Veterans retrace Lawrence of Arabia's epic 700-mile trek across Middle East
It was a journey immortalised by Peter O'Toole in the epic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia – and now four military veterans have become the first people to recreate T E Lawrence's 700-mile (1,126km) trek across the sands of the Middle East.
Howard Leedham, James Calder, Craig Ross and Martin Thompson spent 25 days on camelback crossing the Nafud desert in Saudi Arabia to mark 90 years since Lawrence's death.
The four men, who served in the British special forces, endured 37C heat, sandstorms and sheer cliffs on the trek from Al Wajh in Saudi Arabia to the Aqaba in Jordan.
They collected sand from four significant areas on the journey to spread on Lawrence's grave in Moreton, Dorset.
Lawrence was a First World War hero who led the Arab Revolt against German-supporting Turkey. In 1916 he swept across the desert to Jordan and rewrote the map of the Middle East.
His remarkable feat was described in his autobiographical account Seven Pillars of Wisdom and the classic film Lawrence of Arabia.
The Lawrence Tribute Trek last month was the brainchild of former SBS marine Mr Leedham.
He put out a 'Shackleton-style' advert on social media for special forces veterans, asking for volunteers for the expedition.
He received 40 replies and picked Calder, Ross and Thompson, none of whom had ridden a camel before, to come with him.
After a 10-day camel-riding course, the team set out on Jan 14.
They completed about 30 miles a day on two single-humped camels each alongside a team of medics, cooks and a Bedouin, who looked after the camels.
They travelled for eight hours a day in intense heat, which dropped to below freezing at night.
Along the way, they took sand samples from Fajer, Al Jawari, Bayir and Aqaba – notable stops on Lawrence's journey.
The group were given police camels as a gift upon crossing the Jordanian border, which are much quicker.
On the penultimate day, the group, with 40 locals, re-enacted Lawrence's attack on an Ottoman train that was transporting friends and family who had travelled to celebrate the end of their journey. The staff on the train were aware of the attack, but the tourists were 'somewhat startled'.
Upon arrival in Aqaba on Feb 7, they were honoured by King Abdullah II of Jordan with ceremonial displays, traditional music and a grand parade.
So far the group has raised £430,000 for the Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund and hopes to reach its target of £500,000 before a ceremony at Lawrence's grave in May.
The group will meet members of the Lawrence Society to spread the sand on his grave on May 19 – 90 years after Lawrence died in a motorbike accident.
Mr Leedham, from London, said: 'I think a lot of military guys have some sort of admiration or fascination with Lawrence's story. What he achieved was certainly ahead of his time. The tactics he used have been copied ever since.
'I came up with the idea last May with some friends in the pub, probably over a couple of glasses of red.
'Riding a camel is completely different to riding a horse. There are lots of different saddles and [it] requires a lot of core strength.
'We did have to add a bit onto the journey to find the right place to cross the border from Saudi Arabia to Jordan but we quickly linked back up with the route.'
The trek was named the Nasir, Bekri, Tayi and Lawrence Tribute Trek, after the Arab leaders of the original expedition – Sherif Nasir, Auda abu Tayi and Nesib el-Bekri. It took the original group over two months to complete the route.
The Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund gives funding to ex-special forces soldiers who are suffering personal struggles later in life.
Lawrence was killed in a motorcycle accident near his home at Bovington, Dorset in 1935. He is buried in the graveyard of St Nicholas Church in Moreton.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
How the EU continues to dictate the way we travel
New EU regulations could water down British holidaymakers' rights to compensation in the event of a flight delay, while forcing us to take smaller bags into the cabin. On Thursday June 5, EU Transport Ministers met to discuss changes to air passenger laws. They proposed to extend the minimum delay after which flyers may be entitled to compensation from three hours to four, while reducing the maximum amount that passengers can receive. Ministers also suggested a new standardised bag allowance for free underseat luggage which is smaller than those currently imposed by easyJet and Wizz. Despite Brexit, these rule changes could have implications for British holidaymakers travelling to the Continent. Let's take a look at the new regulations on the table, and the chances that they will affect your holidays. As it stands, holidaymakers delayed by more than three hours are eligible for compensation, on top of their refund, so long as the airline is at fault for the delay. This is thanks to a regulation called EU261, passed in 2004, which the UK decided to adopt into law after leaving the European Union. Compensation rates start from €250/£220, rising to €600/£520 depending on the length of the flight. However, this threshold could soon be raised to four hours. Under the latest proposals, the lower end of the compensation bracket will go up to €300 and the higher end will come down to €500. Ministers are also expected to update the list of 'extraordinary circumstances', which allow airlines to avoid paying compensation, as part of revisions to 31 different air passenger rights. British passengers travelling with any airline from an EU country back to the UK will be affected by the proposed rule change. So if you are flying with British Airways from Paris to Heathrow, you will need to wait four hours, not three, to be eligible for compensation. If the proposed change passes through EU Parliament, passengers flying from Britain to the Continent would still qualify for compensation when their flight delay hits the three-hour mark. However, it is ultimately on the UK Government to decide whether or not to adopt the amendments for outbound flights, or to stick with the original rules. Consumer groups are lobbying the Government to take no action, thereby retaining the more generous compensation rules, but British airlines will likely argue that stepping out of line with the EU will put them at a disadvantage against international rivals. Ryanair has previously estimated that EU261 costs each passenger £7 per flight, and some airlines groups have lobbied for an even longer compensation threshold of five hours, to dissuade cancellations and allow airlines a chance to reroute flights to fulfil scheduled routes. In early June, EU transport ministers proposed standardising the size of free underseat baggage across all EU airlines. This could become EU law if accepted by the European Parliament. The ministers proposed that this new size would be 40 x 30 x 15cm, including wheels and handles. Airlines currently have varying size allowances for the free underseat bag, which are: easyJet: 45 x 36 x 20cm Ryanair: 40 x 20 x 25cm Wizz: 40 x 30 x 20cm British Airways: 56 x 45 x 25cm plus handbag/laptop bag Jet2: 56 x 45 x 25cm plus handbag/laptop bag Notably, the suggested 15cm dimension would represent a reduction in depth by 20 to 25 per cent on what are already fairly stringent allowances. There have been no suggestions of standardising the size of overhead locker bag allowance. However, over the last year a number of Spanish courts have ordered low-cost airlines to reimburse passengers for hand luggage charges. Lawyers from Blake Morgan told The Telegraph: 'This will have consequences for all airlines flying to and from Spain and possibly other EU destinations as well.' The new bag size rules would apply to all airlines with bases in the EU (including Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz) and would cover all routes including to non-EU countries like the UK. Some consumer groups have voiced their support for the move. Jane Hawkes, a consumer travel expert, says that hand luggage sizes should be universal. 'I don't really see why it can't be, and why they can't come to a voluntary agreement as to what those requirements should be for your baggage,' she told the BBC. 'There have to be restrictions, obviously, but a one-size-fits-all kind of approach would make it a lot simpler for passengers.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.


Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Wired For Change: Endeavour Energy's Strategy For A Net-Zero Future
Between now and 2030, the energy network will change faster than it did in the last century. That's according to Guy Chalkley, CEO of Endeavour Energy. Chalkley was sharing his thoughts on navigating the energy transition at the recent SAP for Energy and Utilities 2025 conference in Rotterdam. 'Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision, and change,' he said, quoting Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group. The topic of aviation was clearly on his mind—perhaps because he lives in a country where it takes five hours to fly from one side to the other. Endeavour Energy, the major network operator in New South Wales, Australia, delivers electricity to over 2.7 million people across the eastern coast of the country. 'We've typically added about 20,000 new customers each year,' Chalkley said. 'But what's really benefited Endeavour lately is a strong push—both from the federal and state governments—to move more people to Western Sydney.' Chalkley went on to explain that in ten years, 7 out of 10 new jobs and 7 out of 10 new residents will be based in Western Sydney. 'But it's not just about moving people—they're building the full infrastructure to support the move,' he said. 'A big part of this is the new Western Sydney International airport, which is acting as a major catalyst for all the development happening in the area.' Most airports are located in the middle of cities, so flights usually stop by 11 p.m. due to noise restrictions. Building a new airport in Western Sydney changes that. The new airport will operate 24/7 and be a major logistics hub. Amazon has already set up its central Australian distribution center there, along with many major supermarket distributors. The new airport will also open up access for international airlines, which currently struggle to get landing slots at Sydney's main airport. In addition, a brand-new city—Bradfield—is being developed around the airport and is expected to grow rapidly. The new airport is a transformative project for Australia's logistics and freight sectors, offering enhanced capacity, continuous operations, and integration with broader economic initiatives in the region. All of these developments come with a substantial demand for energy. Managing a complex energy system Endeavour Energy The energy ecosystem is complex. It includes transmission infrastructure to transport energy from generators such as wind or solar farms to supply stations. It includes electricity distributors such as Endeavour Energy to transport energy from the supply stations to the local substations, as well as retailers who handle billing and invoicing. It now also includes privately generated power and distributed energy resources (DER) to manage electricity that is generated and shared locally. With the rise of solar panels and home batteries, many households are now playing a direct role in creating and distributing energy. DER refers to the devices that can generate, store, and control energy to ensure its consumption at a particular time. The contribution of a single household to the network might seem insignificant, but the combined energy flow can have a significant impact on the network load. In this new scenario, energy is flowing two ways—from the customer to the network and vice versa, creating a challenge for traditional networks that were not designed for the two-way flow of power. Many adjustments are required to smooth the flows of fluctuating power and ensure power reliability. However, DER offers great benefits. When well managed, it allows more renewable power onto the network, which is often cost-effective. 'We are leveraging technology and data to plan the grid of the future where batteries, microgrids and solar integrate seamlessly with the traditional distribution network to power communities for a brighter future,' Chalkley explained. The company supplies an area over 25,000 square kilometers, with more than 430,000 power poles and streetlight columns, 202 major substations, and 32,600 distribution substations. They are all connected by nearly 60,600 kilometers of underground and overhead cables, more than the distance from Sydney to London and back. The network also integrates with renewable energy sources including 200,000 residential solar connections, industrial solar and embedded large-scale batteries. 'We're working with customers, stakeholders, and regulators to help deliver a clean energy future where smart meters, batteries, and solar enable customers to generate, store, and sell back electricity into the grid,' he said. For this reason, the company is deploying more than 80 community batteries throughout the network to alleviate some of the pressure on energy costs while increasing access to renewable energy. Chalkley highlighted the fact that such a vast network can't be reliable without being resilient to climate change. 'There's a growing dependence in society on electricity as we electrify everything,' he said. 'We have a detailed strategy for making our networks resilient against weather events like floods, bushfires, and increasing urban heat.' At Endeavour Energy, resilience is defined by the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover, and learn from major disruptive events. The resilience strategy includes: To achieve this level of resilience the company's strategy is fully aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 'From a distribution perspective, we're in a good place to actually effect change, as we're probably the link that allows other businesses to change,' Chalkley concluded. Because sustainability is not just an environmental issue, the company is engaging more with the community and customers. It is also investing heavily in innovation and in employee training to build the necessary skills and mindset for the future. Prepping for a net-zero future Endeavour Energy 'As a distribution company, our goal is to facilitate the transition to renewable energy to secure a more sustainable future,' he said.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lammy in talks with Gibraltar over EU deal
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has landed in Gibraltar ahead of a potential post-Brexit deal with the European Union (EU) and Spain. The future of the border between the British Overseas Territory and Spain has been disputed since the UK decided to leave the bloc in 2016, with any deal focussing on trade and travel. Mr Lammy has held talks with the Gibraltar chief minister Fabian Picardo, members of the opposition, and business leaders ahead of travelling to Brussels today to meet EU ministers. The territory, which has had British governance since 1713, is strategically important for the UK due to its positioning on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsular, at the entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic ocean and opposite North Africa. Spain, which is part of the EU Schengen area, has long-disputed the UK's ownership of the territory and the 38,000 population voted heavily to stay in the EU back in 2016. Mr Lammy landed overnight in Gibraltar with the last ministerial visit back in March 2021 and ministers have previously stated that no deal will be agreed without the support of the self-governing Gibraltarian government. A Foreign Office source said: 'We're working to secure an agreement that works for the people and businesses in Gibraltar. 'An agreement that will protect British sovereignty, supports Gibraltar's economy and allows businesses to plan for the future.'