Lawrence of Arabia Facts
Short Summary of Some Aspects of T.E.Lawrence Life
- Thomas Edward Lawrence was born on 16 August 1888 in north Wales.
- Lawrence studied at Jesus College Oxford University
- In 1909 T.E.Lawrence first visited Syria and Palestine
- In 1914, Lawrence, working for British intelligence was part of an expedition exploring northern Sinai, carrying out reconnaissance under cover of a scientific expedition
- T.E.Lawrence was a polyglot fluent in many languages including French, German, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Turkish and Syriac.
- In 1921, Winston Churchill appointed Lawrence as an adviser, but in 1922 Lawrence resigned to join the RAF
- T.E.Lawrence twice changed his name to avoid the fame of his war exploits. John Hume Ross and Thomas Edward Shaw
- T.E. Lawrence left the RAF in February 1935 and died on 19 May following a motorcycle accident.
- T.E. Lawrence was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the French Légion d'Honneur.
- However in October 1918 he refused to be made a Knight Commander of the British Empire.
- T.E. Lawrence was only 5'5" tall quite short for the time period.
- T.E. Lawrence was described as 'the untidiest officer in the British Army'. He was well known for his dislike of authority and disregard for rank.
- The British army suppressed any image of T.E.Lawrence during the war because the Turks had put a bounty on his head. But, they never knew what he looked like. It wasn't until 1919 that his exploits became known in UK.
- He had four brothers, all born in different parts of the British Isles
- T.E.Lawrence was vegetarian and also abstained from tobacco and alcohol.
- His work, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, written in 1926, is still recommended to American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan today.
- T.E.Lawrence loved speed. It is estimated he was doing just under 100mph on his motorbike before his fatal crash.
- His fatal crash led a leading neurosurgeon to make effective recommendations on the necessity of people wearing crash helmets on bikes.
Related
- Lawrence of Arabia Facts at PBS