T. E. Lawrence

[panhead_jim]

I came across this quote from T.E. Lawrence and although he only rode Brough Superiors, I thought it applied to all motorcycles:

"A skittish motorbike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth, because of its logical extension of our faculties, and the hint, the provocation, to excess conferred by its honeyed untiring smoothness." -T.E. Lawrence

Here's a little more info I found as well as a picture of him on George V.

Lawrence of Arabia

[sirhrmechanic]

One of my favorite people in history... and subject of some of my Masters work. Amazing mind.

After the war, he had a lot of issues, things that today would be called Post Traumatic Stress. Some from his capture in Damascus and some from the fact that while brilliant at unconventional warfare, he despised it. Of note, after the war, he became something of a recluse, changed his name and was living as a private in the Royal Air Force... completely anonymous.

His one luxury and his one therapy was Brough Motorcycles and he always had the latest model. Motorcycling was probably an ideal thing for him, because of its solo nature.

He died swerving to avoid hitting two children in the road. A hero to the end. He could have hit the children and lived. Instead, he saved the kids and the world lost a brilliant figure.

If you have the time, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a military history book for the ages. The abridged version is called Revolt in the Desert. A really neat book is Steel Chariots in the Desert by his driver from the desert campaign, SC Rolls.

Most recently, Guerilla Leader was written by Jim Schneider, a military historian and professor out at the Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth. That book delves a lot into his personality and post-war issues. Also a lot of lessons that we can use in the sandbox today. Schneider's book is really first rate.

Thanks for writing this up... BTW, at the Yankee Region Road Run in June... there will be some Brough's in attendance.

There is an interesting Brough factoid, which is that they are the only product ever permitted to be sold as the "Rolls-Royce" of anything. Any time a company tried(s) to advertise as "The Rolls-Royce of combs... the Rolls-Royce of undergarments... The Rolls-Royce of pre-processed tuna... whatever" the soliciters come down like a ton of bricks. But in the very early 1930's, after advertising as "The Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles", the company received a cease/desist letter from Rolls-Royce. Brough wrote Henry Royce at his West Wittering design studio and asked if he would come to the factory and see how they made motorcycles. Henry Royce agreed and after touring the plant, meeting the Broughs (father and son), he returned to Rolls-Royce and gave the edict that "this company may use our name and can call themselves the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles." The only company before or since that earned that privilege.

Amazing machines... even more amazing man. Thanks PanJim! Great story and I really enjoy your historical links. Please keep up the great work!

Cheers,

Sirhr

PS: When asked after the war if there was anything he would like, Lawrence said that "I would like a Rolls-Royce motorcar with enough tires and petrol to last the rest of my life." His use of the Silver Ghost armored cars in the desert was legend. He wrote in Seven Pillars "A Rolls in the Desert is above rubies."

[Sargehere]

Good write-up, also, Sirhr! I'd just add that T.E. Lawrence wrote some stunning motorcycle literature in one of his other books, "The Mint," which was finally published in 1955. He took one whole chapter, called "The Road," to describe one of his afternoon jaunts on Bonerges to pop down from his airfield to town to pick up a rasher of sausages, or some such.

Along the way, among other adventures, he raced an RAF biplane from a rival nearby airfield over the English back roads between hedges at over 100 mph, just for fun. The Mint being long out-of-print, that chapter was just reprinted in an anthology of motorcycle writing titled "The Devil Can Ride, The World's Best Motorcycle Writing," edited by Lee Klancher, & published by Motorbooks in 2010. I highly recommend it as a great read. There's a lot of other great motorcycle stories in it, too, of course.

I also read somewhere that on the day Mr. Royce toured their plant, "just by accident," that the Broughs were giving final assembly to their display bikes for an upcoming London Motorcycle Show or some such, and were observed by him to be assembling the bikes in the final assembly area wearing white gloves, which undoubtedly impressed Mr. Royce!

[c.o.]

This is a great thread! Thanks for firing it up Jim. It looks like I've got some books to round up. Thanks Sirhr and Sarge! So... Lawrence of Arabia is the reason we gotta wear skid lids....

[sirhrmechanic]

, "The Mint," which was finally published in 1955. . The Mint being long out-of-print, that chapter was just reprinted in an anthology of motorcycle writing titled "The Devil Can Ride, The World's Best Motorcycle Writing,"

FYI, if you go to ABEbooks.com (best used book store online...) there are dozens of copies of The Mint available for as little as $2... and a lot more for first editions. All the Lawrence books are available there.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[AFJ]

A goodly portion of the above comment about T.E. Lawrence. Brough Superior motorcycles, the Revolt in Arabia, and the supposed connection between T.E. Shaw's 1935 motorcycle accident and the role of Sir Hugh Cairns in the development of motorcycle safety helmets is inaccurate and misleading hearsay.

Al Johnson

[Rollo]

I have seen [B]The[B] motorcycle that he was riding the day he crashed and died. It is in The Imperial War Museum in London. A couple of the pictures are a bit fuzzy but amazingly the bike was not damaged in the wreck. If I can figure out how to post them I will.

Tom (Rollo) Hardy
AMCA # 12766

[AFJ]

I have seen [B]The[B] motorcycle that he was riding the day he crashed and died. It is in The Imperial War Museum in London. A couple of the pictures are a bit fuzzy but amazingly the bike was not damaged in the wreck. If I can figure out how to post them I will.

Tom (Rollo) Hardy
AMCA # 12766

"The" Brough was not badly damaged in the accident - which seems, from the inspection of the bike made by George Brough and others when it went to the Brough factory in Nottingham, to have been a sideswipe by an oncoming car or truck which was never traced. The Brough was repaired at the factory and then sold. It surfaced in the early 1960's when, as a non-runner was purchased for 1 pound sterling (about $2.50) by a person who wanted to overhaul it and use it to haul a family sidecar. He contacted the Brough factory about spare parts (still in the engineering business then, and still owned by George Brough) and in addition to being able to supply some needed parts, looked up the factory record card for the bike (licence GW2275) and told the new owner that the bike had been supplied new to "T.E.Shaw" which was Lawrence's name after he legally changed it.

I believe that the current owner - who has the bike on loan to the War Museum - advertised the bike for sale a decade or so ago for 2 million pounds sterling (about $ 3.2 million US). Rumour at the time was that an American collector had offered 1 million pounds sterling but the bike did not change hands.

Al Johnson

[Sargehere]

I know that if you want Lawrence's take on the First World War and his role in it, you have to read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. I got the impression that he was severely disappointed in the politics of British colonization that resulted after the war. He felt, during the conflict, that he was helping friends, the Bedouins, win their independence from the Ottoman Turks, and felt betrayed by his own countrymen with all that resulted from the Treaty of Versailles and the political treatment of his friends.

The subsequent discovery of enormous petroleum reserves under all that sand just exacerbated that problem (Oil and the distribution of "ARAMCO" oil profits and all that resulted from that, which can be seen to have influenced world history to this day).

Lawrence turned down honors, and probably a knighthood, right after the war, and instead used what influence he'd gained to be allowed to enlist in the RAF and also the Royal Navy, I believe, as an enlisted motor mechanic, which explains his attractiveness to us motorheads to this day. He was truly a gifted motor engineer; loved nothing so much as a finely-tuned internal combustion engine, and his work on the engines for RAF motorboats similar to our PT's went far beyond that of a simple enlisted "grease monkey."

But he kept getting discovered, and "outed" in the barracks, you could say, requiring him to change identities and start over in a different location. Maybe a hopeless quest, hiding in the military, with his intellectual and political baggage, and a brand new Bruff-Supp as his POV. All this time, circa 1920 until he died, the Broughs kept him in new bikes every couple of years, gratis, in thanks for his service to the nation, one might think.

[sirhrmechanic]

Gerry:

Yes, it was the Sykes Picot treaty that divided up the Middle East ignoring tribal boundaries that left Lawrence disillusioned, betrayed, etc. Dr. Schneider's book goes into a lot of that as well as his post-war challenges. Essentially, many of the problems we have in the sandbox today are rooted in Sykes Picot. Oil revenue and the Palastine 'solutions' of the 1940's made things all the worse. Lawrence understood the region. He was an Arabist who had lived and walked among the region for many years before WW1. Had people listened to him, a lot of problems might have been avoided.

Lawrence, if I remember right, was not only in RAF, but briefly worked as a mechanic in the Tank Corps before being re-admitted to the RAF (on orders from 'somewhere' high up.) There is a legend that I never confirmed that the recruiting officer who admitted Lawrence to the RAF was suspicious that he was making up his name and a false identity, but allowed him to join anyway. And that the recruiting officer was the guy who went on to create the "Biggles" pilot character. But I don't know if that is fact or more Lawrence Legend.

Al... I can't comment on the helmet myth/legend/fact. I'd heard it before, but never seen it supported. And I had never heard about the 'white glove' aspect of Brough's assembly, so don't know if those were what you were referring to, but if there are other inaccuracies in my earlier post, please share. If I can't back up with citations, at least I'd like to get my facts straight for the future. I've done research and lectured at the Hunt House (the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation HQ in the UK) and Royce's interaction with Brough are documented by RR... though not at the detail of the white glove treatment. That's news to me. But the correspondence is at the HH.

Anyway, you seem to have some great info on the subject, please share as I hate to propogate myths.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[AFJ]

Anyway, you seem to have some great info on the subject, please share as I hate to propogate myths.

Cheers,

Sirhr

Comments on various things in the T.E. Lawrence thread.

From “Panhead Jim’s” Web site -

“Most people today know Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) by his nickname "Lawrence of Arabia" which was made famous by the 1962 film based on his life starring Peter O'Toole.”
The ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ name was used by Lowell Thomas in his “motion picture lectures” in the early 1920s and his 1924 book “With Lawrence in Arabia”. Later generations, coming after his death in 1935, have been subjected to a steady series of books, plays and revivals of earlier plays, motion pictures and television specials and so on. Recent books include Peter Miller’s book on the Brough Superior (2010), Michael Korda’s “Hero” (2010), and Tich Allen’s Legends in their Lifetime – George Brough and Lawrence of Arabia (2010).

“Lawrence was a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army and played a pivotal role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule starting in 1916 through to 1918.”
Lawrence went to Arabia in 1916 as a Lieutenant and left with the rank of Major although he was given a temporary full Colonel rank afterwards.

“George VII, the bike on which he was killed, has been restored and can be seen at the British Imperial War Museum.”
The Brough had been repaired by the Brough factory in 1935 and no doubt overhauled in the early 1960s when rediscovered. It was in running state in the 1960s and 70s but has not been restored.

“An interesting fact about the Brough Superiors was that each bike was personally tested by George Brough, the owner of the company.”
While George Brough entered a lot of competitions on his own Brough Superiors, the Chief Tester who rode each bike before it was shipped was Ron Storey, who also raced bikes for the company.

“After his fatal wreck, Dr. Hugh Cairns, a neurosurgeon who attended Lawrence, began research into motorcycle related head injuries. The result of that research led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists.”
Having looked in detail at this claim, I find that it did not originate with any statement or mention in scientific papers by Cairns or in any biography or obituary written about him or not long after his death in the 1950s. It first appears in a scientific paper written in 2004, but that article gives no reference to any source for the claim. Motorcycle safety helmets were first made mandatory is some British racing as early as 1914 (the Isle of Man TT) and were commonly required in speed events in the 1920s and 30s. Cairns began his studies along with his colleague Dr. Hylas Holbourn (who was responsible for the analysis of the helmets and their condition after the crash) and it is clear from the scientific papers that there were two patterns of motorcycle helmet being issued to Army motorcycle riders but that not all riders were issued with them. By the time of Cairns and Holbourn’s 1941 scientific paper on head injuries to non-helmeted and helmeted riders in accident cases and the effect of helmets in reducing the severity of injury, Cairns had the evidence to convince the Army that universal wearing of helmets by military would have a dramatic effect on reducing head injuries. Cairns received his Knighthood mainly for the establishment of mobile head injury field hospitals with advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment, including the use of penicillin in infection control.

From the AMCA Forum –

“After the war, he had a lot of issues, things that today would be called Post Traumatic Stress. Some from his capture in Damascus and some from the fact that while brilliant at unconventional warfare, he despised it. Of note, after the war, he became something of a recluse, changed his name and was living as a private in the Royal Air Force... completely anonymous.”
Nobody seems to have had a more complex life than Lawrence, however, he did write and publish several classic and readable books, contribute greatly to Air-Sea rescue equipment in the RAF, and become something of a literary scholar and respected figure in a circle which included Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw, Lady Astor, Winston Churchill, John Buchan, etc. etc. and manage a political solution which provided a period of stability in the Middle East for about 30 years/

“He died swerving to avoid hitting two children in the road. A hero to the end. He could have hit the children and lived. Instead, he saved the kids and the world lost a brilliant figure.”
Actually, reconstruction of the accident (as much as is possible over the time lapse) suggests that either Lawrence had come off the Brough (which had been doing no more than 38 mph) before the bike, sliding and tumbling along the road at a slow speed, caught up to a delivery boy on a bicycle and hit the back of the bicycle just before stopping, or that it was a case of Lawrence swerving to miss the bicycle but striking it from behind and to one side, sending him off the Brough. George Brough examined the Brough and found the outer end of the right handlebar showed evidence of “dark paint”, suggesting a sideswipe from an oncoming car or truck, and supporting the claim of an eyewitness that an oncoming “dark car” had been involved.

“There is an interesting Brough factoid, which is that they are the only product ever permitted to be sold as the "Rolls-Royce" of anything. Any time a company tried(s) to advertise as "The Rolls-Royce of combs... the Rolls-Royce of undergarments... The Rolls- Royce of pre-processed tuna... whatever" the solicitors come down like a ton of bricks. But in the very early 1930's, after advertising as "The Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles", the company received a cease/desist letter from Rolls-Royce. Brough wrote Henry Royce at his West Wittering design studio and asked if he would come to the factory and see how they made motorcycles. Henry Royce agreed and after touring the plant, meeting the Broughs (father and son), he returned to Rolls-Royce and gave the edict that "this company may use our name and can call themselves the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles." The only company before or since that earned that privilege.”
The use of the “Rolls-Royce of Motor Cycles” slogan always included the phrase “vide “The Motor Cycle.”, which was the magazine which had printed the phrase and comparison. Mr. Brough was therefore off the hook, in the legal sense.

“rasher of sausages,”
Rasher refers to a slice of bacon, sausages in England at the time were sold in links.

“I also read somewhere that on the day Mr. Royce toured their plant, "just by accident," that the Broughs were giving final assembly to their display bikes for an upcoming London Motorcycle Show or some such, and were observed by him to be assembling the bikes in the final assembly area wearing white gloves, which undoubtedly impressed Mr. Royce!”
This was an anecdote by George Brough to interviewer Tich Allen. Ike Webb, the Brough factory manager for 25 years, did not disparage his boss but stated, “We never had any white gloves.”

“So... Lawrence of Arabia is the reason we gotta wear skid lids....”
See above, the connection of Lawrence through Sir Hugh Cairns does not seem to exist.

“All this time, circa 1920 until he died, the Broughs kept him in new bikes every couple of years, gratis, in thanks for his service to the nation, one might think.”
Not true, Lawrence’s first Brough was second hand, bought from another RAF airman. He bought all the rest, always through retail agents. There was an attempt by Charlotte Shaw, wife of George Bernard Shaw to buy one as a present for Lawrence but Lawrence insisted on paying for it at the dealer when he took delivery.

“There is a legend that I never confirmed that the recruiting officer who admitted Lawrence to the RAF was suspicious that he was making up his name and a false identity, but allowed him to join anyway. And that the recruiting officer was the guy who went on to create the "Biggles" pilot character. But I don't know if that is fact or more Lawrence Legend.”
The interviewing officer was FO W.E. Johns who did write 98 juvenile novels featuring an RAF polit named Biggles.

“I've done research and lectured at the Hunt House (the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation HQ in the UK) and Royce's interaction with Brough are documented by RR... though not at the detail of the white glove treatment. That's news to me. But the correspondence is at the HH.”
I would certainly like to see that correspondence, see above for the other side of it. By the way, during WW2, George Brough Limited, produced camshafts and crankshafts for the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and did engine overhauls on Merlin engines as well.

All the above is based on 45 years of association with Brough Superior motorcycles, the stories, the legends, - mostly the motorcycles.

Al Johnson

[sirhrmechanic]

AFJ:

Thanks for the excellent follow-up.

PM inbound. I'll work on getting some copies of the correspondence at HH for you. Again, thank for outstanding input.

Cheers, Sirhr

[c.o.]

Yes, thanks for running us all through this Al.

[Chris Haynes]

Back is the '80's I met a guy who claimed to own the bike that Lawrence was killed on.

[AFJ]

Back is the '80's I met a guy who claimed to own the bike that Lawrence was killed on.

And his name was?