T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 5

Dear Allason, I have jibbed at writing this letter. I was as much haunted by the thought that you weren't there as you were haunted not to be there; and I can hardly bring myself to tell you that another man and I did your climb, setting out from the Ashyl Dep. I am therefore going to be very matter of fact. 1. I think it one of the miracles of the war that you ever got to the top of the ridge. As a statement of fact the language here is of a surpassing inadequacy. 2. Monash established his headquarters five hundred yards east of Taylor's Gap (p. 109). Curiously enough, at this point the ravine opens out, and one feels less sheltered by its walls! 3. At a point approaching the steepest part of the climb we discovered some rusty bully beef tins. Battalion H.Q.? (No other British troops can ever have passed this way.) 4. Beneath the ridge we discovered definite indications of at least two different lines of trenches. 5. I shall never forget the moment when our heads suddenly topped the ridge, and there before us were the two reaches of the Narrows. 6. The photographs tell the rest of the story. I send the negatives so that you can experiment with enlargements of any you think worth while. Unhappily, by the time we reached the ridge, the light was poor for a view of the Narrows. The climb itself took something over an hour and a half. ...