrence was nominated for the Victoria Cross for the many dangers he faced during the journey. He would eventually be awarded the CB, his actions not having been witnessed independently by any British officer.

It therefore seemed appropriate, in the centenary year of Akaba, to read by the graveside a few words from Victoria O’Campo’s book 338171 T.E. (Lawrence of Arabia). Here, in writing about his fatal motorbike accident, she refers to a previous accident he suffered during the final days before taking Akaba.
On the 13th of May he got on his motorcycle to send a telegram from Bovington Camp post office returning to Clouds Hill, he swerved violently to avoid hitting two cyclists who were unexpectedly in his way, lost control and was flung off his motorcycle.
He had been thrown once over the head of his camel in the middle of battle. But on this occasion he could not repeat some lines brought up from adolescent memory, as he had done when he felt himself lost in the middle of the enemy.
For Lord I was free of all Thy flowers,
But I chose the world’s sad roses
And that is why my feet are torn
And mine eyes are blind with sweat.
Now, there was no enemy and it was a peaceful English country road.
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That the Society is able to lay flowers on Lawrence’s grave to mark significant dates each year is thanks to an enduring gift from an anonymous American benefactor. The Society is very grateful for this gift which will ensure that Lawrence’s great legacy continues to be remembered.

T E Lawrence Society Symposium 2016
2016-09-23 - 2016-09-25 | St John’s College, St John's College, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3JP, United Kingdom
In the centenary year of the outbreak of the Arab Revolt, we are delighted to report that a record number of delegates joined us for our 14th Symposium, held at St John’s College, Oxford.
Over the three days of the Symposium, a special programme of lectures marked this very special occasion. Two exhibitions showcased archaeological artefacts from the Great Arab Revolt Project, as well as photographs of Egypt and Palestine taken during the First World War collected as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund-sponosored project, Views of an Antique Land, run by Cardiff University.
On the Friday night, delegates were joined by members of the public for a staged reading of Jan Woolf’s new play about Lawrence, The Man with the Gold.
The Great Hall at St John’s was packed for our traditional candlelit dinner on the Saturday night, clearly demonstrating the continuing interest in Lawrence around the world. We hope to see everyone again in 2018 when we will be marking the culmination of the Arab Revolt with the taking of Damascus in 1918.
Chairman Philip Neale opens proceedings in the centennial year of the outbreak of the Arab Revolt
Symposium Speakers
Roger Holehouse – The Strategic Context to the Arab Revolt
Dr Steve Mills & Professor Paul T. Nicholson – Views of An Antique Land: Egypt and Palestine During the First World War
(Left) Philip Walker – New Light on the Arab Revolt and the Forgotten Few Who Shaped It; (Right) Professor Ali Allawi – Feisal and the Arab Revolt
(Left) George Thompson – Seeing Arabia: The Personal Photographs of T. E. Lawrence taken between 1916-1918; (Right) John Johnson-Allen – T. E. Lawrence and the Red Sea Patrol
(Left) Group Captain John Alexander – “Aeroplanes and Arabs”: T. E. Lawrence as Proponent of Air Power and the British Way in Warfare; (Right) Kerry Webber – Colonel Newcombe & Lawrence: Beyond Arabia
Dr Neil Faulkner – Lawrence of Arabia’s War
Dick Benson-Gyles – The Boy in the Mask
The Man with the Gold

Rehearsal for Friday night’s staged reading of Jan Woolf’s new play The Man with the Gold
After-show Q&A session with director Philip Wilson, playwright Jan Woolf and historical adviser Dr Neil Faulkner
Exhibition of artefacts from
the Great Arab Revolt Project

.303 cartridge cases, probably ammunition for the machine gun on a Rolls-Royce armoured car
(Left) Can of condensed milk; (Right) Tobacco tin found at Feisal’s base at Wuheida
Railway sleeper blasted in an ambush
Hand grenades marked with a crescent and star to show they were made for the Ottoman Empire
Outside the lecture hall
Society bookshop showcases the latest editions from our line-up of speakers
Specialist bookseller Rickaro Books joins us again
Delegates relax between lectures
Summaries of all the lectures will be published in the Society’s Winter 2016 Newsletter. The Society would like to express its grateful thanks to Roger Herrera for providing photographs of the event.
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All photographs © Roger Herrera

81st Anniversary Commemorations
2016-05-19
To mark the 81st anniversary of Lawrence’s death on 19 May 1935, the Society held a simple service during which flowers were laid on his grave in Moreton Cemetery. Around 20 people joined us at the cemetery, where Society vice-chairman Alan Payne read a number of quotations, by Lawrence and by his friends, including Winston Churchill’s famous tribute:
“I deem him one of the greatest beings alive in our time. I do not see his like elsewhere. I fear whatever our need we shall never see his like again. King George V wrote to his brother, ‘His name will live in history’. That is true. It will live in English letters; it will live in the annals of war; it will live in the traditions of the Royal Air Force, and in the legends of Arabia.”
Thanks to an enduring gift from an anonymous American benefactor, significant dates in Lawrence’s life – his birth on 16 August 1888, his death on 19 May 1935 and the taking of Damascus on 1 October 1918 – will henceforth be marked by the Society laying flowers on his grave. The Society is very grateful for this gift which will ensure that Lawrence’s great legacy continues to be remembered.
Lawrence Week at Clouds Hill

Following the success of the inaugural Lawrence Week at Clouds Hill in 2015, the National Trust held a second event this year,
marking the centenary of the Arab Revolt, and also celebrating Lawrence’s many journeys, with a series of talks, readings and a
cycle trail around Dorset.
Society members were pleased once again to be able to play a leading role during the week; with Theresa Jenkins-Teague – also a Clouds Hill volunteer and a distant relation of Lawrence – even arranging for an authentic Bedouin tent to be shipped across from Jordan and erected outside the cottage.
Highlight of the week, however, must surely have been the homecoming of UL 656 – Lawrence’s penultimate Brough Superior motorcycle, known affectionately as George VI – which for the first time in decades appeared outside Clouds Hill cottage, following its recent restoration by a master restorer. Around 12 other Brough Superior motorcycles were also on display.
Thanks must go to Alan Payne, of the T. E. Lawrence Society and Brough Superior Club, and Bob Burden, of the Brough Superior Club, for organising this tremendous event.
Lawrence Week was also celebrated at Wareham Library, where an open day gave enthusiasts a chance to browse through some of the diverse material in its T. E. Lawrence Collection. Donated partly by the Society, its collection of books, press cuttings and other Lawrence-related material has grown in recent months with a number of gifts and bequests, and is now almost fully catalogued.
Meanwhile, at Dorset County Museum, a new play written by Clouds Hill volunteer Andy Munro – Lawrence of Wessex – pulled in a sell-out crowd on two nights.

Following In The Footsteps Of Lawrence: Society Trip To Jordan
2016-03-01
At the beginning of March 2016, an intrepid group of travellers from the T. E. Lawrence Society set off with expedition leader James Dyer, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, for a trek around Jordan in the footsteps of T. E. Lawrence.
The group stayed at traditional Bedouin camps and camped out in the open while following some of Lawrence’s route towards Aqaba.
No trouble at all was experienced in Jordan. Everyone found it peaceful and the Jordanian people lived up to their tradition of welcoming hospitality.
The scenery was amazing and the group enjoyed good weather. At every meal, the plates overflowed. It was quite an experience and all the travellers felt that bit closer to Lawrence, having followed part of his route, roughing it as much as they could.
The fort at Aqaba
Wadi Rum
Outside the ruins of the so-called Lawrence House at Wadi Rum

The Man With The Gold: Exclusive Script Reading Of A New Lawrence Play
2016-01-22
Around 65 people joined the T. E. Lawrence Society at the Cockpit Theatre in London on Friday January 22 for a staged reading of Jan Woolf’s new play, The Man with the Gold.
The reading was held to evaluate the script and give feedback to the playwright and director Philip Wilson. This objective was achieved partly through a Q&A session afterwards and an audience survey.
The play had its world premiere at the T. E. Lawrence Society’s Symposium at St John’s College, Oxford on Friday September 23.

T. E. Lawrence In Yorkshire And Lincolnshire
2015-10-15
The tour – visiting Lawrence-related sites such as RAF Cranwell and the Ozone Hotel in Bridlington – was organised by committee member Andrew Wright and led by local historian Mike Wilson, with Society member Nigel McMurray driving the minibus.
We thank them for their initiative and efforts in running such a successful event; and for the complimentary remarks from Society members who took part.

80th Anniversary Commemorations
2015-05-19
The 80th anniversary of Lawrence’s death on May 19 1935 was marked with a series of commemorative events in Dorset and at his birthplace in Tremadog, North Wales.
Lawrence Week at Clouds Hill
At Clouds Hill, Lawrence’s cottage in Dorset, the National Trust held its first ever Lawrence Week including a number of informative talks and guided walks, culminating with a gathering of Brough Superior motorcycles outside the cottage.
Lawrence Week began at Max Gate, the home of Thomas Hardy near Dorchester, where T. E. Lawrence Society vice-chairman Alan Payne arrived on his own Brough Superior SS 80 to give a talk on Lawrence’s journeys.
Later in the week, six members of the Brough Superior Club arrived on their motorcycles at Clouds Hill. The gathering included the SS 100 that is reputed to be George IV, which Lawrence owned during part of the time he lived here – still living within 20 miles of Clouds Hill.
For one of the National Trust’s keen team of volunteers at Clouds Hill, the chance to get up close to George IV proved irresistible.
Following the success of Lawrence Week, the National Trust is considering making it an annual event.
Bovington Military Wives Choir
At the beautiful St Nicholas Church in Moreton, where Lawrence’s funeral was held on May 21 1935, the Bovington Military Wives Choir enchanted an audience with a selection of songs carefully chosen to reflect Lawrence’s life and interests.
The songs included I Dreamed a Dream and Castle on a Cloud from Les Miserables.
After the concert, dinner was served at the Moreton Tea Rooms.
Proceeds from the evening will go towards Moreton Village Hall and the Military Wives Choir Foundation Charity.
Memorial services and laying of floral tributes

On May 19, three services of commemoration, including the laying of floral tributes, were held by the Armed Forces at the scene of Lawrence’s fatal crash, at the hospital where he died, and at his graveside in the cemetery at Moreton.
After the services, a 1920 Rolls-Royce armoured car, lent by the Tank Museum at Bovington, drove in convoy with five Brough Superiors, including George IV, from the cemetery back to Clouds Hill. A most fitting tribute to Lawrence.
May we thank everyone who attended the events. To see BBC South’s coverage of the memorial services, watch the video on our FACEBOOK page.
Paying tribute to local Welsh heroes
At Lawrence’s birthplace – Snowdon Lodge, in Tremadog, North Wales – he was given the tribute of an RAF fly-past as part of the commemorations.
The owners of Snowdon Lodge, Carl and Anja, organised a number of commemorative events over two days.
Falklands War veteran Simon Weston – another Welsh hero – unveiled a commemorative bench placed around a whitebeam tree presented to Snowdon Lodge by the T. E. Lawrence Society.

The figurative sculptor David Williams-Ellis displayed a maquette of his bronze sculpture of Lawrence which has been commissioned for Snowdon Lodge.
The commemorative events also featured Society member John Johnson-Allen who gave a talk about his forthcoming book, T. E. Lawrence and the Red Sea Patrol, which traces the pivotal role of the Royal Navy in the Arab Revolt.
