T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935), Known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'; soldier and writer

Thomas Edward ('T.E.') Lawrence

Sitter associated with 28 portraits
Known to the world as 'Lawrence of Arabia', Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Tremadoc, North Wales. After Oxford, he worked as an archaeologist in Syria, 1909-14. In the war against the Ottoman Empire, Lawrence was adviser to the future King Faisal, and led the triumphant Arabs into Damascus (1918). He told the story of his war in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a Triumph (1926). To escape his notoriety, Lawrence changed his name and rejoined the army in 1922 as Gunner J.H. Ross, and the RAF (1923-35) as Aircraftsman T.E. Shaw. In The Mint(1936) he described the harsh life of the ranks. He was killed in a motorcycle accident.