Editing T. E. Lawrence (section)

==Post-war years==
Lawrence returned to the United Kingdom a full colonel.{{sfn|Asher|1998|p=343}} Immediately after the war, he worked for the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|Foreign Office]], attending the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] between January and May as a member of Faisal's delegation. On 17 May 1919, a [[Handley Page Type O/400]] taking Lawrence to Egypt crashed at the airport of [[Centocelle Airport|Roma-Centocelle]]. The pilot and co-pilot were killed; Lawrence survived with a broken shoulder blade and two broken ribs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protestantcemetery.it/press/webnewsletter-eng/no5-2008.pdf|title=Newsletter: Friends of the Protestant Cemetery|publisher=Friends of the Protestant Cemetery|location=Rome|year=2008|website=protestantcemetery.it|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/66WbaWVSO?url=http://www.protestantcemetery.it/press/webnewsletter-eng/no5-2008.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> During his brief hospitalisation, he was visited by King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]].<ref>RID Marzo 2012, ''Storia dell'Handley'' Page type 0</ref>

[[File:Lawrence of Arabia's map, presented to the Eastern Committee of the War Cabinet in November 1918.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map presented by Lawrence to the [[Eastern Committee]] of the War Cabinet in November 1918<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4332702.stm|title=UK – Lawrence's Mid-East map on show|date=11 October 2005}}</ref>]]

In 1918, [[Lowell Thomas]] went to Jerusalem where he met Lawrence, "whose enigmatic figure in Arab uniform fired his imagination", in the words of author Rex Hall.<ref name="Hall, Rex 1975 120–121">{{cite book| author = Hall, Rex | date=1975| title= The Desert Hath Pearls| location=Melbourne| publisher= Hawthorn Press| pages= 120–121}}</ref> Thomas and his cameraman Harry Chase shot a great deal of film and many photographs involving Lawrence. Thomas produced a stage presentation entitled ''With Allenby in Palestine'' which included a lecture, dancing, and music{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=86}} and depicted the Middle East as exotic, mysterious, sensuous, and violent.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=86}}
The show premiered in New York in March 1919.{{sfn|Aldington|1955|p=283}} He was invited to take his show to England, and he agreed to do so provided that he was personally invited by the King and provided the use of either [[Drury Lane]] or [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]].{{sfn|Mack|1976|p=274}} He opened at Covent Garden on 14 August 1919 and continued for hundreds of lectures, "attended by the highest in the land".<ref name="Hall, Rex 1975 120–121"/>{{sfn|Aldington|1955|p=284}}

Initially, Lawrence played only a supporting role in the show, as the main focus was on Allenby's campaigns; but then Thomas realised that it was the photos of Lawrence dressed as a Bedouin which had captured the public's imagination, so he had Lawrence photographed again in London in Arab dress.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=86}} With the new photos, Thomas re-launched his show under the new title ''With Allenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia'' in early 1920, which proved to be extremely popular.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=86}} The new title elevated Lawrence from a supporting role to a co-star of the Near Eastern campaign and reflected a changed emphasis. Thomas' shows made the previously obscure Lawrence into a household name.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=86}} Lawrence worked with Thomas on the creation of the presentation, answering many questions and posing for many photographs.{{sfn|Aldington|1955|p=108}} After its success, however, he expressed regret about having been featured in it.{{sfn|Aldington|1955|pp=293, 295}}

[[File:FeisalPartyAtVersaillesCopy.jpg|left|thumb|Emir [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal's]] party at [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]], during the [[Paris Peace Conference of 1919]]; left to right: [[Rustum Haidar]], [[Nuri al-Said]], [[Faisal I of Iraq|Prince Faisal]] (front), [[Rosario Pisani|Captain Pisani (rear)]], Lawrence, Faisal's servant (name unknown), Captain Hassan Khadri]]
Lawrence served as an advisor to [[Winston Churchill]] at the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Office]] for just over a year starting in February 1920.{{sfn|Korda|2010|pp=513, 515}} He hated bureaucratic work, writing on 21 May 1921 to [[Robert Graves]]: "I wish I hadn't gone out there: the Arabs are like a page I have turned over; and sequels are rotten things. I'm locked up here: office every day and much of it".<ref>[[Klieman, Aaron]] "Lawrence as a Bureaucrat" pages 243–268 from ''The T. E. Lawrence Puzzle'' edited by Stephen Tabachnick, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1984 page 253.</ref> He travelled to the Middle East on multiple occasions during this period, at one time holding the title of "chief political officer for [[Emirate of Transjordan|Trans-Jordania]]".{{sfn|Korda|2010|p=519}} He campaigned for his and Churchill's vision of the Middle East, publishing pieces in multiple newspapers, including ''[[The Times]]'', ''[[The Observer]]'', ''[[Daily Mail|The Daily Mail]]'', and ''[[Daily Express|The Daily Express]]''.{{sfn|Korda|2010|p=505}}

Lawrence had a sinister reputation in France during his lifetime and even today as an implacable "enemy of France", the man who was constantly stirring up the Syrians to rebel against [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French rule]] throughout the 1920s.<ref>Larès, Maurice "T. E. Lawrence and France: Friends or Foes?" pages 220–242 from ''The T. E. Lawrence Puzzle'' edited by Stephen Tabachnick, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1984 page 224 & 236–237.</ref> However, French historian Maurice Larès wrote that the real reason for France's problems in Syria was that the Syrians did not want to be ruled by France, and the French needed a scapegoat to blame for their difficulties in ruling the country.<ref name="Larès pages 220">Larès, Maurice "T. E. Lawrence and France: Friends or Foes?" pages 220–242 from ''The T. E. Lawrence Puzzle'' edited by Stephen Tabachnick, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1984 page 236.</ref> Larès wrote that Lawrence is usually pictured in France as a Francophobe, but he was really a Francophile.<ref name="Larès pages 220"/>

[[File:Samuelarrival.jpg|thumb|upright|Lawrence, [[Emir Abdullah]], Air Marshal Sir [[Geoffrey Salmond]], Sir [[Wyndham Deedes]], and others in Jerusalem]]
Having seen and admired the effective use of air power during the war,<ref name=rsd>{{Cite journal|last=Dudney|first=Robert S.|date=April 2012|title=Lawrence of Airpower|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2012/April%202012/0412lawrence.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2012/April%202012/0412lawrence.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live|journal=[[Air Force Magazine]]|pages=66–70}}</ref> Lawrence enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman, under the name ''John Hume Ross'' in August 1922.{{sfn|Mack|1976|p=332}} At the RAF recruiting centre in Covent Garden, London, he was interviewed by recruiting officer Flying Officer [[W. E. Johns]], later known as the author of the [[Biggles]] series of novels.<ref>Biography of Johns, ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''</ref> Johns rejected Lawrence's application, as he suspected that "Ross" was a false name. Lawrence admitted that this was so and that he had provided false documents. He left, but returned some time later with an RAF messenger who carried a written order that Johns must accept Lawrence.{{sfn|Orlans|2002|p=55}}

However, Lawrence was forced out of the RAF in February 1923 after his identity was exposed. He changed his name to ''T. E. Shaw'' (apparently as a consequence of his friendship with [[George Bernard Shaw]] and Charlotte Shaw{{sfn|Korda|2010|p=577}}) and joined the [[Royal Tank Corps]] later that year.{{sfn|Wilson|1989|p=710}} He was unhappy there and repeatedly petitioned to rejoin the RAF, which finally readmitted him in August 1925.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=8998 |title=T. E. Lawrence |date=23 October 2007 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104195535/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=8998 |archive-date=4 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A fresh burst of publicity after the publication of ''[[Revolt in the Desert]]'' resulted in his assignment to bases at [[Karachi]] and [[Miramshah]] in [[British Raj|British India]] (now Pakistan) in late 1926,<ref name="SydneySmith">{{cite book |last1=Sydney Smith |first1=Clare |title=The Golden Reign – The story of my friendship with Lawrence of Arabia |date=1940 |publisher=Cassell & Company |location=London |page=16}}</ref>{{sfn|Korda|2010|pp=620, 631}} where he remained until the end of 1928. At that time, he was forced to return to Britain after rumours began to circulate that he was involved in espionage activities.<ref>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|date=27 September 1928|page=1|title=Report Lawrence now a Muslim Saint, Spying on the Bolshevist Agents in India}}</ref>

He purchased several small plots of land in [[Chingford]], built a hut and swimming pool there, and visited frequently. The hut was removed in 1930 when Chingford Urban District Council acquired the land; it was given to the [[City of London Corporation]] which re-erected it in the grounds of The Warren, [[Loughton]]. Lawrence's tenure of the Chingford land has now been commemorated by a plaque fixed on the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich]] sighting obelisk on [[Pole Hill]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://telsociety.org.uk/places-to-visit/pole-hill/|title=Pole Hill|publisher=T. E. Lawrence Society|access-date=19 January 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Lawrence of Arabia Brough Superior gif.gif|thumb|left|Lawrence on the [[Brough Superior SS100]] that he called "George V"]]

Lawrence continued serving at several RAF bases, notably at [[RAF Mount Batten]] near Plymouth, [[RAF Calshot]] near Southampton,{{sfn|Wilson|1989|pp=850–851}} and [[RAF Bridlington]] in the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]].{{sfn|Mack|1976|pp=400–405}} In the inter-war period, the RAF's [[Royal Air Force Marine Branch|Marine Craft Section]] began to commission air-sea rescue launches capable of higher speeds and greater capacity. The arrival of high-speed craft into the MCS was driven in part by Lawrence. He had previously witnessed a seaplane crew drowning when the [[seaplane tender]] sent to their rescue was too slow in arriving. He worked with [[Hubert Scott-Paine]], the founder of the [[British Power Boat Company]] (BPBC), to introduce the {{convert|37.5|ft|m|1|abbr=out|adj=on}} long ST 200 Seaplane Tender Mk1 into service. These boats had a range of {{Convert|140|mi|km|abbr=out}} when cruising at 24 knots and could achieve a top speed of 29 knots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telawrencestudies.org/telawrencestudies/service_years/high-speed_craft.htm |title=Notes on the introduction to the RAF of high-speed craft |publisher=T. E. Lawrence Studies |access-date=11 April 2011 |last=Beauforte-Greenwood |first=W. E. G |archive-date=27 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527002054/http://telawrencestudies.org/telawrencestudies/service_years/high-speed_craft.htm |url-status=usurped}}</ref>{{sfn|Korda|2010|p=642}}

He professed happiness, and he left the service with considerable regret at the end of his enlistment in March 1935.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/19/day-1935-death-lawrence-arabia/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/19/day-1935-death-lawrence-arabia/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=On this day in 1935: The death of Lawrence of Arabia|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=19 May 2017|access-date=19 January 2020|last1=Selwood|first1=Dominic}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In a tribute to Lawrence in 1936 Churchill wrote:
{{blockquote|He saw as clearly as anyone the vision of airpower and all that it would mean in traffic and war. ... He felt that in living the life of a private in the Royal Air Force he would dignify that honorable calling and help to attract all that is keenest in our youthful manhood to the sphere where it is most urgently needed. For this service and example, ... we owe him a separate debt. It was in itself a princely gift.<ref name=rsd/>}}