A joint US/UK team of historians – including several members of the T. E. Lawrence Society – has uncovered the identity of Lawrence of Arabia’s Rolls-Royce – the car in which he was photographed entering Damascus 100 years ago at the culmination of the Arab Revolt.
The iconic photograph of Lawrence, taken in Marjeh Square in Damascus, Syria, shows two weathered British officers and a worse-for-wear Rolls-Royce. For decades, the identity of that vehicle has been a mystery to historians, Lawrence scholars and car enthusiasts.
Using archival research, newly-uncovered photographs and technical analysis, the team has identified the Rolls-Royce as chassis number 60985, built in 1909 at Manchester, U.K.
In identifying the car, nicknamed “Blue Mist”, the team not only
confirmed the identity through a paper trail including diplomatic archives, war diaries, factory build records, family letters and other documents, they tracked down the descendants of the owner of the car when requisitioned by Lawrence in Cairo.
The discovery has also unearthed official documents and parts of the car unequivocally proving its identity.
Though the vehicle itself has not yet been discovered, it is estimated that, if found, “Blue Mist” would be one of the most valuable cars in the world.
“One of the enduring quotes from T. E. Lawrence was ‘a Rolls in the desert is above Rubies,’
Noted James Stejskal, team member and lead author of the paper on the discovery.
“Lawrence recognized that due to their reliability, speed and versatility his Rolls-Royce cars were a game-changer in the desert war. This helped him pioneer what we today call special forces and special operations. The famous photograph of Lawrence entering Damascus not only signaled the Arab victory in the region, but captured the truly pivotal moment in history that signaled the new role for the Middle East in the 20th and 21st centuries.”
The team that uncovered the identity of the Blue Mist includes James Stejskal, principal author of an upcoming article on the discovery;
- Philip Walker
A noted Lawrence expert whose new book, Behind the Lawrence Legend: the Forgotten Few Who Shaped the Arab Revolt, is scheduled for publication by Oxford University Press in February 2018. - Tom Clarke
A Rolls-Royce historian who has published numerous books and articles on the marque. - R. Pierce Reid
Owner of a vintage Rolls-Royce restoration shop. His recent Norwich University master’s thesis, For I Can Raise no Money by Vile Means: T. E. Lawrence and his Relationship with Money, Debt and the Historical Record, was published in The Journal of the T. E. Lawrence Society, Vol. XXIV, No. 2.
For more information, see the press release HERE. Full details of the “rediscovery” will be published in the autumn 2017 edition of the T. E. Lawrence Society Journal.