Forgotten photos of Lawrence of Arabia discovered

Forgotten images of Lawrence of Arabia have been discovered at a records office in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

British officer TE Lawrence was best known for his exploits in the deserts of the middle east during the first World War, when he helped promote rebellion against the failing Ottoman Empire.

Among the photographs are two of Lawrence astride the motorcycle he was fatally injured on in May 1935 in Dorset. He died aged 46, two months after leaving military service.

The pictures were taken from the papers of Lawrence’s biographer, Belfast-born Harford Montgomery Hyde, which included a set of 58 photographs and notes relating to Lawrence.

They were Hyde's notes for his work, Solitary In The Ranks: Lawrence Of Arabia As Airman And Private Soldier, which was printed in 1977.

Prompting insurrection

Lawrence's role during the war was to help prompt insurrection among the Arab subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Dressed in native attire, he travelled long distances by camel over the dunes in the territory that is now Jordan.

He persuaded Arabs to attack the Hejaz railway which supplied Turkish troops in modern-day Saudi Arabia, and fought alongside irregular troops in guerrilla operations.

The images were found in the archives by Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) staff member Colin Shaw.

Mr Shaw said: "I subsequently found out that Hugh Cairns, the neurosurgeon who tended his injuries, would later write a pioneering study entitled Head Injuries in Motor-cyclists — the Importance of the Crash Helmet, which would lead to the British army ordering all despatch riders to wear safety helmets in November 1941.

“I had no idea that there had been so much resistance to the wearing of helmets.”

Practising archaeologist

Lawrence was a practising archaeologist in the middle east before he joined the army.

Mr Shaw added: “There is a lot of interest in the first World War at the moment because of the centenaries, so I was fascinated by his distinguished military career.

"After the war he experienced difficulties readjusting to post-war life, and enlisted in the RAF under the pseudonym of John Hume Ross, and then the Royal Tank Corps, where he again enlisted under another pseudonym - TE Shaw.

"He refused a knighthood, worked for Winston Churchill, and unlike the 6ft 3in Peter O'Toole [who played him in the film Lawrence Of Arabia], he was only 5ft 5in."

Press Association