Royal Air Force Museum team beat big freeze to save forgotten Lawrence of Arabia rescue boat

A rescue boat made by Lawrence of Arabia in his secret post-war RAF career has been placed on the National Register of Historic Vessels after being saved from ruin by the Royal Air Force Museum.

The ST206 boat, which was developed by Lawrence during his spell in the Force’s Marine Section in the 1930s under the pseudonym of TE Shaw, formed part of a blueprint for speedboat design in a new generation of boats designed to save pilots from death in the Second World War.

“We desperately needed to get this boat out of the weather, as the damage that is done when rainwater freezes is terrible,” said Bill Amos, the Head of the RAF Museum’s Marine Craft Team of volunteers.

“The recent cold spells made the move a priority, with more bad weather forecast. We have a constant maintenance programme for the larger boats which we can barely keep on top of.  Luckily, this boat is small enough that we were able to make room for it indoors.”

Head of Collections Ian Thirsk said the boat would need constant repair and preservation, eventually going on display within the venue’s Battle of Britain Beacon plans. The boat is currently being shown in the Sunderland Hall at the site in Hendon.