After the First World War he became one of Britain’s most famous figures, but rather than revel in his celebrity status, TE Lawrence (better known as “Lawrence of Arabia”) embraced a more humble life as an RAF recruit in the Lincolnshire countryside.
Lawrence wrote in his book The Mint: “One more bend and I had the privilege of being on one of the straightest and fastest roads in Britain. The exhaust pipe behind me unraveled like a long rope. Soon my speed was broken and all I heard was the cry of the wind as my head was knocked and deflected.”
The road Lawrence was referring to was the A15 near Lincoln, and he was describing a 1925 race between his Brough Superior motorcycle and a Bristol fighter jet.
“The shouts grew into screams as I gained speed: the chill of the air shot like two jets of icy water into my dissolving eyes. I twisted them into slits and focused my gaze on the undulating mosaic of empty tarmac two hundred yards ahead.”
Lawrence is best known for his exploits during World War I, when, as a British intelligence officer, he helped lead the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
He was known as “Lawrence of Arabia” and his story was told in the 1962 film of the same name. One of the famous scenes shows Lawrence returning to England wearing traditional Arabic clothing and headdress.
However, although Lawrence ended the war as a colonel, he seemed eager to escape the spotlight. He served in the Royal Air Force for several years as a humble pilot in the 1920s and was posted to RAF Cranwell Officers’ Training School.
This is how he rides his beloved ‘Boa’ motorcycle through the Lincolnshire countryside.
Michael Locke, who works at the Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum, said Lawrence didn’t want to be famous.
By the end of the war, “He was exhausted,” Michael said.
“He was captured, he was brutally abused and tortured; I think he was exhausted mentally and physically.”
He also felt that British leaders had betrayed him over the Sykes-Picot Agreement – a secret agreement between Britain and France designed to divide the Arab world.
In 1925 he served in the Royal Air Force under the alias of pilot TE Shaw.
Michael said Lawrence enjoyed his time in Lincolnshire, where he had plenty of free time to ride his motorcycle on country roads.
“I think his passion for Brough Superiors was well known. After get off work he loved to get on his bike and go out into the Lincolnshire countryside. It gave him a lot of peace.”
TE Lawrence (left) poses with Lowell Thomas near Akawa Arabia in the fall of 1917. Thomas was the only journalist who traveled with Lawrence and made his famous exploits public [Bettmann via Getty Images]
Lawrence described his ride from Cranwell through beautiful scenery in his book The Mint.
He traveled to Lincoln twice a week and stayed at the top of a steep hill.
“These were places where he could be alone, relax, and maybe write some memoirs and other books. He really wanted peace and quiet and anonymity,” Michael said.
In “The Mint,” he describes hosing his head with water outside the White Hart Hotel.
He would have coffee, chocolate or waffles in the corner café, said Harriet Bland, who lives in Sleaford and has a collection of Lawrence’s works.
She added that he would ride his motorbike to Newark and then “to Nottingham and then from Nottingham to Sleaford”.
“He used to visit farms and places because he knew he could get good deals.”
According to Michael, Lawrence would “buy eggs and bacon from the farm and then he would go back to what he called ‘our dirty, wallet-proud local village,’ which was Sleaford.”
Harriet said: “It’s a good excuse to ride a bike, going 100 miles an hour. The adrenaline, the speed, he obviously loves speed and challenge.”
TE Lawrence prepares to cycle home to Dorset after being discharged from the RAF in 1935 [Hulton Archive/Getty Images]
After 16 months at Cranwell, his identity was revealed and he left Lincolnshire.
“It was a really wonderful time in his life and he really loved the camaraderie and teamwork that happened at Cranwell, especially on his own flights,” Michael said.
“Churchill loved his work.
“The things he went through in his life were pretty horrific and he had to go through them and I think all the things he did, like writing, music and cycling were really important to his life.”
Harriet said that despite Lawrence’s huge legacy, he remains something of an enigma, despite publishing so many books and memoirs.
“He’s kind of like your hero character, even though he doesn’t want to be the hero,” she explains.
“He was just focused on his bike. I think that’s where he found his free spirit. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the bottom of him.”
In 1935, Lawrence retired to Clouds Hill, Dorset. He lived there for several months until his life tragically ended at the age of 46. He was riding his motorcycle when he swerved to avoid two boys on bicycles. He was thrown from his bicycle and died from severe head injuries.
As for his 1925 race against the Bristol Fighter in the A15, he certainly won.
“We are close to settlement,” he wrote. “It was a long mile from the first houses I closed on, and I coasted to the intersection next to the hospital. Bif [the plane] Catching up, banking, climbing, then turning back home, waving to me whenever he was within sight. “
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