IS THIS WHERE 'TESS' WAS HANGED?

  This poor quality illustration was derived from a glazed 1838 coloured print captioned as:

 GAOL, WINCHESTER'.

T. E.LAWRENCE AT THE DORSET COUNTY MUSEUM

On Tuesday, 19th October 2010, at 7.30 p.m., there will be a lecture at the Museum by Neil Faulkner of the Great Arab Revolt Project - LAWRENCE OF ARABIA: GENIUS OR CHARLATAN. The debate about T.E.Lawrence has raged for 75 years since his death in 1935. The speaker will discuss Lawrence and his use of modern guerilla warfare. Tickets: £5.

  The Museum's new dynamic Director has realised what a Dorset celebrity Lawrence was - and to a certain extent still is - and plans to give Lawrence a physical visual presence within the Museum that he has not had so far. When the Dorset Writers' Gallery was first mooted some years ago, I was invited onto the advisory panel, and naturally endeavoured to have Lawrence represented - but to no avail, though it seems this could well now change. There is however in the Museum's Library quite a collection of accumulated and donated material chronicling more or less the whole of Lawrence's life from birth to death.

IN THE LAND OF THE BLIND . . . . . . .

  At sometime in the 2-3 years following WW2 I remember listening to a radio play about a sighted man who wanders into a village of all blind people. He does not always find his sight of great advantage, as for instance in the dark they all know their way around whereas he just stumbles about. He also possibly upsets them by trying to take advantage of his sight. Inevitably he falls for a local girl, but before they will let him marry her he has to let them blind him.
  Whether this was written as a play, or an adaptation of a story I know not. Neither its title nor its author. Can anyone please enlighten me?

T.E.L's 75th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION AT MORETON, 2010

Updated: 2nd October 2010, 7.20 p.m.

  On Saturday, 22nd May 2010, at Moreton Dorset, there was a 75th anniversary Commemoration of the death of T. E. Lawrence, jointly with the 25th anniversary of the formation of the T.E.Lawrence Society.
  The day started with a buffet lunch for Society members at the Frampton Arms, next to Moreton railway station. The gathering included two ladies who had come all the way from Italy. Everyone then motored the couple of miles or so to St. Nicholas' Church, Moreton, for the 'Service of Thanksgiving to Celebrate the Life of Thomas Edward Lawrence 1888-1935', which began at 2 p.m. On arrival, the church was found to be already rather full with other Society members, etc.
  The service was conducted by the Rev. Jacquie Birdseye, accompanied by the Moreton Benefice Choir.

  The portrait of Lawrence is one of those by Augustus John. Ian Heritage is the current Secretary of the Society. The two poems chosen to be read from Minorities were 'Arabia' by Walter de la Mare, and "When I Set Out For Lyonesse" by Thomas Hardy.

  The Rev. Birdseye and congregation then walked down to the cemetery and Lawrence's grave, passing on the way about six assorted Brough motorcycles on display with their proud owners on the village green:

  At the graveside, after being introduced by the Society's Chairman,

 I gave my following Tribute:

"Good afternoon everyone. I was the Society's second Chairman. Some of what I am to say may overlap or be an augmentation of what was said earlier at the Service.

"We have passed from the place of religious observance of remembrance to this focal spot of T.E.Lawrence's final resting place. We are a smaller, more restrained gathering than that which descended on this consecrated plot 75 years ago yesterday. A gathering which then included an invited selection of the great and the good from Who's Who, as well as many onlookers - the latter including one of the young lads involved in the fatal accident, as one of the many photographs taken at the time show.

"Lawrence was born  in North Wales, in a house named Gorphwysfa, which means 'place of rest'. Less than 47 years later, he prematurely found another Gorphwysfa here in rural Dorset. Though some may question that, for this spot has since become a place of pilgrimage, both by the knowledgeable and the just curious. The former come perhaps to ponder on the "What if" he had not died, with still potentially many years of life and possible public service ahead of him. The merely curious on the other hand may be disappointed to find that this headstone is not very enlightening; and they may even be forgiven for wondering whether they are looking at the correct grave.

"For those of a sentimental nature, they can draw some comfort from knowing that Lawerence does not lie here alone - albeit with two of his brothers lying in some foreign fields that will be for ever England; his parents together in an Oxford cemetery; and some ancestors in a small graveyard in the centre of Ireland. However, his distant kinsfolk, the Framptons, have lived across the road in 'Moreton House' for hundreds of years; and it was one of them who donated this piece of ground to be used as a cemetery. Even more closely, some of his contemporary Frampton relatives also lie here only a matter of a few yards away over to the [speaker's] right.

"Also lying close by are Pat and Joyce Knowles, over to the [speaker's] left, who lived in the cottage opposite Lawrence's own Clouds Hill, and who became his very close friends.

"Also permanently represented here is Lawrence's close army friend, the late Arthur Russell. The two first met when they served together in the Tank Regiment at Bovington in the early 1920s. Russell was to be rewarded for his friendship by being one of the pall-bearers at Lawrence's funeral.

"And it was Russell who about 20 years ago, donated this bench behind me. The 'Patroclus' mentioned on the seat's back-rest refers to Greek mythology, in which Patroclus was the constant companion of Achilles. When another of Lawrence's friends, the poet Siegfried Sassoon so named them, one can only conjecture as to whether Sassoon had anything in mind as to what could have been Lawrence's 'Achilles heel'!

"As Sir Edmund Gosse said in 1928, a couple of months after the death of Thomas Hardy: 'This is not the moment for attempting to make a final pronouncement about the character of Hardy's works in detail. They will occupy a hundred pens, and will be subjected to close analysis by every variety of commentatot.' This can be said to have been appropriately true in the case of Lawrence's character.

"Over the years interest in, and appraisal of Lawrence has ebbed and flowed, waxed and waned. The expression 'many faceted' is a possibly over-used one generally used in describing Lawrence. Though it is an expression that cannot be bettered, and one justly deserved in this instance.

"I will not go through the long list of his achievements and interests, which most of us are probably knowledgeable of anyway - this through the many biographies and critiques that have been written about him right up to the present day.

"He himself once foretold that his bones would be rattled after his death, but it may be doubted whether even he considered this would be continuing 75 years later. There have been upteen biographies and esoteric publications; articles; plays; an epic film; TV documentaries; and now numerous websites devoted to him. All this commentary has ranged from the adulatory to the vitriolic. Even now there is not let-up in what has been described as a Lawrence industry.

"We must not of course overlook Lawrence's own legacy of his three autobiographies. There was, of course, his monumental Seven Pillars of Wisdom, detailing his close involvement in the 'Arab Revolt' of World War One. Then came the posthumous publication of The Mint, about his early time in the Royal Air Force. And thirdly, the thousand or so seemingly inexhaustable surviving canon of correspondence he wrote up to the day of his fatal accident.

"Back in May 1985 there was considered to still be sufficient interest in Lawrence for there to be an organised 50th anniversary remembrance, based here in Dorset. A memorial tree was ceremonially planted near the crash site, up from Bovington Camp. The honours being undertaken by a soldier who had been with Lawrence in the Desert Campaign.

"For those of us who were here at Moreton at another event, you will recall the large interested crowd which attended on that sunny Sunday afternoon. As well as the Commemorative Service in the church, there was an associated 'T.E.Lawrence Exhibition', with the star attraction being undoubtedly the powerful Brough motorcycle on which Lawrence had his final accident. It was a monster machine, wondrous to behold, For myself at least, an awe-inspiring moment.

"Lawrence confessed to not deliberately seeking publicity. And whilst in the army and airforce was somewhat punctilious in doing his duty, and generally keeping a low profile - though not backward in contacting the highest echelons of authority to get petty service regulations changed. One biographer was thus persuaded to entitle his biography of Lawrence - Backing into the Limelight. Though with Lawrence roaring around barrack-squares, and the length and breadth of the countryside on his powerful, noisy motorcycles, this title could be considered something of an understatement, or mis-statement.

"To return to the point I was starting to make. It was at the time of that 50th commemorative event in 1985 - and to misuse another mythical source - there rose like a phoenix out of the flames of renaissance euphoria the inspiration for the forming of a T.E.Lawrence Society. Today is thus a happy celebration of the 25th anniversary of that Society's formation, right here in Dorset.

"It was the brainchild of a young lady teacher at Wareham - Ingrid Keith - whom it had been hoped could have been here with us this afternoon.

"I said happy celebration, because the Society was formed at an auspicious time. Not only because of all the positive publicity being generated at the time, but there was already sufficient keen local interest and support to get such a viable Society up and running.

"In those early heady days there were still people alive who knew or had met Lawrence, and many of these were subsequently interviewed for their valuable reminiscences. One such was Arthur Russell, who I mentioned earlier. I well remember the visit my wife and I made to Coventry to meet him, and being regaled not only with a nice lunch, but for three hours or more with stories about his time with Lawrence. He later came down to Dorset to attend some Society and other events.

"Then there was the local elderly gentleman member of the Society, who in the early 1920s had been working in the same Westminster building in which Lawrence had spartan attic accommodation, and was busy writing his Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

"Alas, these and others have now departed. That is with the notable exception of an active centenarian lady not far from here in Dorset, who acted in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles back in 1924, which Lawrence attended with his friends Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hardy.

"There were happily also in 1985 several building and locations in Dorset, and around the country, with Lawrence associations, which could still be visited and photographed. Then in 1989 an intrepid band of Society members made an unforgettable visit to Jordan, the scene of some of Lawrence of Arabia's finest achievements.

"And later in that year my wife and I stayed for a memorable week at the cottage in north-east Scotland, where Lawrence spent a holiday with friends in 1930.

"Again, alas, many of these locations have since disappeared, or changed out of recognition. I instance the R.A.F. Mountbatten complex in Devon, where Lawrence served following his return from India in 1929; the Scott-Paine powerboat works in Hythe, Hampshire, where he helped design and test R.A.F. air-sea rescue craft; the R.A.F. marine craft workshops in Bridlington, Yorkshire, from where he retired in 1935; and the Bovington village post-office and garage, visited by Lawrence on the day of his fatal accident.

"In the 25 years since its formation the T.E.Lawrence Society has grown into a truly international one, and doubtless exceeding the expectations of its founders and early members. On a more practical note, this pathway was part-financed by the Society.

"Thank you."

  The Society's floral tribute was then laid on the grave by member Sylvia Clarke:

   After which group photographs were taken, and possibly a video:

 I was then asked by some members to show them the various graves I had mentioned. Here I am with Pieter Shipster (on the left) the T.E.Lawrence Society Vice-Chairman:

  The above five photographs were taken by Alan Hammond, to whom acknowledgements are given.

  Should anyone else who happened to be at Moreton for this event, and took photographs which they would not mind me placing in this blog, I would be greatly appreciative and obliged if they could please send them as email attachments to ronald950@btinternet.com. Photos published will carry the sender's name, unless they wish otherwise.

AN 'UNREQUITED LOVE' POEM

  One day in the late 1960s or early 1970s I picked up from off a pavement in Weymouth a piece of paper with writing on it. With feint lines it looked to have come from a small writing pad. It contained the following untitled, unsigned poignant poem, obviously written by a young hand, in extremely neat writing. It was found along a route travelled by pedestrian teenage students from a nearby Technical College. Whether it was written by a boy or girl is difficult to say, though I am inclined to the latter. Was it dropped by the writer or recipient? It was a seemingly inadvertent action for the paper had just one fold, and was not screwed up as it might have been if being thrown away. What happened to either of them?
  Although not a masterpiece, though with some clever rhyming, it nevertheless touched me such that I could not in turn dispose of it. After all this time I am taking the liberty of publishing the poem in case by chance the writer recognises it, and may wish to have it returned.

I told this heart of mine
Our love could never be;
And then I hear your voice,
And something stirs inside of me.
Somehow I cant dismiss
The memory of your kiss.
Yes, my heart has a mind of its own,
No matter what I do.
No matter what I say,
No matter how I try,
I just cant turn the other way.
When I'm with someone new,
I always think of you.
Yes my heart has a mind of its own.
Your not in love with me,
So why cant I forget
I'm just your used to be.
Its wrong, and yet
I know forgetting you
Would be a hopeless thing,
For I'm a puppet
and I just cant seem to break the string.
I say I'll let you go,
And then my heart say's "No".
Yes my heart has a mind of it's own.

FAREWELL 'ELSA'. R.I.P.

Visitors to Moreton cemetery over the past several years may well have met the friendly resident tortoiseshell cat, who was to be named 'Elsa'. She was semi-feral, and said to be aged 16 at her recent death. From personal experience she seemed to have taken on the mantle of the Lawrence grave's custodian, for she was inclined to instinctively lead one directly to it. Whilst one was then contemplating the grave, Elsa might perch herself on the nearby Arthur Russell's 'PATROCLUS' bench. There are a couple of photographs of her in the latest Winter 2010 T.E.LAWENCE SOCIETY NEWSLETTER. 

MORETON CEMETERY LYCH-GATE

DORSET LIFE, a monthly Dorset county magazine, in its April 2010 edition contained a short article headed "Lych-gate roof restoration call". After a series of lead thefts, Moreton parochial church council  decided it wanted to replace the lead on the cemetery's lych-gate roof with slate. But as the structure is a 200-year-old listed building it needs planning permission from Purbeck District Council. The architects have been in negotiations with English Heritage for "quite a long time", but are now hopeful permission will be obtained for this change of material.

IMAGES OF T.E.LAWRENCE'S PARENTS

Considering that photography was invented c.1840, there are very few known photographs of T.E.Lawrence's parents: (Sir) Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman (1846-1919) and Sarah Lawrence (nee Junner, 1861-1959). Thomas Chapman was something of a photographer, and more or less taught his son Thomas Edward Lawrence all he knew.
But at the National Portrait Gallery's "T.E.Lawrence Exhibition" in December 1988, visitors were introduced to a number of images of the pair. There was just the one photographic image of Thomas senior, taken it is believed c.1864 whilst he was attending Eton College. In private hands it is seemingly still the only one so far known, and unfortunately was not reproduced in the Exhibition Catalogue. It had, however, apparently been already first published in Plymouth's Evening Herald of 17th August 1988, and then again in Ireland on Sunday of 14th April 2002. This latter publication also contained photographs of elderly Sarah Lawrence and Edith Chapman (Thomas Chapman's wife). Although Thomas Chapman's photograph is to a certain extent now in the public domain, for copyright reasons it is not possible to publish here.
With Sarah Lawrence, we are luckier. At the above Exhibition, and in the Catalogue, there was a photograph from the Bodleian Library of her with her four elder sons (including TEL aged 5 years) standing in the doorway of Langley Lodge, Hampshire. Then there was a later head-and-shoulders one of Sarah c.1910 from a private collection. The colour portrait of her dated c.1936 from the artist's family, also appeared in black and white in the Ireland on Sunday. The Exhibition and Catalogue finally contained a black and white photograph of Sarah c.1940 (in private hands), when she would be aged about 80.
Finally, there is another oft-published one of her in old age, taken with her eldest son Robert, at the doorway of their house in Swanage, Dorset, taken not long after their return from China in 1935 following TEL's tragic death.
The writer would be interested in learning of any other images of TEL's parents.

T. E. LAWRENCE COMMEMORATION 2010

At 2 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, 22nd May 2010, there will be a Commemoration Service in memory of T. E. Lawrence at Moreton church, Dorset. It will have been 75 years since Lawrence's tragic death, and the 25th anniversary of the formation of the T.E.Lawrence Society. The Service will include "elements from the original order of service."
Following this Service, the T.E.Lawrence Society will pay a floral tribute at Lawrence's graveside in the nearby Moreton cemetery, and when I have been invited to give an appropriate tribute.
The photograph below was taken on a similar graveside occasion in 1988.

(Acknowledgements for photograph to Bob Richardson, Wareham)

FURTHER MEMORIES OF A T.E.LAWRENCE SOCIETY PAST-CHAIRMAN

My four years' Chairmanship of the T.E.Lawrence Society 1986-1990 was a heady time. It had only been formed in 1985, in Dorset, by a Wareham school teacher - Ingrid Keith. Most of its founding members were naturally from Dorset, and events tended at first to be local. I was not a founding member, and not at the inaugural meeting when the Society was set-up. At that time though I was in the process of publishing my first book concerning Lawrence - T.E.Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) Visits Mr & Mrs Thomas Hardy. The photograph below was taken by my youngest daughter outside the entrance to Thomas Hardy's home Max Gate which was used on the book's back cover. Having become a member, I attended the second Society meeting at Bovington, when a Constitution was drafted. I also introduced my book.
On becoming Chairman in 1986, this Constitution immediately became the basis for the Committee to apply for charity status, which it eventually obtained.
In the meantime I had started to collect examples of those medals, etc. for which Lawrence was gazetted, and those of WW1 which he would also have been entitled to wear had he so chosen! On his own evidence he also jokingly suggested others he thought apt. With the exception of a Jordanian Order of Nahda which I had been unable to obtain, on the occasion c.1990 of the birthday of the first Chairman, Roland Hammersley, I wore them all when attending his informal birthday party at his home at Bovington. The photograph below was taken as I was about to set off.
Society meetings soon began to take place at Lawrence associated venues around the country. One such was on 15th August 1987 at Bridlington, at the Blue Lobster Restaurant immediately adjacent to the site of the RAF Marine Craft works and slipway. One of those attending was the then Society Secretary, George Williams, who kindly provided copies of the printed momento below. All those present signed each others' copies on the back, as can be seen below on my copy.

As part of the 1988 centenary celebration of Lawrence's birth, Dorset County Council organised a T.E.Lawrence Trail Cycle-Ride, to take place on 16th August. I was invited to participate, and it was decided that I would motor ahead to strategic Lawrence locations along the way, and explain their significance. Unfortunately not many cyclists participated, but it being a glorious sunny day the event was still enjoyable. The first photograph was taken outside the entrance to Clouds Hill, which unfortunately was not open at the time.

The second photograph was taken at the site of the garage at Bovington, from which he left for his final fatal journey back to Clouds Hill in May 1935. The garage pictured was not the 1935 one, and even this later one has now disappeared to make way for housing. Similarly missing in 1988 was the Post Office on the other side of the road which Lawrence had also just visited, having been demolished shortly beforehand, though the cyclists were shown photographs of both.

Quite a number of other important Lawrence locations which were still in existence in those early days luckily visited by Society members have since passed away, as have sadly some of those early members. Included is RAF Mount Batten at Plymouth, the Scott-Paine Boatyard at Hythe in Hampshire, and the nearby early Lawrence family home at Langley Lodge. It was fortunate that the Society was formed when it was, when so many Lawrence locations were still in existence, and photographically recorded for posterity.
Again, as part of the 1988 celebrations, the Society Committee approved the initiative of a member who wished to produce commemorative envelopes as below, and stickers bearing the same design.

The big event of 1989 was the Society tour of Jordan in the May. Among the places visited were Amman, Petra, Aqaba, and Jerash. There was even a trip out into the desert on the Jordan/Saudia Arabia border, in a temperature of 45 Celsius, to see the purported results of one of Lawrence's train demolitions. We had an excellent Jordanian tour guide, who proved to have very sharp eyes. One day whilst the coach was having some repair made, we were standing on what to we English looked the usual uninteresting stone and gravel road surface, but the guide began picking up small pieces of coloured Roman glass he had noticed. One highlight was a trip along the Hejaz railway. The photograph below was taken of me having a welcome drink at one of the water stops along the way. During this trip the group was asked who would like to come for a ride up on the footplate for a short while. One lady volunteered. When she later returned her face was a picture, being covered in black diesel smoke. Being diesel-driven almost 'did' for some members, for when going through a long tunnel the diesel fumes came through the open windows and almost asphyxiated us. The same lady later tried to ride a camel and promptly fell off, but thankfully without sustaining any injury beyond bruising.

As is known, Lawrence spent a holiday with a couple of friends in Scotland in September 1930. This was at the small fishing village of Collieston, a few miles north of Aberdeen. I learned that although the original primitive fisherman's cottage had been demolished, the bungalow built in its place in 1937 was a holiday-let. So in September 1989, at the same period as Lawrence, my wife and I spent a pleasant week there. Although there had been some inevitable changes to the village, we were still able to see and experience most of what Lawrence was to write about in Garnett letter 421 dated 18th September 1930 to F.D.Doubleday. I was also fortunate to be able to locate and visit the gentleman who as a young boy had delivered milk (or whatever) to the cottage at that time. Internet search engines throw up several illustrated sites of Collieston.

My four years as Society Chairman were very busy, but rewarding and enjoyable. It enabled me to meet several people who had met Lawrence, as well as to visit Lawrence sites that I might never have otherwise have done. There have also been unique experiences. There was the time when my wife and I undertook a reconnaissance visit to RAF Mount Batten, and whilst travelling around the Station with the commanding Squadron Leader in his be-flagged car to receive by association the salutes of all personnel. Then whilst at work, to have my supervisor come running to me to say that there was a person-to-person telephone call from New Zealand, who turned out to be a new member who just wanted to speak with the Society Chairman!

There were one or two episodes that were not the usual pleasurable ones. One in particular was when a meeeting was arranged at the public library in Bromley, Kent, to hear a speaker give an Arabic viewpoint on Lawrence. My wife and I drove up to London the day before, and parked the car in an underground car-park somewhere near Victoria Station. It had been raining, and whilst walking round to our 'hotel' in Eccleston Square, a car drove through a large puddle in the road and sprayed my poor wife. Then we found that the 'hotel' was really a town house that had been converted into hotel-type accommodation, without the now obligatory en suite facilities. For an evening meal we found a nearby Indian restaurant. Next morning I wished to go to a postcard and militaria fair then in the arches under Charing Cross Station, whilst my wife went round the shops. Arriving at the fair I did not feel well enough to go inside, and returned to the hotel. Whilst driving to Bromley in the afternoon I just managed to pull into a public house car park, where I was violently sick. We managed to reach Bromley without further incident, and found several Society members waiting in the library. When the appointed time came, the speaker had not arrived. This was when a member of the library staff came in to say that the speaker had phoned to say that he had gone by mistake to Bromley-by Bow in east London, but was now on his way to Bromley. So for the next hour I had to waffle on about Society and Lawrence matters, interrupted by an occasional quick trip to the 'loo'. The speaker eventually arrived, when the meeting proper passed without further incident.

Although I was proud and privileged to have been Chairman, after 'only' four years I felt that it was time to retire from that position, and make way for fresh blood and ideas. It is somewhat gratifying to note that succeeding Chairmen have elected to create and follow that now unwritten convention.

T.E.LAWRENCE AND JANET LAURIE

It is well known that Lawrence is purported to have proposed marriage to Janet Laurie just before WW1, but she turned him down. Apparently she preferred his brother Will. All this was covered by Jeremy Wilson in his official biography of 1989: Lawrence of Arabia. Just after the war she married Captain Guthrie Hallsmith DSO, (see the Supplement to The London Gazette dated 4th February 1918, page 1600) and they subsequently had several children.
Between 1923 and 1935 they lived at Newquay, Cornwall. One of Janet's childen, Emma Smith, wrote and had published in 2008 her childhood experiences of that period - The Great Western Beach: A Memoir of a Cornish Childhood Between the Wars. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London. On pages 242-247 is a blow-by-blow account of a visit Lawrence made to see them c.1931, on his motorcycle, when his stated adverse conduct on that occasion is somewhat at variance with that generally accepted.
To know what supposedly transpired I would recommend readers to obtain a copy of the book. It contains several photographs of the married Janet, as well as many details of her pre-married life, including her award of The Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class for her nursing work during WW1 (see the Supplement to The London Gazette dated 6th August 1919, page 10050).

T.E.LAWRENCE'S 'PATROCLUS'

Visitors to Moreton in Dorset, to see Lawrence's grave in the cemetery, they will notice the bench seat alongside. Unfortunately is now in a somewhat sad condition, being covered in green mould, but it is still possible to see what is carved into the back-rest: FROM A.RUSSELL PATROCLUS

Russell was of course the young Arthur Russell who had enlisted into the Tank Corps and been posted to Bovington in Dorset at the same time as Lawrence, in March 1923. As they were in the same barrack-room, and Russell not as 'rough' as the others, the two struck up a friendship that was to last until Lawrence's death in 1935. Lawrence used to take Russell around the countryside as a pillion passenger on his Brough motorcycle, including to the Dorset author Thomas Hardy's home at Max Gate, Dorchester.

The poet Siegfried Sassoon sometimes met Lawrence at Max Gate during the Bovington period, when Lawrence would often be accompanied by Russell. Sassoon thus dubbed Russell as 'Patroclus', who in Greek mythology was the constant companion of Achilles. This nick-name Russell was proud to bear until his own death in 1997, at the age of 93. Hence the inscription on the bench at Moreton.

Despite several enquiries I have not yet been able to determine the exact date of the placement of the bench. It was certainly after Sunday, 18th May 1986, as it is absent from photographs taken on that day, the occasion of the T.E.Lawrence Society's graveside commemoration; and it still looks to be absent in a photograph taken for the May 1988 commemoration. It had appeared, however, in a photograph taken late in 1988.

According to one of the churchwardens of Moreton church, at a meeting of its Parochial Church Council on 18th October 1985, it was reported that "Mr A. Russell a friend of T. E. Lawrence had donated a teak seat which he would like placed in the cemetery." There is apparently no record of when it was installed. But on 15th May 1987, when another seat was being offered, it was mentioned that the church already had two seats. It was presumed by my correspondent that these were donated by Mr & Mrs (Tom) Beaumont and Mr Russell. (Beaumont had been with Lawrence in Arabia during WW1, being mentioned in Seven Pillars of Wisdom.)

Russell was to be honoured by being one of the six pall-bearers at Lawrence's funeral.

On visiting Moreton cemetery in 2005, there was a friendly furry tortoiseshell cat that seemed to lead/escort one to the grave, and then sit on the bench to be made a fuss of. I naturally called it 'Russell'. When I visited again in March 2006, 'Russell' was continuing to use the bench as a resting-place, and courting its accustomed adoring attention. I later learned that this stray cat had been named 'Elsa' by the local lady who looked after her, and still seemed to escort visitors directly to Lawrence's grave. When I visited Moreton on yesterday's sunny afternoon, 1st March 2009, there was alas no sign of 'Elsa'.

T.E.LAWRENCE AND THE R.A.F. MOUNT BATTEN BADGE

MEMORIES OF A T.E.LAWRENCE SOCIETY PAST-CHAIRMAN