AFTER more than 80 years, a vintage motorcycle has returned to the place its world-famous rider met his end.

The fully restored 1929 Brough Superior SS-100, nicknamed George VI, owned and ridden by T.E. Lawrence, came back to Clouds Hill, Bovington.

It was joined by 10 other bikes at the cottage where the author and war hero used to live, including another of his three surviving motorcycles – George IV. Lawrence was killed in a road accident in 1935.

Despite wet weather, more than 200 visitors attended the event which was the culmination of a week of events to mark 100 years since Lawrence became actively involved in the Arab Revolt of the First World War.

The other events, which included readings, music, talks and a bicycle ride, reflected different aspects of his life.

Lawrence’s enlistment in the Tank Corps in Bovington in 1923 brought him to Clouds Hill, where his predilection for Rolls Royce motorcycles thrived.

Named after the manufacturer – George Brough of Nottingham – Lawrence owned seven different versions of these hand-built bikes.

Each one came with a price tag to match, usually between £100 and £185 – the average annual salary or the price of a small house in the 1920s.

George IV – a motorcycle that is still locally owned and ridden – was customised for Lawrence and his short stature, with the top rear of the fuel tank cut away to allow for a lower saddle height. From April 1925 until Lawrence’s transfer back to the RAF in August, it would have been a familiar sight on Dorset roads.

George VI, meanwhile, had initially been an expensive gift from G.B. and Charlotte Shaw in February 1929, when Lawrence returned from R.A.F. duties in India.

However, being uncomfortable with such generosity, Lawrence insisted on paying for the motorcycle himself.

One of Lawrence’s first trips on George VI would have been to Clouds Hill. He also made regular journeys between his base in Plymouth to London, covering the 235 miles in under five hours and often riding at speeds in excess of 90 mph.

Lady Nancy Astor would also be seen riding pillion around the streets of Plymouth, where she was an MP – much to the bemusement of the locals.

It was whilst riding George VI’s successor that Lawrence was fatally injured on May 13, 1935, only a few hundred yards from his beloved home at Clouds Hill.