T.E. Lawrence also known as 352087 A/c2 John Hume Ross (RAF) or 7875698 Trooper T.E. Shaw (Tank Corps) and 338171 A/c Shaw (RAF) was born in a house called Gorphwyspha, Gwynedd, North Wales and was the son of Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman. Clouds Hill is an isolated cottage near Bovington in Dorset and was the former home of T. E. Lawrence Lawrence of Arabia and is now a museum run by the National Trust.

He first rented the cottage in 1923 when he was stationed with the Tank Corps at Bovington Camp and he bought the cottage in 1925. He wrote "Nothing in Clouds Hill is to be a care upon the world. While I have it there shall be nothing exquisite or  unique in it. Nothing to anchor me."

T.E. Lawrence, used the name 'Aircraftsman Shaw' Lawrence used the pseudonym Shaw to avoid publicity after his return from North Africa, where he was better known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'. He did not sleep at the cottage but spent evenings away from the camp reading, writing and listening to Beethoven and Mozart on his gramophone.Friends invited to the cottage were served picnic meals washed down with water or china tea but never alcohol.At Clouds Hill Lawrence found the peace and quiet he needed to work on 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' which was published in 1926.

Photographs taken for The Dorset Guide and are not to be used within any publications without permission
Oblisk Entrance to  St Nicholas Church Graveyard in  Moreton Dorset | T.E. Lawrence's Grave | Graveyard with T.E. Lawrence Grave at the end of the path

The tiny rooms of Clouds Hill are as Lawrence left them with simple and austere furnishings, some of which he made himself. The cottage reflects his complex personality and monastic way of life. The crowded book room is lined with shelves from floor to ceiling.  Under the roof is the music room, which contains Lawrences's wind-up gramophone with its huge horn curling over a leather sofa. His 78 r.p.m.records are still there, as are photographs relating to his Arabian campaign.

In 1935, after spending many years in the Air Force away from the cottage, Lawrence was discharged at the age of 46 and returned to Clouds Hill to live out his days. Five days later he was killed in a crash on his motor cycle when returning to Clouds Hill from Bovington Camp. Lawrence crashed his Brough Superior motor bike on the 13th May and died just after 8pm on the 19th May. Although he lived another 6 days, I don't believe he was conscious at any time and according to doctors at the time; even if he had lived; he would have been most severely disabled both physically and mentally, as he suffered very serious head and chest injuries.

His grave is at the small church in Moreton and an impressive life-sized effigy lays at St Martin's in Wareham. His cousins, the Frampton family, owned Moreton Estate and he was a frequent visitor to Okers Wood House in the north of the estate where Louisa Frampton lived, close to Clouds Hill. He corresponded with her for many years and copies of some of their letters are on display in Moreton Tea Rooms.

Grave Yard: St Nicholas Church,  MORETON,  Dorset, England, UK Ordnance Survey Map Grid reference SY 82409 90894

Headstone Inscription on Lawrence's Grave, the biblical quote was chosen by Lawrence's mother;  To the dear memory of T.E.LAWRENCE Fellow of All Souls College Oxford Born: 16 August 1888 Died: 19 May 1935 "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the SON OF GOD and they that hear shall live"

His effigy can be seen at St. Martin's Church - North Street, Wareham, Dorset Ordnance Survey Map Grid reference SY 92274 87688

"I deem him one of the greatest beings alive in our time.  I do not see his like elsewhere.  I fear whatever our need we shall never see his like again.  King George V wrote to his brother, "His name will live in history".  That is true.  It will live in English letters; It will live in the annuls of war; it will live in the traditions of the Royal Air Force' and in the legends of Arabia" - quoted by another of the greatest beings alive in our time Sir Winston Spencer Churchill.

Clouds Hill
Wareham, Dorset BH20 7NQ
Telephone: 01929 405616
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it