Journal
of the T. E. Lawrence Society Vol. IX, No. 2, Spring 2000 Edited by Philip Kerrigan Nicholas Lynch: 'Further in the Cycle-Tracks of T. E. Lawrence: the journey home from Carcassonne, 1908' (6-26)
Hautefort
Nicholas Lynch
has provided
the Journal with no fewer than four previous articles in which
he retraced journeys made by Lawrence before the outbreak of the First
World War. He has now given us a
fifth, covering Lawrence's return journey from Carcassonne to
Chartres in 1908. Moshe Sharett: 'Letters of an Ottoman Soldier 1916-1918' (27-33)
Moshe
Sharett will always be associated with the formation of
the State of Israel. His recently published book Shall We Ever Meet
Again contains letters to his family and friends during the period
1916-1918 when he was serving as an officer in the Ottoman Army. Uri
Thon has translated
some of these letters into English. They give an interesting insight
into what was happening 'behind the lines' at the time of the Arab
Revolt. Uri Thon has held appointments as Governor in Sinai and Druze villages in the Golan Heights. In the 1970s he was Adviser on Arab Affairs to the Deputy-Prime Minister and later Director Research Authority at Haifa University. Jo West: 'Junor's Delivery. Hugh Robert Junor: an action, a brief life and family archive' (34-51)
The
part played during the Arab Revolt by the fledgling RAF with its limited
resources received appreciative reports from Lawrence. In Chapter 109 of
Seven Pillars he recounts how on one occasion, when an Arab force
was attacked by enemy aircraft,
the day was saved by the unexpected arrival of a single RAF BE I2a
aeroplane piloted by Hugh Junor. This intervention was sufficient to
divert the enemy's attention from the ground force. Jo West is a descendant of Hugh Junor. She began researching air support for the Revolt ten years ago and has given a short account of his life and untimely death. Educated at Manchester and Cambridge Universities, she is now head of the Creative Arts Faculty at Slough Grammar School. R. L. Bidwell: 'Queries for Biographers of T. E. Lawrence' (52-72)
When
the late Dr Bidwell was carrying out research for an introduction to a
reprint of the Arab Bulletin (published in 1986), he came to
feel that biographies of Lawrence were incomplete. He therefore drew attention to
questions that he felt needed answers. His essay, reprinted here, was written in 1976 and major biographies of Lawrence have appeared since then. Some of the points he raised have now been dealt with, or partially dealt with; but the questions remain interesting, and there may be further archival material that throws light on them. Dr Bidwell was Secretary of the Middle East Centre, University of Cambridge for a number of years. James Grasby: 'Recent Developments in the curation of Clouds Hill' (73-87) James Grasby is Assistant Historic Buildings Representative for the National Trust in Wessex. Clouds Hill comes within his remit. In carrying out its responsibilities, the Trust does not only aim to preserve the fabric of buildings, but also to retain the spirit of the place. This latter requirement is somewhat subjective, and it is not surprising that over the years different interpretations have been placed on how this can be brought about. As James Grasby states in his article, the aim should be 'to show the cottage, as far as possible, as it was during the latter days of Lawrence's occupation'. To achieve this it will be necessary to make some changes. Here is an opportunity for those interested in Clouds Hill to respond to the Trust's request for copies of books and gramophone records that were present in 1935. Previous: Contents of Vol. IX, No. 1 Next: Contents of Vol. X , No. 1
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