Thomas Edward Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia (1888 - 1935)

Lawrence of Arabia ©

When war broke out, Lawrence became an intelligence officer in Cairo. In October 1916, he met local sheikhs rebelling against Turkey, a German ally. Lawrence urged his superiors to help them and became their liaison officer. He quickly became the brains, organising force and military technician of the revolt - he was a superb tactician and became a highly influential theoretician of guerrilla warfare. His small but effective second front mined bridges and supply trains and tied down enemy forces.

In June 1917, the Arab guerrilla forces won their first major victory at Aqaba, at the northernmost tip of the Red Sea. Success continued as they gradually made their way north. However, by the time they reached Damascus in October 1918, Lawrence was exhausted. He had been wounded, captured and tortured often and had endured the worst hunger, weather and disease. Furthermore, he was depressed by the sheikhs' factionalism, which contributed to the Allied carve-up of the Middle East after the war and thus helped kill his dreams for Arab independence. Distinguished but disillusioned, Lawrence was demobilized as a lieutenant colonel in 1919.

In 1922, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an aircraftsman, wanting to lose himself in the ranks and find material for another book. However, press exposure led to his hurried exit. He later enlisted as a private in the Royal Tank Corps, before being transferred back to the RAF. In the meantime, he edited his manuscript for The Seven Pillars of Wisdom and arranged for a limited edition to be printed in 1926. An action-packed account of Lawrence's campaigns in the desert with the Arabs, the book made his name and secured his fame.

Lawrence's last years were spent in the RAF, where he worked on improved designs for high-speed seaplane-tender watercraft. Discharged in February 1935, he was killed following a motorcycle accident in May.