Born Thomas Edward Lawrence in Tremadoc, North Wales, he was the second of five boys.

The family settled in Oxford in 1896 and Lawrence later won a scholarship to Jesus College to study Modern History.

When war broke out with Germany in 1914, he spent a brief period in the Geographical Section of the General Staff in London, and was then posted to the Military Intelligence Department in Cairo.

He made his mark in the Middle East when he was appointed the British liaison officer to the Arabs in their revolt against Turkey.

The so-called uncrowned king of Arabia spearheaded one of the First World War's most daring and subversive military attacks, bringing to an end 500 years of Ottoman domination of the Arabs.

His career in the armed forces was portrayed - and many say idealised - on screen in the epic film Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole.

A strong supporter of the establishment of an Arab state, he became depressed when his efforts were unrealised and withdrew from all Arab related matters.

In 1922 Lawrence reached breaking point and decided to enlist in the RAF under a false name, John Hume-Ross.

Later that year he was found by the Daily Express and the publicity forced him to leave.

As Private Shaw he then joined the army at Bovington, where he discovered what would become his home and haven - the tiny Clouds Hill near Wareham.

He was later transferred back to the RAF.

The earliest reference to T E Lawrence and Hampshire is from 1894 when the family lived at Langley Lodge in private woods at Colbury.

As Aircraftsman Shaw, he was at Calshot in 1929 for the Schneider Trophy race, as secretary clerk to the Officer Commanding.

In April 1931 he was assigned to the Scott-Paine yard at Hythe, where he carried out power boat trials for the RAF in the Solent.

During these years he stayed at Myrtle Cottage, Hythe and 119 Clarence Road, East Cowes.

In July 1933, he took lodgings at 13 Birmingham Street, Southampton, which was his base for the following 18 months.

He left the RAF in February 1935, but died just a few months later as he rode home from Bovington post office.

He swerved his motorbike to avoid two boys on bicycles and was thrown. He died six days later.

Name: T.E. Lawrence OCCUPATION: Soldier and author Date of Birth: August 16, 1888 Died: May 19, 1935 Local Link: Lived in Hampshire in the 1930s