All men dream…

I seem to be on a bit of a theme of digging up old rubbish… sorry about that, but this one appeared in my inbox, and I thought I had better share it with you all (well, the both of you that read this nonsense…) 

A rusty pocket knife that ones belonged to T E Lawrence, AKA ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ is going up for sale at auction later this month. The current owner apparently bought the knife in the 1990s from the son of the local man who found it 40 years ago, in the hedge at Lawrence’s bizarre home at Cloud’s Hill near Bovington. The house itself is well worth a look if you are ever passing that way (its on the way to Monkey World!) as it features many of his possessions from the period when he was living as a recluse under a different name and enrolled in the RAF. The National Trust wonderfully describes how “the austere rooms are much as he left them and reflect his complex personality.”

The Victorian-era knife was made by Royal cutlers Underwood and Farrant, and features his initials burnt into the wooden handle. Astonishingly it is valued at only £300, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it will sell for a lot more than that! Especially after the Daily Mail got wind of the story. Shame really, it should be with his rifle and Brough Superior in the Imperial War Museum.

(PS, if you don’t know the quote that starts ‘All men dream…’ look it up. Do it right now. I might then just about forgive you for not having read the Seven Pillars.)