Boats for the R.A.F. 1931-1935

The book we are currently working on is a collection of Lawrence’s reports and letters titled Boats for the RAF 1931-1935, to be published in 2011.

Lawrence worked on high-speed launches and other types of boat used by the Air Force from February 1931 until February 1935, when his term of RAF enlistment ended.

Many people find this the most difficult period of his career to comprehend. At the time, some of his ‘intellectual’ friends were disconcerted by his commitment to what they saw as the work of a low-grade mechanic. Some biographers have described it in terms of nihilism, a period in which Lawrence deliberately buried his talents, turning away from his previous life.

Certainly, he read fewer books and wrote shorter, less cerebral letters. After finishing his translation of the Odyssey in 1931 his literary output ceased. Former friends such as Robert Graves regretted the company he kept and lamented the loss of his polished Oxford accent.

By contrast, I think that these last years of Lawrence’s RAF service were highly positive and constructive. His role testing and helping to improve boats was creative and worthwhile. He brought to it practical abilities that had been evident throughout his life. He also had the skill to write persuasive reports, while his friendships with key figures in the Air Force and in Government enabled him to bypass obstacles in the military hierarchy in order to get things done. Lawrence approached the work with dedication and enthusiasm, knowing that he was making an important contribution.

I hope that some of this is apparent from the section ‘Later Writings About Service Life’ that we added to our edition of the 1928 text of The Mint. In this new volume we are gathering together a much fuller collection of Lawrence’s writings about RAF boats. These not only tell us in some detail what he was working on during those years, but also display his skill communicating technical matters to a wide range of readers.

I think that making these writings more easily available is an important step towards biographical balance. If future biographers and others who are seriously interested in Lawrence read them, they will at any rate not underrate or misconstrue this period of Lawrence’s life. Those who, like me, are interested in boats and mechanical topics will find that they tell an absorbing story.

The edition will be of 227 copies printed in the same large format as Military Report on the Sinai Peninsula and Towards ‘An English Fourth’.

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