Evening star., 1935-05-20

)F ARABIA"
on which he was fatally injured.
Ger and took instead the burnoose
of the Arab. His first step was to
gain the confidence of Emir Feisal,
the Arab leader in the field, who had
been plagued by military reverses.
BY a driving two-year campaign of
f1attery. bribery, intrigue and accom-
plishing the impossible" Lawrence
led the Arabs to the gates af Damas-
Gus in the Summer Of 1918, and then
swept the Turks clear. Much Of
Arabia was his. In two years the re-
volt was accomplished.
Participated in Conferences.
After the war he took part in the
diplomatic conferences at London and
Paris. A fighter on the field. he be-
came disillusioned and bitter with
what he saw, and in 1919 went back
to oxford as a fellow. He stayed
there until 1921. when he agreed to
enter the colonial Offices as an ad-
wiser on Arab affairs.
There he was largely instrumental
in making Feisal King of Iraq. Still
unconsoled over the diplomatic break
ing of his pledges to the Arabs, he
abruptly left official service in 1922
and hid himself as a common soldier
in the Royal Air Force the following
year under the name of SHAW"
Plagued by publicity. he left the
air corps for brief time for service
with the tanks corps, but returned IN
1925 to remain as "Aircraftsman
Shaw" until his retirement In 1885.
In the meantime he had spent four
years on a translation Of the
Odyssey" into English verse.
After the war he wrote The Seven
Pillars OF Wisdom" his own story of
the Arab revolt-a story he was driven
to rewrite after losing the original
400, ,000-word manuscript In a railway
station He had only a few copies
printed. enough to realize the cost of
their printing through the sale.
Later he was persuaded to permit
publication of Revolt in the Desert"
which remains one of the best ac-
counts Of his remarkable desert cam
paign which freed Arabia from the
Turks and which was indispensable
to the conquest of Palestine by Field
Marshal Lord Allenby-to whom
Lawrence showed the way to Damas-
Gus.
He retired to cottage in Dorset,
the country of Thomas Hardy's wes-
sex novels, where he sought peace
after 10 years in the R. A. F. On a
stone tablet over his door visitors en-
countered q Greek inscription which,
freely translated, meant, Don't
bother me"
Lawrence was born in Wales Au-
gust Is, 1888, the second Of five
brothers.
Lawrence never found the privacy
he loved. Ironically enough, his own
dislike Of personal notice was largely
responsible for the tales that had
Lawrence of Arabia" almost con-
tinually in the headlines during his
service with the Royal Air Corps.
Bernard Shaw in 1927 described
Lawrence as the mystery man, the
wonder man who authenticaIly
and unquestionably in his own way
and with his own hands exploded
and smashed the Turkish dominion
in Arabia and joined with Viscount
Allenby in Damascus at the head Of
the Arabia liberated, allied to Britain
MIA just when Britannia wanted him."
Lawrence, then known as Shaw,
was on duty in India in 1928 when
reports circulated that he was mov-
ing about in disguise studying Bolshe-
vik agitation. He was also reported
watching the Pan-ASiatic Congress,
called by Amanu1lah Of Afghanistan
at Kabul, where an uprising later cost
Amanullah his throne.
Recalled to England.
The reports we're denied by Law
rence's representatives in London and
by the government, but the tales per-
sisted to such an extent that he was
recalled to England.
In 1890 the Moscow government
published indictments in connection
with the trials of eight Russian engi-
neers for alleged counter revolution
ary activities. Lawrence was named
in this. too. and again the govern
ment had to issue an official denial.
Again, in 1880, he was reported ut
various times as being on q spying
tour" in Syria, Turkey and Iraq. !
During this period, Lawrence was
pursuing his duties as . private in
the seaplane station Of the r. A. F.
at Plymouth, where fellow soldiers |!
were forbidden to address him as
Lawrence or mention Arabia to him. |
He was in the headlines again in |
1880. Despite the official secrecy, it |
was revealed that this time he played |
q prominent part in the rescue Of |
survivors in seaplane crash at Ply |
mouth, England, In which nine men |
lost their lives. Lawrence, as always,
remained silent.
The story of the Arab revolt was
rehashed once again in December,
1888, to add to reports that AIR
craftsman Shaw" had originated Q
daring stunt designed to increase the |
efficiency of British bombing plane
gunners-
III "a w. C>-k>~n.