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T.E. Lawrence

(1888-1935), Known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'; soldier and writer

Thomas Edward ('T.E.') Lawrence

Sitter in 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.

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T.E. Lawrence, by B.E. Leeson - NPG P324

T.E. Lawrence

by B.E. Leeson
bromide print, 1917
NPG P324

T.E. Lawrence, by Augustus John - NPG 3187

T.E. Lawrence

by Augustus John
pencil, 1919
NPG 3187

T.E. Lawrence, by Augustus John - NPG 3188

T.E. Lawrence

by Augustus John
pencil, 1923
NPG 3188

T.E. Lawrence, by Eric Kennington - NPG 4298

T.E. Lawrence

by Eric Kennington
bronze bust, 1926
NPG 4298

T.E. Lawrence, by Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler - NPG 5016

T.E. Lawrence

by Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler
marble head, 1929
NPG 5016

T.E. Lawrence, by Augustus John - NPG 2910

T.E. Lawrence

by Augustus John
chalk, circa 1929
NPG 2910

T.E. Lawrence; David George Hogarth; Alan Geoffrey Charles Dawnay, by Harry Alonzo Chase - NPG x19908

T.E. Lawrence; David George Hogarth; Alan Geoffrey Charles Dawnay

by Harry Alonzo Chase
bromide postcard print, 1918
NPG x19908

T.E. Lawrence, possibly by Flight Lieutenant Smetham - NPG x12415

T.E. Lawrence

possibly by Flight Lieutenant Smetham
glossy bromide print, 10 December 1925
NPG x12415

T.E. Lawrence, by Flight Lieutenant Smetham - NPG x12413

T.E. Lawrence

by Flight Lieutenant Smetham
cream-toned bromide print, 10 December 1928
NPG x12413

T.E. Lawrence, by Flight Lieutenant Smetham - NPG x12414

T.E. Lawrence

by Flight Lieutenant Smetham
cream-toned bromide print, 10 December 1928
NPG x12414

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3551

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3551

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3552

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3552

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3553

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3553

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3554

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3554

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3555

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3555

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3556

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3556

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3557

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3557

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x3558

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 13 October 1931
NPG x3558

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x1966

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
glossy bromide print on card mount with red ink border, 13 October 1931
NPG x1966

T.E. Lawrence, by Howard Coster - NPG x1968

T.E. Lawrence

by Howard Coster
vintage bromide print, 13 October 1931
NPG x1968

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Nigel Allen

12 October 2020, 13:41

The first picture in this sequence of T E Lawrence was taken by my great uncle Brian Ernest Leeson . At the time he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Cheshire Regiment and served alongside Lawrence. They developed a friendship which continued after the war until Lawrence was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident. Leeson was given a copy of Lawrences autobiography ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ and the two corresponded throughout their friendship.

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