Arnold Walter LAWRENCE (1900-1991)

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

Individual Note

Biographical History Catalogue of the papers of T.E. Lawrence and A.W. Lawrence, c.1894-1985, University of Oxford, Bodleian Library

"Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935), known to his family as 'Ned', was born at Tremadoc, North Wales, the second of five sons of Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman and Sarah Junner. He was educated at Oxford High School and Jesus College Oxford, from which he graduated in 1910 with a 1st Class Honours degree in Modern History. After graduation, Lawrence pursued his earlier enthusiasm for archaeology by participating in the British Museum Expedition excavating the Hittite city of Carchemish. At various times between 1911 and 1914, Lawrence worked under the direction of both D.G. Hogarth and Sir Leonard Woolley. The outbreak of the First World War saw Lawrence in London where initially he spent time working as a civilian in the Geographical Section of the War Office. He was commissioned in October 1914 and posted to Cairo to join the Intelligence Office where he remained for two years. In October 1916, Lawrence accompanied Sir Ronald Storrs to Jidda where he met one of the Arab leaders, Sherif Feisal (who later became King Feisal I of Iraq). This meeting began Lawrence's direct involvement with the Arab Revolt and his close relationship with Feisal and the Arab people.

"After the War the American journalist Lowell Thomas delivered a series of lectures in London entitled 'With Allenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia'. He showed pictures of Lawrence in Arab dress and described some of his wartime experiences. The lectures proved immensely popular and earned Lawrence the title 'Lawrence of Arabia'. Lawrence was involved in politics immediately after the war, petitioning for the Arab cause in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Nevertheless, he wanted to leave the limelight and sought obscurity; he resigned as adviser to the Colonial Office under Winston Churchill, in 1922. One of the first things Lawrence did after his resignation was write his personal account of the Arab revolt. Two earlier drafts were destroyed or lost before a final limited edition appeared as The Seven Pillars of Wisdom in 1922.

"In 1922, with the agreement of the Air Ministry, Lawrence joined the RAF under the assumed name of John Hume Ross. He entered at the lowest rank of aircraftsman and was keen nobody should discover his true identity. When the British press did find out that Lawrence had joined the RAF, the resulting publicity was unwelcome to the service and to avoid further embarrassment Lawrence was discharged. Anxious to stay within the services he spent a brief period in the Tank Corps between 1923-5, before persuading the authorities to allow him to return once more to the RAF, where he remained until his retirement in February 1935. Upon his retirement, T.E. Lawrence spent only a few weeks in his cottage at Clouds Hill before being fatally injured in a motorcycle accident on 13 May; he died on 19 May 1935.

"Lawrence was survived by his mother, elder brother Montagu Robert Lawrence ('Bob') and his youngest brother Arnold Walter Lawrence ('Arnie'). A.W. Lawrence and the solicitor John Snow, were the executors of Lawrence's will (see MSS. Eng. b. 2095-6, c. 6746-9). After his brother's death, A.W. Lawrence spent a considerable part of his life promoting Lawrence's memory, collecting papers about him, and condemning what he considered any misrepresentation of his character in the press. At the same time he pursued his own career as a professor of Archaeology at Cambridge University and at the University College of Ghana.

"Note: Lawrence used a number of different names or aliases throughout his lifetime but is referred to as Lawrence in this catalogue.

T. E. Lawrence website: http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/lawrence.html

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." T. E. Lawrence from "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"

"Lawrence had been fascinated by archaeology since childhood. After graduating with honors from Oxford in 1910, he served as an assistant at a British Museum excavation in Iraq (then known as Mesopotamia). When war broke out with Germany in 1914, Lawrence spent a brief period in the Geographical Section of the General Staff in London, and was then posted to the Military Intelligence Department in Cairo. In 1916 the Arabs rebelled against the Turkish empire. Lawrence was sent to Mecca on a fact-finding mission, ultimately becoming the British liaison officer to the Arabs. His account of the revolt is chronicled in his classic books, "Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph" and "Revolt in the Desert."

"After the war Lawrence served in the British Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, where he promoted the cause of Arab independence. Despite his efforts Syria, Palestine and Iraq were mandated to France and Britain. Lawrence returned to England exhausted and disappointed. By the end of 1920, British attempts to impose a colonial rule in Iraq had provoked an open rebellion. Winston Churchill was appointed by the British Colonial Office to find a solution, and persuaded Lawrence to join him as adviser. By the summer of 1922 Churchill, with considerable aid from Lawrence, had achieved a settlement of the situation.

"In 1922 Lawrence resigned his position with the Colonial Office and enlisted in the RAF under an assumed name. After four months he was discovered by the press and discharged. With the help of a highly-placed friends he re-enlisted in the Tank Corps as 'Thomas Edward Shaw'. Between 1922 and early 1927 Lawrence revised "Seven Pillars" for publication, and edited an abridgement of the book called "Revolt in the Desert." Half way through this work he succeeded in transferring back to the RAF. "In March 1935 his twelve-year enlistment came to an end and he retired to "Clouds Hill " (the name of his cottage) in Dorset, England. Two months later he was thrown from his motorcycle while on a local errand. He suffered severe head injuries and died some days later without regaining consciousness.

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