10 AUGUST 1962, Page 13

THE LAWRENCE MYTH Stit,—The chairman of Jonathan Cape quotes in

support of T. E. Lawrence from writings of FM Wavell and Sir Winston Churchill.

I knew the former quite well and hold his opinions in great respect, but I fear, on this point. I must defer to the views of the Arabs given to me over thirty years ago, particularly as many of the Arab personalities came from Syria and Palestine.

For the second quotation from Winston Churchill, we know that he was not a great judge of men (Lindemann); and, while he writes with magnificent panache, the matter is not viewed generally as strictly historical.

I claimed that Philby was the greater man of the two, but not a film-star personality. The question of homosexuality seems quite beyond the point.

Hartpury, Gloucester ROBERT GORDON CANNING