"In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia" Bovington Camp by freya_heaven

Bovington Camp Travel Guide: 15 reviews and 26 photos

From the day Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in 1888 in North Wales, he was set to have a unique and interesting life.

His father was the seventh Baronet of Westmeath in Ireland Sir Thomas Chapman, his mother was the family governess, which obviously did little to please lady Chapman! Lawrences father and governess mother left the family home and moved to Oxfordshire.

His love of the Middle East was fuelled by a walking tour of Palestine, Syria and Turkey he did whilst on a summer break from Jesus Collage, Oxford in 1909 at the age of 21.

The establishment were so impressed with Lawrences thesis, he was appointed by the British museum to an archeological dig in Syria in 1911.

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Painting by Augustus John in 1919

Lawrence decided archeology was not for him, he next worked on a survey of Palestine until the break of WW1 in 1914 where he joined the intelligence service due to his knowledge of Arabs and the Arab way of life.

He joined the forces of the Arabian sheik Feisal al Husayn in 1916 against the Turks, but was captured the same year, during capivity Lawrence was subjected to beatings and torture repeatedly, he later managed to escape from the Turks his experiences in captivity had greatly effected him.

He had many military victories whilst working with the Arabs and he felt great shame when he learned of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which promised Syria to the French instead of Syria being an independent Arab state.

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St Nicholas Church

Lawrence returned to England, where he became a Middle East advisor to Winston Churchill. He continued in the services switching to the RAF and the Royal Tank Corps under assumed names to escape the glare of publicity, but he always got discovered after a while. By this time T E lawrence has become quite a highly regarded celebrity both here and in the Arab world.

Lawrence later went on to write the Seven Pillars of Wisdom about his time with the Arabs, the title was take from a rocky outcrop at Wadi Rum (he also visited Petra whilst he was in Jordan.)

During this time Lawrence had a love of motorbikes, he only rode the fastest in Great Britain at that time which were manufactured by George Brough. This became his downfall and on 13th May, he swerved to avoid 2 boys on bicycles came off his bike near his home. Lawrewnce never regained consciousness and finally died on the 19th of May 1935.

This is just a brief guide T.E Lawrence, there is much more to the life of this obviously very charasmatic, brave and fascinating man, to read a more indepth account of his life check out This website

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Last visit to Bovington Camp: Aug 2005
Intro Updated Aug 22, 2005
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Reviews (14)

postcard bought from Clouds Hill - Bovington Camp

Not a lot! Shopping (1)

Postcards are all that were on offer when I visited Clouds Hill, I have since read there were books of the local area... more travel advice

Corfe Castle Things to Do (11)

Corfe Castle sits very dominatingly on a steep hill in east Dorset, the view of it from the eastbout approach road is... more travel advice

The White Horse Off The Beaten Path (1)

There are many white horses dotted around the English countryside although this is the only one I have seen. This... more travel advice

Signpost with cafe in background. - Bovington Camp

Cafe Restaurants (1)

After visiting the grave of T.E. Lawrence, Freya & I wandered back in to the village to pop in to the cafe for a... more travel advice

Travelogues (2)

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Comments (22)

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tini58de May 25, 2006 at 8:02 PM

Excellent page, Nicola! Indeed, Mr Lawrence was a fascinating person! Thanks for taking us on this virtual tour!
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HORSCHECK Sep 17, 2005 at 3:20 PM

Fabulous page with brilliant photos. I didn't know that the chalk horses can be found in this area. Keep up the good work .... :o)
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kyoub Sep 13, 2005 at 3:31 PM

A very interesting page, Freya. You never know what you may find if you take the time to look around.
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kazander Sep 13, 2005 at 11:57 AM

Very interesting new page Nicola! Love the rhododendrons and the chalk horse on the hill. Great Job as usual! q*o*p
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budapest8 Sep 11, 2005 at 6:47 PM

Hi Nicola! Noticed that Lawrence was born the same year as my Gdad and born in N.Wales too.I spent a few weeks working in Eilat next to Akaba in Jordan and often thought about him living with the Beduin. Incredible chap. You did some nice pages on him.Tim
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scottishvisitor Sep 9, 2005 at 2:08 PM

So glad you introduced Freya to the National Trust - a great organisation. Lovely page have learnt so much here about Lawrence Of Arabia Thanks Joan
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Bwana_Brown Sep 6, 2005 at 8:42 AM

Quite a fascinating page Nicola! I was interested to read the many little details regarding the life of this famous man. A most unusual building indeed is his little cottage!
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tiger9090a Sep 5, 2005 at 10:12 AM

Now that's an intriguing page!
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obiwanwasabe Aug 31, 2005 at 9:26 AM

Ahh ...my namesake, I have sat on the bike he lost his life on, or coming off more like it. Nick
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Cristian_Uluru Aug 30, 2005 at 11:57 AM

Very interesting page!!!! Fantastic photos!!! Lawrence is a legend!!!