T. E. Lawrence, ‘Boats for the R.A.F’
The subscription period is now open for Boats for the R.A.F. This is a fine-press edition, limited to 227 copies of which 195 are for sale.
Boats for the R.A.F. is one of two planned Castle Hill Press volumes that will bridge between our editions of Lawrence’s works and our T.E. Lawrence Letters series. It contains his notes on the 200 Class Seaplane Tender, as well as other reports that most people would classify as a ‘work’. These include the log he kept during the winter of 1934-5 describing the overhaul of RAF boats at Bridlington. The previously unpublished log, which runs to more than 70 manuscript pages, was the last substantial writing task he completed before his death in May 1935.
These writings are set in the context of letters to RAF personnel involved in work on marine craft. Together, they present a remarkable picture of his last years.
They also illustrate – more clearly than any of his other writings or letters -the strength of Lawrence’s practical gifts. What you read here tells you something important about the T.E. Lawrence who worked at Carchemish and fought in the Arab Revolt.
For me, this is one of the most significant volumes we have worked on. It tells a story that is important in Lawrence’s biography, but unavailable elsewhere in anything like this level of detail.
The subscription period ends on 4 March.
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