LAWRENCE IN DISGUISE
Few know it, but RAF Uxbridge’s rifle range stands in silent ceremony to the legacy of Lawrence of Arabia. Paul Kendall discovers why
TE Lawrence is one of the best-known personalities of the 20th century. He was a scholar, archaeologist, spy, British Army officer, intelligence officer, guerrilla fighter, diplomat and author. However, despite having a promising career in either the military or in politics, Lawrence sought a life of obscurity.
Indeed, when he later served among the ranks of the RAF, he did so under a pseudonym. Struggling to cope with his wartime experiences and in an attempt to evade the fame and notoriety generated by his legendary exploits in the Middle East (publicised by American journalist, Lowell Thomas) the former lieutenant-colonel served as an aircraftman under the alias John Hume Ross in his first period of RAF service between August 1922 to January 1923.
