Possibly, Thomas Edward Lawrence is one of those heroes forgotten by the history books, but in turn a character with his own light and unique character who was able to lead an entire town.With 29 years, he witnessed and key to a climactic moment during World War I in those battles fought in the Middle East where the allies had essential interests.
Writer, archaeologist, military, diplomat and sonador, incarnated the ideal of romantic character With an unfortunate ending, someone strong enough for David Lean to take him to the movies in that magnificent movie starring Peter O'toole, "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962).But someone also peculiar enough, so as not to fit too much in the history books.
Without a doubt you would like to know more about this character...
TELawrence, a curious man
It was very close to the banks of the Euphrates River, an evocative scenario for a hungry mind of history and adventure like yours.I immediately fell in love with those scenarios, for its past , for its mysteries and for the serenity of the desert… it traveled 1400 km on foot for four years studying the culture of the population, its customs and his languages, also perfecting one more of his passions: the drawing, and especially the representation of the original buildings of the Crusades.
He was a man often and fragile, barely average 1.66 cm and called the attention for his clear eyes and the paleness of his skin, something that contrasted especially with the desert tribes.But he almost always felt integrated and comfortable in those settings, he learned every day and cultivated his great culture; It is also said that it was at that time when he fell in love with Dahum, a young Syrian to whom he dedicated his book "The Four Pillars of Wisdom."
The Secret Service
When World War I broke out the British secret service began to look at Lawrence: he knew all the desert tribes, their languages and their culture, he was undoubtedly a man more than perfect to investigate and capture information from the Ottoman army during his expeditions in Egypt.He did his job well and was definitely destined for the Cairo Intelligence office, first as a civilian and then as a lieutenant.But military life never pleased him, he was terribly undisciplined and made desert desert almost every day.
The Arab revolt
In 1916 the Turks dominated the Arabian peninsula, which was a danger to the allies.The Arab bloc began a revolt to overthrow it, which fit perfectly into British interests, and they did not hesitate, they sent their best man, the one whose half was splitting in the same desert entrances and of all those tribes that led the Prince Faysal.
The friendship between Lawrence and Faysal began immediately, thanks to the British archaeologist, he developed a number of certain strategies to defeat the Turks on the battlefield, led the surrender in Aqaba and offered the First great crushing victory for the Arabs.
But during a raid on Deraa, a Turkish soldier discovered Lawrence in a moment of carelessness, his western features were quickly discovered and he was arrested.The result of that arrest was terrible for him: he was tortured and raped, according to his memoirs, that marked his decline and an absolute change in his personality.
After escaping and returning again to Faysal, he manages to release the Arabian peninsula of the Turkish presence and granting the Arabs the government of their country (that was at least what the leaders of the British government promised). After the triumph, he receives permission to return to Great Britain.
Disappointment and the end
In 1916 England and France signed the Sykes-Picos treaty, where the former Ottoman territory was divided into an English half and a French half.The dream of Lawrence and Faysal by a state Free Arabic was never fulfilled.Disenchanted, he locked himself in Oxford to write for a few years, until Winston Churchill called him to work again in Cairo, and, although he accepted, he returned a few years full of rage and sadness for his country , always interested in his own strategic interests rather than in the Arab people.
The press loved him, the army respected him but did not accept his ideas or behavior, never fit too much into his schemes...Lawrence died on 13 May 1935, when he returned from sending a telegram mounted on his Brough motorcycle, two children crossed him on the road while they were riding a bike and he was brutally fired, breaking his temples and dying at six days. Today, there is a TELawrence figure dressed in Arab clothes in front of the Wareham church.
There are two kinds of men: those who sleep and sound at night and those who sound awake and day...those are dangerous, because they will not yield until they see their dreams come true.
Thomas Edward Lawrence
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