Thomas Edward Lawrence

CHARACTER
Thomas Edward Lawrence
Gender	Male
Birth	August 16, 1888 Tremadog, Carnarvonshire, Wales
Death	May 19, 1935 Bovington Camp, Dorset, England
Nationality	British
Profession(s)	Military Officer (highest rank: Colonel) Archaeologist
Allegiance(s)	Indiana Jones United Kingdom

"'Don't forget me', he cried, as if I ever would. The man was a hero even then."

―Indiana Jones on Lawrence in 1908

Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, best known as T. E. Lawrence, was a British soldier and liaison during the Arab Revolt. He was known as Ned to his friends and family, and grew in celebrity as "Lawrence of Arabia" during World War I.

Biography

T.E. Lawrence attended Oxford University (Jesus College), where he was an acquaintance of Miss Helen Seymour.

Lawrence in 1908.

In 1908, Lawrence was bicycling around Egypt, when he came upon Miss Seymour and Henry Jones, Jr., who had been abandoned at the Great Pyramids by their guide. Upon meeting Jones, he recognized his name, and revealed that he was a fan of his father's books. Lawrence asked to be called Ned, and the two became friends. That night, Lawrence discussed world religions with Jones and told him ghost stories of mummies awakening in the pyramids.

The next day, Lawrence arranged for Indy and Miss Seymour to go to an archaeological dig, led by Howard Carter. On the trip up the Nile River to the dig site, Ned impressed upon Indy the importance of learning local languages when traveling. At the dig site, Lawrence introduced Indy and Miss Seymour to Howard Carter, and enlisted Indy's help in uncovering Demetrios as the murderer of Rasheed Sallam for the Jackal Headpiece. Although Lawrence was able to track down Demetrios before he got away, he still got away with the Jackal as he'd hidden it before the two briefly fought each in the desert. Later in life, Indy told it differently, believing that Lawrence missed Demetrios' ship by five minutes.

As Indy grew older, he kept in contact with Lawrence, exchanging letters while Indy was serving in the Great War. Indy kept a photograph of Ned and his bicycle from the 1908 meeting in his diary. In October 1917, when the British and Australian forces were unable to take Ottoman-held Gaza, Major Lawrence recommended Jones, then serving in French intelligence, as a suitable agent fluent in Arabic and Turkish for a British spy mission. Lawrence and Jones were re-united at the British camp in Palestine for a few days before Jones left on his mission to Beersheba, and Lawrence returned to Arabia.

Lawrence and Faisal.

In May 1919, the friends crossed paths again in France during the Paris Peace Conference attempting to persuade the British and French forces to keep their promises to Prince Faisal. He also served as his translator.

Lawrence died in a motorcycle accident in 1935.

Legacy

A movie was later made about his life, and Indiana Jones would remember Lawrence with fondness throughout the rest of his years.

Behind the scenes

Two different actors portrayed Lawrence in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles; the late Joseph Bennett played Lawrence in Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal (now part of My First Adventure), and Douglas Henshall played Lawrence in "Paris, May 1919" (now part of Winds of Change) and "Palestine, October 1917" (now expanded into Daredevils of the Desert).

The movie about the soldier's life described in the Egypt, May 1908 comic, was released in 1962, titled Lawrence of Arabia. It was directed by David Lean and starred Peter O'Toole as Ned.

In Curse of the Jackal, Lawrence alludes to the fact that he likes to make up stories. In real life, it is thought by some that Lawrence exaggerated some of the stories in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Many of Lawrence's exploits were covered by journalist Lowell Thomas, whom Indy meets in Tales of Innocence. Upon hearing that Indy was a friend of Lawrence, Thomas shows keen interest in knowing more about him.

Appearances

• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal" (First appearance) → My First Adventure
• Egypt, May 1908
• The Mummy's Curse
• Young Indiana Jones in the Curse of Kha
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "London, May 1916" → Love's Sweet Song (Mentioned only)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Verdun, September 1916" → Demons of Deception (Mentioned only)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "German East Africa, December 1916" → Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life (Mentioned only)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Congo, January 1917" → Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life (Mentioned only)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen" → Attack of the Hawkmen (Mentioned only)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Palestine, October 1917" → Daredevils of the Desert
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Northern Italy, June 1918" → Tales of Innocence (Mentioned only)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Paris, May 1919" → Winds of Change
• Indiana Jones and the Mystery of Mount Sinai (Mentioned only)

Sources

• So Then What Happened? (Non-fiction source)
• The World of Indiana Jones
•  Indiana Jones' Marshall College entry on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)
• Colonel Lawrence's War - T.E. Lawrence and Arabia (Non-fiction source)
• Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
• The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
• Indiana Jones: The Official Magazine 3

External links

• T. E. Lawrence on Wikipedia