Lady
Astor, first British woman Member of Parliament, was a famous socialite
of the day, extremely rich and influential. She frequently graced the flapper
seat of his motorcycle.
Lawrence called all his Brough Superior motorcycles Boa - short for
Boanerges, the sons of thunder.
They were numbered George I through George VII. George VIII was awaiting
delivery, having already had the stainless steel petrol tank and other
special parts from its predecessor fitted, when Lawrence shuffled off.
The novelist Henry Williamson, quoted in A Touch of Genius, says
in a 1962 interview:
'Finally he turned up one Sunday, coming right across Dartmoor from
Plymouth to North Devon, where I lived, on his ten horse power 100 mile
an hour Brough Superior nickel-plated motor cycle ....'
One must really read the whole of the passage, quoted in part above,
to get a sense of how impressed people were by the man. Lawrence turned
down many laurels and appointments, among them an honorary Doctorate of
Laws by St Andrew's University in 1930, and an offer of the Secretaryship
of the Bank of England. On the 7th of May 1935, Lady Astor wrote to him:
'I believe when the Government reorganizes, you will be asked to reorganize
the defence forces.' Again, he declined.
