ouphrontis:“It was, I felt sure, his knowledge [of the Arabs] and his great success [in Arabia] that

ouphrontis:“It was, I felt sure, his knowledge [of the Arabs] and his great success [in Arabia] that gave him the power to write his book…He applied for a sleeping out pass and got it, so he set to work, writing, and writing, and when he wasn’t doing that he had his gramophone playing all the classical records he could buy . To him, a day in camp in the Q.M. stores was a long day. When he had been writing the manuscript of his book, which he often passed to me to read, he would come on duty very agitated and it would be hours before he was himself again. He would sit in his corner of the stores, speaking to no one and continue to write. It would take a long time to clear up his mess when he had gone. I had been with him on Parade and at no time could he stand still, all the time he was very agitated: it put everyone who was near him into a flat spin, but… he never got put on a charge.” - Leslie Gates speaking about T.E. Lawrence, who worked on his subscriber’s edition of Seven Pillars during his days working in the Quartermaster’s stores, while serving in the Tank Corps. Because T.E. was continually re-writing his book and re-living his war-time memories, it caused much mental strain and probably exacerbated his PTSD. Gates and T.E would become close friends. “We would often walk and talk. In Neddy I found a good pal and I spent all my spare time with him, forever talking.”Photo taken from here. -- source link

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