Sands from the desert have been scattered over the Purbeck grave of Lawrence of Arabia, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of his death at Clouds Hill near Bovington in Dorset.
More than a hundred members of the national TE Lawrence Society gathered at his graveside on Monday 19th May 2025 in Moreton near to Clouds Hill, including four Special Forces veterans who completed a 700 mile camel trek across the Nefud Desert in his footsteps.
Floral tributes were laid at the grave in Moreton, alongside a Brough motorcycle likely owned by TE Lawrence
Brough motorcycle brought to graveside
A Brough motorcycle was also brought to the graveside, believed to have been owned by TE Lawrence and almost identical to the one he was riding near his home at Clouds Hill in May 1935 when he crashed at speed and died six days later from head injuries.
It is believed that he had been riding his motorcycle at high speeds on a wet Sunday morning when he swerved to avoid two boys on cycles – his Brough Superior was capable of 100 miles an hour and, like most riders at the time, he didn’t wear a crash helmet.
Former Marine Howard Leedham recruited James Calder, Craig Ross and Martin Thompson to follow in the tracks of World War One war hero Lawrence of Arabia, spending 25 days on camelback crossing the Nafud desert in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in January 2025.
They collected samples of desert from Fajer, Al Jawari, Bayir and Aqaba, notable spots on Lawrence’s 1917 journey in which he led the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany in the war.
It was a journey immortalised by Peter O’Toole in the epic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia and in Thomas Edward Lawrence’s autobiographical account, Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
Expedition leader Howard Leedham retraced the journey Lawrence of Arabia took in 1917, collecting desert sand along the way
Howard and his crew sprinkled sand from five locations on TE Lawrence’s grave
“A hazardous journey with no wages”
Howard Leedham, leader of the expedition which raised funds for Special Forces veterans, said:
“I put an advertisement out to members of the Special Forces Club, asking for volunteers for a hazardous journey, with no wages, baking hot and bitterly cold temperatures, with injuries and ailments likely and safe return not guaranteed.
“Strangely enough, I had more than 40 replies and I chose three to come with me, British and one American ex Special Forces soldiers, who were all novices at riding camels and who had to learn the ropes in 10 days of intensive training.
“We completed the journey Lawrence took from Al Wajh in Saudi Arabia to Aqaba in Jordan in 1917 to capture a vital port on the Red Sea, helping the Allies defeat the Turkish Ottoman forces in eastern Europe.”
Samples of sand from five different locations in Saudi Arabia and Jordan were brought to the final resting place of TE Lawrence
Rebecca Redding was the only female driver on the trek’s support team
“We have brought the desert to you”
Howard added:
“We were the first since Lawrence himself to complete the journey on camelback, and along the route we picked up five pots of sand from places that Lawrence had documented in Seven Pillars of Wisdom and places we knew he had been.
“We had decided that we would complete our journey at Lawrence’s grave and scatter the sand to reunite him with the desert.
“The Lawrence Society very kindly invited us down to that and we are very happy and honoured to be here.
“Lawrence, you couldn’t go back to the desert, so we have brought the desert to you because for you, there is only the desert.”
The four riders who completed the 1,100 kilometre desert trek reunited at the grave of TE Lawrence
The Purbeck owner of a Brough motorcycle likely owned by Lawrence of Arabia was happy to let people try it for size
“A fitting tribute to TE Lawrence”
The owner of the historic Brough Superior SS100 motorcycle which was ridden from its home in Purbeck to Lawrence of Arabia’s grave said:
“There is encouraging circumstantial evidence that the bike was owned by TE Lawrence – it was bought from a dealer in Croydon who had provided previous Broughs for him, and was registered in the City of Westminster where he was spending a lot of time.
“He wrote about writing a cheque for a new Brough around the date this bike was sold on 1st April 1925 and the cheque was the right amount of money for the optional extras that were added on to that Brough.
“Finally, in the petrol tank there is an unusual cutout which allows the saddle to be set lower – that is pretty much unique in Brough terms and you can imagine it being a bespoke requirement of Lawrence who was a little short in the leg.
“I knew the previous owner since 2008 and when he sadly passed away six years ago I bought it from his widow. It is a fitting tribute to bring it back to Lawrence’s final resting place on the 90th anniversary of his death.”
The 1920s Brough Superior SS100 was ridden into Moreton graveyard by its latest owner
TE Lawrence Society member Rachel was one of those who were delighted to try out the motorcycle
“A wonderful experience”
Rachel was one of several members of the TE Lawrence Society at the commemorative event who achieved her ambition of sitting on the Brough Superior and said:
“I have been interested in Lawrence for an extremely long time – I was read the Seven Pillars of Wisdom when I was young and carried that with me all my life.
“I decided when I got older that I wanted to learn more about TE Lawrence, joined the society and here I am. It has been a wonderful experience to meet so many like minded people.
“I have been to his grave many times before, but this is the first time I have come here for a significant anniversary.”
Kevin Winter, national chairman of the TE Lawrence Society, paid tribute to the great man
“So many facets of his life”
Kevin Winter, national chairman of the TE Lawrence Society, added:
“On the way here today, I was wondering what Lawrence would have made of this gathering – I think he would probably have been appalled and wonder what all the fuss was about.
“There are so many facets of his life which draw us to him – the Special Forces club with their trek in his footsteps, and those of us who have an interest in TE Lawrence through Broughs, his literary work, his work in archaeology or his wartime exploits.
“That is shown by this gathering here today. It’s normally a small gathering organised by the Dorset group to remember TE and lay some flowers on the grave, but I am delighted to see so many people here who are moved by his exploits so long after his death.”
Members of the TE Lawrence Society at the 90th anniversary commemoration of his death
Mourners included Winston Churchill
Following TE Lawrence’s death at Bovington Camp, a funeral was held at St Nicholas’s Church, Moreton, on the afternoon of Tuesday 21st May 1935, attended by 170 people – the utmost capacity of the tiny building.
The public were asked not to attend, and the official mourners included future Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Britain’s first woman MP Lady Nancy Astor, while King George V sent a telegram of condolence to the family.
The body of TE Lawrence was taken in a plain coffin wrapped in a Union Flag from the little mortuary chapel for burial in the village cemetery of Moreton. The funeral service was simple and brief, beginning with the 121st Psalm, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto The Hills.
There were no flowers on the coffin and no inscription, the family declined a guard of honour along the funeral route and the mourners, of all ranks, were asked to wear plain clothes.
St Nicholas’s Church, Moreton, where the funeral service for TE Lawrence was held in 1935
Watch Pathe News video of the funeral
Further information
- More about the TE Lawrence Society
