Ryan
02-23-2009, 06:32 AM
London is reputedto be the most expensive city in the world. Coffee, calls and cabs in a day could set you back by over a thousand rupees. But
it is also a city that offers loads that you can enjoy for free and one of these free attractions is the Imperial War Museum.
For me, here the fascination never ends and most times I've been one of the first to get in and one of the last to leave. Exhibits that give me goosebumps because of their association with history are plentiful. One of them is the wreck of the fuselage and one of the engines of the twin-engine heavy fighter Zerstorer (German for 'Destroyer') Messerschmitt Bfno, in which Rudolf Hess flew to England on May 10, 1941 in a radical attempt to negotiate peace between Germany and Britain. He was, of course, promptly locked up in the Maindiff Court Military Hospital in Abergavenny, Wales and declared 'mental' by Hitler.
But the most interesting exhibit by far was the Brough Superior SS100 Motorcycle. This beautiful and elaborately designed 1932 motorcycle with fancy and flamboyant exhaust pipes and oodles of shining chrome belonged to none other than Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.
The bike was tailor- . made for Lawrence by George Brough himself and cost all of £170 in 1932. This was the seventh Brough that the veteran of Arabia owned and he named each in succession George I to George VII. He also referred to this one as 'Boanerges' - the son of thunder.
1582
In the early '30s the Brough was the fastest, most expensive machine on the road. It boasted cutting-edge design and easily reached speeds over 160kph. Lawrence loved it. It was his companion over the deserted country roads of pre-war Britain. Long-distance visits to friends Winston Churchill or Lady Astor were achieved in record time. Lawrence would famously say - "It's the silkiest thing I have ever ridden".
On that tragic day in May 1935, Lawrence was riding this Brough back home from Bovington in Dorset to his nearby cottage at Clouds Hill. A dip in the road hid two errand boys on bicycles from his view and he swerved to avoid them, while jamming the brakes. He was pitched over the handlebars onto the road. His head struck the ground and he sustained terrible injuries which claimed his life six days later.
Hugh Cairns was one of the neurosurgeons who attended to Lawrence. The doctor was deeply affected by what he saw as an unnecessary loss oflife and started research on prevention of head injuries, which ultimately led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists.
The SS100 was only slightly damaged and was returned to the factory
to be repaired by George Brough. Today, the bike is privately owned. It was first displayed at the Imperial War Museum between October 2005 and April 2006 in an exhibition titled 'Lawrence of Arabia: the life, the legend'
it is also a city that offers loads that you can enjoy for free and one of these free attractions is the Imperial War Museum.
For me, here the fascination never ends and most times I've been one of the first to get in and one of the last to leave. Exhibits that give me goosebumps because of their association with history are plentiful. One of them is the wreck of the fuselage and one of the engines of the twin-engine heavy fighter Zerstorer (German for 'Destroyer') Messerschmitt Bfno, in which Rudolf Hess flew to England on May 10, 1941 in a radical attempt to negotiate peace between Germany and Britain. He was, of course, promptly locked up in the Maindiff Court Military Hospital in Abergavenny, Wales and declared 'mental' by Hitler.
But the most interesting exhibit by far was the Brough Superior SS100 Motorcycle. This beautiful and elaborately designed 1932 motorcycle with fancy and flamboyant exhaust pipes and oodles of shining chrome belonged to none other than Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.
The bike was tailor- . made for Lawrence by George Brough himself and cost all of £170 in 1932. This was the seventh Brough that the veteran of Arabia owned and he named each in succession George I to George VII. He also referred to this one as 'Boanerges' - the son of thunder.
1582
In the early '30s the Brough was the fastest, most expensive machine on the road. It boasted cutting-edge design and easily reached speeds over 160kph. Lawrence loved it. It was his companion over the deserted country roads of pre-war Britain. Long-distance visits to friends Winston Churchill or Lady Astor were achieved in record time. Lawrence would famously say - "It's the silkiest thing I have ever ridden".
On that tragic day in May 1935, Lawrence was riding this Brough back home from Bovington in Dorset to his nearby cottage at Clouds Hill. A dip in the road hid two errand boys on bicycles from his view and he swerved to avoid them, while jamming the brakes. He was pitched over the handlebars onto the road. His head struck the ground and he sustained terrible injuries which claimed his life six days later.
Hugh Cairns was one of the neurosurgeons who attended to Lawrence. The doctor was deeply affected by what he saw as an unnecessary loss oflife and started research on prevention of head injuries, which ultimately led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists.
The SS100 was only slightly damaged and was returned to the factory
to be repaired by George Brough. Today, the bike is privately owned. It was first displayed at the Imperial War Museum between October 2005 and April 2006 in an exhibition titled 'Lawrence of Arabia: the life, the legend'