"LITTLE LAWRENCE."

Taranaki Daily News, 13 January 1919, Page 5

"LITTLE LAWRENCE."

''ln connection with General AllenGy'e triumph'"' wrote M. Marcel Hutin recently, "the name of Colunel T. K. Law - rence will become legendary." And he went on to relate how this youthful British officer had been the medium of getting the Desert Arabs to help in no small measure towards the undoing of the Turk. Colonel Lawrence, it further appears, "carried his life in ins hands during his exploits.'' The Turks put a high price on liis HeadBefore the war (writes "One Who Kiion's Him" in the Daily Mail) Lawrence was up at the 'varsity and studying archaeology on the spot in Palestine, one of his sworn companions in his quest for knowledge being o youiij Cerman ■•■.•ho carried on precisely similiw work' for the enemy to that wl'lc.i Lawrence was engaged in The work broadly consisted in making life quite unbearable far the Turk along a goodlv stretch of the east Aleppo-Med-ina railway-

Lawrenw, ai the head ot Hi 3 Bedou ins, cut this line and blew it up, and all, repeatedly during import:.:-.: phases of tho campaign. A perfect Arabic scholar, he used to make himself up s<a a ißedouin, complete to the tanned skin, and trot on' into the desert on liia camel. And what this daredevil young Englishman then proceeded to accomplish at the lipad of his faithful followers almost surpasses human belief. Once he descend-, ed on the railway near Maan, blew up the line for half a mile, also two ammunition trains, killed 00 Turks, and took 200 prisoners, including (staff officers, coming up on leavo from Medina. For the above exploit ho was given the C.&, twang actually put up for the V.C., but missing the supreme honor as there was no white witness of what he had. done. Later aeroplanes were of great assistance to "Little Lawrence" in his "stunts," and it may safely ba said that he did more to win over and keep the support of the Arabs of the Hedjaz and neighboring tribes than any other single man. Cm his treks into the wild, "Little Lawrence" lived absolutely the lite of the Bedouin. He hates donning 'khaki, and last year had not even taken the trouble to buy his ribbons or major's crown. He was then slightly wonuded in tie hand, and had jnst come out of a conference where he bad been telling the big-wigs exactly all about things Time waa when "Little Lawrence" was mot granted such carte bbuoche at the conference taHe—when the spectacle of a temporary junior officer laying down the law to senior offidera who had dabbled all their lives in the work on j hand made certain people hold <up their I hands i». harm. But thoso-d&ya are I OWE.'