Recently I visited Clouds Hill, near Wareham, in Dorset. I managed to book a tour of the cottage and grounds, which once belonged to T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). It is now owned by the National Trust, and I'm an old life member.
I enjoyed the tour immensely. The guides were friendly, helpful and well informed. Most were charming. They were patient and answered my many questions.
At the beginning and at the end of my time at Clouds Hill, I discussed the possibility and the probability of the assassination of Lawrence by Government agents. He died, in my opinion, under very suspicious circumstances.
This opinion or view is definitely not shared by some NT guides.
What intrigues me is the manner and circumstances of LoA's death. On that day there was rain so Lawrence would have taken precautions when riding his motorbike. He died right by his cottage, and two boys were there by the road. LoA was an excellent rider and knew every bit of the road. As he was just outside his place he would not have been travelling at a great speed. Taking all the factors into account he would have been going slowly and carefully.
So how did an expert motorcyclist, who owned a specially modified bike and other bikes, come to drive it so badly to his death? Did he really swerve and sustain fatal injuries at a slow speed?
My late uncle, who was in the Palestine police and beforehand an army officer, believed that he was assassinated. He was certain of it!
Why? Who would benefit?
I believe that there were political and moral reasons for wanting Lawrence eliminated with extreme prejudice.
Today many find it hard to understand the antipathy and hatred of homosexuality that existed in British society. There was a much stronger belief in Judeo-Christian sexual ethics. Homosexuality was considered to be a perversion, a sign of serious spiritual declension and decadence. It is now common knowledge that Lawrence and some of his close friends were practising homosexuals, at the time when it was against the law. The police and prison authorities treated them with contempt, hostility and brutality, as filthy perverts who even deserved hell and the wrath of God. There is plenty of evidence to support this attitude and these actions. Homosexuals were not only subject to physical and verbal abuse, but they were blackmailed, and forced to be "closeted" and discrete in their relationships.
While homosexuality was known in British Public Schools and in university halls of residence, there were men who had had bad experiences, with feelings of remorse and guilt, who became vehemently against any homosexual practices. There are many examples in history of homosexuals being attacked and murdered on account of their sexual proclivities. Was Lawrence one of them?
