In April 1962 “Ross: a dramatic portrait” by Terence Rattigan was performed at the New Theatre in Oxford. The lead role of Ross (Lawrence of Arabia) was played by Michael Bryant. In the programme there were some biographical notes on T E Lawrence:
1888 Born in Tremadoc, North Wales
Educated at Oxford High School and Jesus College, Oxford
1909 Travelled through Syria and Palestine alone and on foot to gain material for his chosen thesis on Crusader Castles
1910 Gained first-class honours
1910-14 Worked as an archaeologist with the British Museum Expedition to the Hittite site at Carchemish
1913 Helped in secret military survey in Sinai. On the outbreak of war obtained a job in the Map Section of the War Office
Dec 1914 After Turkey entered the war joined the intelligence service in Cairo
Oct 1916 Landed at Jeddah with Ronald Storrs
1919 Accompanied King Faisal to the Peace Conference and made Fellow of All Souls, Oxford
1920 Appointed Political Adviser to the Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill
1922 Enlisted in the RAF as J H Ross
1923 Enlisted in the Tank Corps as T E Shaw
1924 Re-enlisted in the RAF as T E Shaw
1935 Discharged from the RAF on expiry of his term of office
March 1935 Killed in a motor-cycle accident near his cottage in Clouds Hill, Dorset
Read also our post of the story “How Lawrence joined the RAF”, as told by one W E Johns in a national newspaper in April 1951. Johns, the author of the Biggles books, was at the time chief recruiting officer at the London Recruiting Depot, and handled the case from start to finish. Fascinating reading.