T.E. Lawrence Society

19/06/2025

40th Anniversary of the founding of the T E Lawrence Society

Sunday 29th June @ 2000 BST via Zoom

To mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the T E Lawrence Society in a meeting at the Red Lion, Wareham on 29th June 1985 a special Zoom talk has been arranged by Susan Vincent. Ingrid Keith, who attended that first meeting and became the first Secretary will reflect on how and why the Society was formed, in conversation with our Chairman, Kevin Winter. Also joining the conversation will be Richard Knowles of Rickaro Books, who was also at the inaugural meeting, Alan Payne, former Vice Chairman and Brough expert, Lorraine Tinsley, long term member and author, Veronique Thevoz, long time member and part of the London Group for many years and Rachel Snowden, who joined the Society last year. They will reflect on how and why they joined the Society and memorable moments during their membership.

We hope you can join us to celebrate 40 years of your Society. The link for the Zoom talk can be found on the website

To mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the T E Lawrence Society in a meeting at the Red Lion, Wareham on 29th June 1985 a special Zoom talk has been arranged by Susan Vincent. Ingrid Keith, who attended that first meeting and became the first Secretary will reflect on how and why the Societ...

12/06/2025

The T. E. Lawrence Society have relaunched Jeremy Wilson’s T. E. Lawrence Studies website.

Through the kindness and generosity of Nicole Wilson, The T. E. Lawrence Society has made available to the public the important and valuable T. E. Lawrence Studies website. Jeremy Wilson’s website has thousands of pages of research available for scholars and students of Lawrence. It includes texts of hundreds of letters, links to many of Lawrence’s own writings and a detailed chronology of his life. There are literally many thousands of pages of information available to access. T. E. Lawrence Society member Peter Neville has used his web skills to update the site visually and improve how it functions. His dedication to the project was instrumental in getting the site available again.

In following Jeremy’s thoughts that this information should be available to everyone, the link to the site will be on the public page of the T. E. Lawrence Society webpage. The Studies website will be the perfect research tool for any student of T. E. Lawrence. As new Lawrence letters become available, additional content can be added as well.

The T. E. Lawrence Society is very proud to play an important role in getting this information available to the public. Special thanks to Nicole Wilson, Peter Neville and Joe Berton for making this possible.

The link to the TEL Studies site is under Links on the right hand side of our website

04/06/2025

Nick Saunders, joint director of the Great Arab Revolt Project will again be leading a tour of Jordan this year. We hope to arrange a Society tour with Nick in the next couple of years.

For those who might be interested in this years trip:

04/06/2025

Please see below from the SFC:

Thank you so much for supporting the Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund Trek and/or its events. Your support has been a vital component to the overall success of the “The Nasir, Bekri, Tayi and Lawrence Tribute Trek” and to our fund raising initiative.

As you might know the Trek team recently concluded their journey at the grave of T.E. Lawrence and marked the 90th anniversary of his death by scattering sands from his epic route to Aqaba on his grave, thus reuniting him with the desert that he never returned to after leaving Damascus.

In order to commemorate the Trek as a whole, and as a final momento for those who enthusiastically supported us, we have had produced a Litho-print of the Trek painting by Stuart Brown (the original of which now hangs in the SF Club), and of which only 30 are available for sale at a price of £35 incl UK P&P. The prints are a serial of 50 and depict the four riders traversing the Hejaz Railway in Wadi Rum (see attached). There is a short descriptive below the picture along with the names of the four riders and the SFCBF logo. These prints will numbered and signed by the artist only.

Additionally, we have produced a 92 Page, 30x30cms Trek coffee table book which provides a pictorial diary of the Trek, and features the landscapes and challenges faced by the team, as well as commentary and recognition to our Trek sponsors and supporters.
The book is made to order at £250 ea, plus P&P. We hope you agree this could be a fabulous addition to any home or business coffee table.

The print and coffee table book are only available to those who have supported the trek or its events, hence this email to you.

Should you like to order either of the above, payment can be made through the donate button at www.sfcbf.org website and please “reply to all" confirming your order and whether you would like to pick the item(s) up from the Club or the address to which you would like delivery.

All proceeds will go to SFCBF. This offer is open until it is filled or 7 June, whichever comes first.

THE SPECIAL FORCES CLUB BENEVOLENT FUND About THE SPECIAL FORCES CLUB BENEVOLENT FUND is a UK registered charity that provides assistance to former members of the UK and allied Special Forces and Special Intelligence community and/or their dependents who have fallen on hard times, ill health or ber...

31/05/2025

On Wednesday 4 June, BBC4 television will be showing at 7:00pm the episode of Michael Portillo's 'Great British Railway Journeys' in which he visits T. E. Lawrence's birthplace in Tremadog, North Wales. There he meets Society member Martin Gething to discuss Lawrence's Welsh connections.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000w22r
Note that the programme will be on BBC4 on Wednesday, even though the link below mentions BBC2.
The episode will be available on BBC iPlayer for 28 days after Wednesday's broadcast.

Michael heads across Snowdonia to the coastal towns of north western Wales.

24/05/2025

The Society was delighted to be able to contribute towards the costs of the conservation and investigation of the Henry Scott Tuke painting hanging in the Music Room at Clouds Hill, as featured in last week's episode of the BBC television series 'Hidden Treasures of the National Trust'.

The episode investigates whether the painting is, indeed, a portrait of T. E. Lawrence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002c6jz/hidden-treasures-of-the-national-trust-series-3-1-the-dolls-house

National Trust North and West Dorset

Beatrix Potter’s dolls’ house undergoes major renovation at Hill Top, and in Clouds Hill, a mysterious painting belonging to Lawrence of Arabia reveals its secrets.

23/05/2025

A magazine article about GW2275

The fatal motorbike accident of TE Lawrence near his Dorset cottage

20/05/2025

Thank you to everyone who attended Moreton Cemetery yesterday morning for the 90th anniversary of TEL's death. There must have been around 100 people there, with the 4 riders from the SFC, who completed the trek from Wejh to Aquaba with many of their supporters and a good turn out of Society members. The riders scattered sand from five sites on the trek on the grave. A few photos attached with images of the two commemorative medals given to me on behalf of the Society by the SFC.

11/05/2025

Lawrence of Arabia 90th Anniversary Commemorations at Wareham Museum

Friday 16 - Saturday 17 May 2025

https://www.telsociety.org.uk/event/lawrence-of-arabia-90th-anniversary-commemorations-at-wareham-museum/

The details and for booking can be found using the following link on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/wareham-town-museum-94862117893?

Annual Laying of flowers on Lawrence’s Grave

Monday 19 May 2025 at 11:15am

To mark the 90th anniversary of the death of T.E. Lawrence the annual laying of flowers on Lawrence’s Grave will take place at Moreton Church Cemetery.

In attendance will be the Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset and members of the Special Forces Club who in January 2025 retraced the steps of T.E. Lawrence and others who in 1917 rode 685 miles across the ‘Uncrossable’ from Al Wejh to Aqaba.

Wareham Town Museum tells the story of the Wareham area of Dorset from prehistoric times to the present day. The Museum situated in the heart of Wareham, is supported by the Wareham Town Council.

11/05/2025

For those who missed George Thompson's talk last Sunday, or for those who want to see it again:

The May 4, 2025 presentation Seeing Arabia given by George Thompson is now available on the National World War I Museum and Memorial’s YouTube channel. You may view it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj7J1-IDWKk

It will be added to the Society's website shortly.

During his service as a British liaison officer to the Arab army and a leader of Arab combat units, T. E. Lawrence took over 340 photographs between 1916 and...

23/04/2025

Members will be interested to see the details of events taking place in Wareham, Dorset, on 16 and 17 May, to mark the 90th anniversary of Lawrence's death.

Please read both the Museum's post and the poster to see information on all of the events.

The link for booking the Museum talks on Eventbrite can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/wareham-town-museum-94862117893?aff=eand

📜 Lawrence of Arabia – 90th Anniversary Commemorations 📜
🗓️ Friday 16th & Saturday 17th May 2025 🗓️
📍 Wareham Town Museum & St Martin's-on-The-Walls Church 📍

Join us in Wareham for a weekend of fascinating events marking 90 years since the passing of T.E. Lawrence — the legendary Lawrence of Arabia.

🎥 Friday 16th May, 6:30pm
We begin with a special screening of Who Killed Lawrence of Arabia?, followed by a Q&A with writer and director Mark J T Griffin.

🎨 Saturday 17th May is packed with exciting events across two venues:

🕊️ St Martin’s Church (11am–3pm) will also be hosting events to mark the anniversary, including a morning talk.

🕐 Why not enjoy their 11am talk, then head down to Wareham Town Museum for our 1pm lecture? We are within walking distance (5 mins)!

At Wareham Town Museum/Corn Exchange, enjoy:
🖼️ A special all-day art exhibition by Luz Rivara
📸 A display of rare Lawrence photographs from our collection (12:30–12:50ish-pm)
🗣️ A series of expert talks on Lawrence’s archaeology, legacy, and the world he lived in – from 1pm to 6:30pm

🌟 All activities are free to attend, and donations are always appreciated to help keep local history alive.

🎟️ Booking is required for talks only – scan the QR code on the poster or book via Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/organizations/events

Come along, explore Lawrence’s story, and support your local heritage. We’d love to see you!

16/04/2025

AGM weekend in Bridlington, East Yorkshire

Friday 3 to Sunday 5 October 2025

We are pleased to announce that arrangements and the programme have been finalised for our AGM weekend in Bridlington.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the T E Lawrence Society in Wareham in June 1985. To celebrate we have put together a programme of events in Bridlington, where the last photograph of TEL was taken on the day he left the RAF, before cycling off, via a circuitous route, to Clouds Hill.

The Eventbrite confirmation only shows for Friday 3 October but we will be aware you have registered for the whole weekend.

The full programme can be seen on Eventbrite, where you can register for the weekend.

T E Lawrence left the RAF from Bridlington in February 1935. Over the weekend we will visit a number of sites associated with TEL