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TE (TE) Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, on his Brough Superior SS80 with the manufacturer (walking stick) George Brough outside the factory
by Ray Massey for ThisisMoney.co.uk
Brough Superior Motorcycles was founded in Nottingham in 1919 by George Brough.
The Brough Superior was considered the fastest, most beautiful and most expensive brand ridden by thrill-seeking record-breakers and gentleman riders of the roaring twenties.
The most famous fan was TE Lawrence – ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ who owned seven.
The brand was relaunched in 2013 by respected motorcycle designer Thierry Henriette, who started by relaunching the most famous of George Brough’s motorcycles – the SS100 – a Lawrence of Arabia favorite, and now boasts three ‘modern luxury classics’.
A spokesperson said: ‘The new Brough Superior bikes have kept the DNA of the classics, such as the Art Deco design, and improved it above modern standards with exclusive technologies and the best materials’.
After all his deadly exploits in the war, TE Lawrence died six days after a motorcycle accident near his Dorset home in May 1935, when he was only 46 years old.
He had been thrown over the top of his Brough Superior SS100 and suffered serious head injuries when he allegedly maneuvered to avoid two boys on bicycles in front of him.
He had named his bike, capable of 100 mph speeds. ‘Boa’ or ‘Boanerges’ means ‘son of thunder’ in Aramaic.
He had previously written about his bicycle: ‘Boanerges’ first roar of joy that he was alive again made the huts of Cadet College come alive at night.
“Boa and I took the Newark Road for the last hour of daylight. He ambles at forty-five and when he tries his very best, he surpasses a hundred. A skittish bike with a dash of blood in it is better than all the moving animals on Earth.’
In a twist, one of the medics Lawrence visited was a young doctor named Hugh Cairns who became one of Britain’s first neurosurgeons and whose research into cycling accidents paved the way for the use of crash helmets.