It’s 1917 in the Middle East in the heart of the Ottoman Empire.
In the early dawn a ghostly form waits in ambush, with his men.
The wind and sand whistles around their desert dress as they lie in wait.
Quietly waiting and listening to the sounds of the desert,
in the distance they hear a wail
and the iron beast powering across the desert moves closer.
The men steel themselves as the train thunders nearer.
The trap is sprung and a mine is triggered.
The Turkish train is derailed and a shower of sand and steam erupts,
the desert wind intensifying the effect.
The waiting warriors jump up and scream
as they run through the dust to raid the fallen train.
Through the swirling dust, two points of light come forward
slowly revealing the man who has masterminded the attack.
This man has helped lead them in the fight for their freedom.
Their liberation from 400 years of rule under the heel of the Turks as part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Arabs shout his name in delight as the wind dances around his white robes,
“El Aurens! El Aurens! El Aurens!”
That man is no other than Lawrence of Arabia.
This young British man who was an archeologist, a spy
and now a freedom fighter only stood 5′ 6″ in tall,
but was a giant of a man in the eyes of the Arabs.
But Lawrence is a troubled man.
The Turkish Ottoman Empire had allied itself with Germany
so an Arab uprising in the Middle East against the Turks was very much in Britain’s interest.
The Arabs promised they would fight in return for independence.
But the great game does not have simple rules.
Britain never expected Arab success and so readily agreed to the terms
and even promoted the fact by spreading leaflets promising Arab independence
if they were to rise up.
But Britain’s promises had already been broken.
They had agreed with France to carve up the Middle East between themselves after the war.
The French considered Syria “practically French territory since the crusades”.
Much to the surprise of many
with Lawrence’s help the Arabs had turned the tide against the Turks.
How much Lawrence knew of Britain’s broken promises is up for debate,
but he did know something.
He later said in his book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom,
“I had to join the conspiracy and assure the men of their reward.
Better we win and break our word than lose.”
Lawrence loved the Arab world and immersed himself in the Arabic culture.
A talented linguist he could speak Arabic fluently
and he formed strong relationships with the men he fought alongside.
Caught between his loyalties to the Arabs and to Britain he hatched a plan.
If he could make significant gains and capture Damascus,
then maybe Britain would have to keep its promise.
Damascus was the political center of the Arab world,
but to get there, the coastal city of Aqaba had to be taken.
Lawrence hatched a plan and was to fight alongside the men of his friend, Prince Feisal.
His commanding officer had told Lawrence,
“The move to Aqaba on the part of Feisal is not at present desirable.”
But Lawrence was not to be stopped.
He called the campaign for Aqaba a private venture, void of British support.
Although his account of that was not entirely truthful
given the eventual help of the British Navy in the endeavor.
His plan was daring and he aimed to complete a seemingly impossible task –
The crossing of his troops across 600 miles of desert.
An act that meant the Turks would be totally taken by surprise.
In July 1917 the battle began.
In the midst of the attack, Lawrence nearly died
after accidentally shooting his own camel in the heat of battle.
With the Turks not expecting a surprise attack from the land
and the Royal Navy shelling from the sea, Aqaba fell
with the Arab forces only losing two men.
A great victory.
Now the road to Damascus was clear.
He was determined to take the prize of Damascus for his Arab friends.
A series of victories followed
as Arab forces combined with the British and their allies destroyed the Turk’s rear-guard.
The Australian Mounted Division were the first to reach Damascus
but were instructed to “let” the Arabs enter.
On October the 1st, 1918 Lawrence and the Arab leaders drove into Damascus.
The Guardian wrote, “Lawrence Leads Arabs into Damascus”.
They all thought this was the moment of their liberation.
400 years of oppression was now to be replaced with freedom and independence.
But the celebrations were to be short lived.
On October the 3rd Faisal was told in no uncertain terms
that there was to be no independence.
Prince Faisal’s forces stayed in the city.
In March 1920 Prince Faisal proclaimed himself King of Syria.
The French attacked the following July
and Faisal was expelled from Syria at the point of a French bayonet.
Lawrence was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
But his dream of a truly independent Arabia was never realized
and he left the Middle East with grief and frustrations.
Lawrence became extremely famous after the war.
In 1926 he published his autobiography “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”.
But he both loved and abhorred the limelight.
Seeking anonymity he assumed a pseudonym and lived in Clouds Hill in Dorset.
He was troubled by his part in Britain’s broken promises
and sought solace in speed, owning several motorbikes.
On the 13th of May 1935 he left Cloud’s Hill on his Brough Superior SS100 motorbike of which he wrote,
“When roaring his utmost, it surpasses the hundred.
A skittish motorbike with a touch of blood in it
is better than all the riding animals on earth."
He was riding in a country lane when two boys suddenly appeared on bicycles.
He swerved to avoid them but lost control and crashed.
He passed away six days later.
We visited Lawrence’s house at Clouds Hill in Southern England.
Lawrence’s legend lives on.
To this day people come and visit Clouds Hill
and this memorial near the site of his accident to pay homage to Lawrence of Arabia.