Below is a summary of the contents of Volumes XXI to Volume 29 of the Journal, which were those published from Autumn 2011 onwards.
More detailed descriptions of all Journal articles from Vol. I, No. 1 to the present day can be downloaded in pdf format by clicking HERE.
Additionally, the contents of Journals Vol. I, No. 1 to Vol. XXIV, No. 2 arranged by subject matter can be downloaded in the form of a ROUGH GUIDE compiled by former Society chairman Nick Lynch.
Vol. XXI, No 1. Autumn 2011
Vino Roy: Colonial and Post-Colonial Encounters: The Legacy of T. E. Lawrence and Sayyid Qutb
In this paper, presented at the Society’s 2010 Symposium, the lives and writings of Lawrence and the Egyptian Islamic scholar Sayyid Qutb are examined and compared in light of the unrest and upheaval which the world has recently experienced, particularly as a result of the tensions created by terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.
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Cecil Bloom: T. E. Lawrence and his Attitude towards Zionism
This paper addresses an aspect of another source of continual tension in the Middle East, namely, the relationship between Israel and its Arab neighbours. The views of Lawrence towards Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish homeland are discussed.
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Andrew Williams: Humour in The Mint
This paper, presented at the Society’s 2010 Symposium, examines the nature and purpose of Lawrence’s use of humour in The Mint,
as well as analysing some examples of the techniques employed. Lawrence’s well-known sense of mischievousness is reflected in his writings but this sense of fun masks his melancholic side.
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Vol. XXI, No 2. Spring 2012
Evilene van der Steen: Lawrence and the Tribes
This paper explains the meaning of ‘tribes’ and describes their traditions and hierarchy. It explains in some detail the nature and motivation of the tribes that took part in the Arab Revolt.
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Philip Walker: The Jeddah Diary of Captain Thomas Goodchild during the Arab Revolt
This article has its origins in a most extraordinary piece of luck,
as the author found the diary among the junk at a car boot sale.
Captain Robert Goodchild was sent to Jeddah to buy camels for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and it is this mission which is recorded in his diary.
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Philip Neale: Richard Aldington: Lawrence’s Strongest Critic
This article explains the background, purpose and consequences of the publication in 1955 of Richard Aldington’s controversial book Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Enquiry.
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Vol. XXII, No 1. Autumn 2012
H. St. John B. Armitage: Lawrence in Basra [Translation]
This article has its origins in an unfinished project by the late
H. St. John B. Armitage. In April 1916, Lawrence arrived in Basra as part of Kitchener’s scheme to seek Arab co-operation to relieve the besieged army of General Charles Townshend at Kut. Lawrence twice interviewed Sulaiman Faydhi, a member of the Ottoman Parliament, who left a detailed account of their conversations.
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David Murphy: Lt-Col. Pierce Charles Joyce and the Arab Revolt
Based on a talk which David Murphy gave to the Society’s Symposium in September 2010, this article describes Joyce’s upbringing, his military career, before, during and after the Arab Revolt, and his friendship and correspondence with Lawrence after the war.
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Adrian Smith: T. E. Lawrence in Hythe
Drawing on the author’s own experience of living in Hythe, this article gives an account of Lawrence’s later life in the RAF when he was working on the development of high-speed motor launches in the Solent area.
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Dirk Fitzhugh: Speculation on the Derivation of Names adopted by T. E. Lawrence
This article speculates on the names adopted by Lawrence: John Hume Ross and Thomas Edward Shaw.
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Vol. XXII, No. 2. Spring 2013
Paul Helfer: The Unknown History of the Subscribers’ Edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom: Lawrence of Arabia and Wilson of Bumpus
This article recounts how Lawrence turned to J. G. Wilson, manager of the Bumpus bookshop in Oxford Street, when he failed to attract enough subscribers for a fine press edition of Seven Pillars.
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Alan Payne: The Journeys of T. E. Lawrence
A feature of Lawrence’s life are the many long journeys he made on foot and bicycle in his youth, by camel during the Arab Revolt and on Brough Superior motorcycles after the war. This article gives modern comparisons of Lawrence’s journeys and helps to put them in context.
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Michael A. Anderegg: The Man, The Myth, The Movie
An analysis of the paradoxes inherent in the Lawrence myth that
inspired David Lean and his colleagues to make the film Lawrence of Arabia.
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Gary Crowdus: Lawrence of Arabia: The Cinematic (Re)Writing of
History
David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia needed an enormous amount of condensation and simplification of events to fit them into even a 3½ hour film. An analysis is made of Lawrence’s masochism and alleged sadism and the article questions whether this is done to the detriment of other equally important aspects of Lawrence’s character.
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Joel Hodson: Who Wrote Lawrence of Arabia? Sam Spiegel and David Lean’s Denial of Credit to a Blacklisted Screenwriter
This article explores the complex relationship between David Lean and Michael Wilson, the blacklisted American screenwriter who wrote the original script of Lawrence of Arabia and Robert Bolt who wrote the script of the film we see today.
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Vol. XXIII, No. 1. Autumn 2013
Sophia Dingli and Caroline Kennedy: Lawrence, Tribes, Insurgents and Lessons
This article examines the so-called War on Terror which followed the attacks of 9/11, leading to questions about Western policy in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen and the conduct of counter-insurgency.
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Caroline Kennedy and Sophia Dingli: Lawrence and the Study of War
In their second paper, Caroline Kennedy and Sophia Dingli consider Lawrence’s place in the study of contemporary conflict and outline how Lawrence was at first marginalised and then brought back into the academic study of war.
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Noel Brehony: T. E. Lawrence and the Third Arab Revolution
This paper looks at what Noel Brehony calls ‘the three Arab revolutions’. The article considers the impacts between the three revolutions and what they can teach us about the likely paths of future
developments.
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Lisa Climie: In Search of Vyvyan Richards and his Friend T. E. Lawrence
Lisa Climie, great-niece of Vyvyan Richards, looks at the fascinating history behind her family, and treats us to an exploration of the
nature of the friendship between Lawrence and Richards.
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Vol. XXIII, No. 2. Spring 2014
BBC Radio 4, December 8 2012: Lawrence of Arabia – the Man and the Myth
This is a transcript of a Radio 4 broadcast which was presented by the renowned broadcaster Alan Little with the assistance of a variety of contributing distinguished experts. It proceeds, as the introduction states, to discover ‘a man more in tune with our own times’.
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Graham Chainey: An Indian Friend of the Family
Graham Chainey investigates the truth behind an article in an Indian newspaper which claimed that Lawrence spent some weeks in 1920-1921 trying to recover from depression with an old Oxford classmate K. Govinda Menon on the Kerala coast in SW India.
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Cecil Bloom: The Enigma of S.A.
One of the enduring puzzles and debates regarding Lawrence is the identity of S.A. in the dedicatory poem in Seven Pillars. Cecil Bloom recounts the story of this debate and reviews the merits, or otherwise, of the various candidates and suggestions regarding S.A.
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Margaret Eaglestone: The Painting of T. E. Lawrence by Henry Scott Tuke at Clouds Hill
In the music room at Clouds Hill hangs a portrait of a young soldier thought to be Lawrence on Newport beach in Cornwall, untying his shoe laces in preparation for a swim. The article asks the questions, ‘What is the true story behind the painting? What would be revealed under the layer of oil paint?’
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Vol. XXIV, No. 1. Autumn 2014
Neil Dearberg: Comments on Seven Pillars of Wisdom by Lt-Gen. Sir Harry Chauvel, GCMG KCB, Commander Desert Mounted Corps
The article draws on the analysis of Seven Pillars by Lt-General Sir Harry Chauvel who was Allenby’s second-in-command. Chauvel contradicts Lawrence’s version of events in Seven Pillars and his stated attitude to other personnel. His criticism of Lawrence reaches its climax in relation to the entry into Damascus, where Chauvel is adamant that the Australians got there first.
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Joe Berton: T. E. Lawrence: His Arab Clothing and Daggers
When Lawrence was sent to the Hejaz in 1916, he started by adapting the Arab headdress over his British uniform; but when he
became a full-time adviser to Prince Feisal, he was asked to wear the complete Arab kit. He wore the very best Arab clothing including a gold-hilted dagger in a gold scabbard given to him by King Hussein.
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Alison Jolley: ‘An Acute Attack of Lawrencitis: Lady Kathleen Scott’s Friendship with the Lawrence Family
In 1921, Lady Kathleen Scott – widow of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and a well-known figure in her own right as a sculptor of prominent personalities of the day – became the only
female artist for whom Lawrence posed. This article gives an insight into the relationship that developed between the two as he sat for her, described in her diary as ‘an acute attack of Lawrencitis’.
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Vol. XXIV, No. 2. Spring 2015
Hugh Leach OBE: T. E. Lawrence: Some Centenary Reflections
Hugh Leach’s lecture was first given to the “63” Club in December 1988. What makes this an important contribution to the Journal rests with the person of the author. Hugh Leach served first as a
soldier, commanding a Centurion tank during the ill-fated Suez
crisis. Then after a spell in Lebanon learning Arabic he held a number of diplomatic appointments throughout the Middle East. In 1998 he was granted the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs “in recognition of work of outstanding merit in the fields of exploration, research or literature”. His lecture gives a valuable insight into the life of Lawrence by someone who has travelled extensively through the countries where Lawrence served in the Arab Revolt.
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R. Pierce Reid: “For I can Raise no Money by Vile Means”: T. E. Lawrence and his Relationship with Money, Debt, Society and the Historical Record
In this thesis written for a Masters degree at Norwich University
in Vermont, Pierce Reid argues that throughout his life, Lawrence
exhibited an obsession with money and financial affairs. This
concern appeared in his youth, affected his experiences in the
Arab Revolt, contributed to his crises of confidence as a leader
and helped shape his post-war decisions and actions. Pierce
demonstrates that the evolution of a profit-driven “Lawrence
Industry” acted on him as an external force that created untenable social and financial situations.