Personal items given by Lawrence of Arabia to his landlady's son will auctioned in June

T.E Lawrence is credited with uniting the Arab tribes and gained the nickname 'Lawrence of Arabia' but by the 1930s but due to his infamy he had to hide out from the press under a new identity.

Described by Winston Churchill was 'one of the greatest beings alive in our time', the hair-raising military escapades in the Middle East were recreated for the cinema as well as commemorated in a memoir.

AUCTION: The Arabian Janbiya dagger with bone handle (estimate: £8,000-10,000) belonging to T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Picture: SWNS

But items from T.E Lawrence's private life are going up for auction in Glasgow, and are being sold by a descendant of his landlady.

Using the name T.E Shaw, Lawrence of Arabia checked into a boarding house run by landlady Fanny Hatcher, in 1933, in 13 Birmingham Street, Southampton, Hants.

Her son Donald, 13, knew him as 'Aircraftman Shaw', and although his mother eventually became aware of the 'quiet lodger's true identity it was kept a secret from the schoolboy.

T.E Lawrence stayed with the family for 18 months, and died not long after, in 1935.

As a thank you to young Donald, at the end of his stay Lawrence gifted to him not just the original Arabian Janbiya dagger and Lund & Sons campaign knife, but the very RAF hat he was wearing as he left.

Ripping the badge off his cap and placing it on Donald's head, Lawrence made his way back to Cloud's Hill, Dorset, where he had a cottage, for what would be the final time.

Of the historic artefacts sold at auction by Great Western Auctions on June 14 and 15, a Royal Airforce Cap is estimated to reach between £10,000-15,000.

HISTORIC: The Royal Airforce Cap (estimate: £10,000-15,000) belonging to T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) to be sold by Great Western Auctions. Picture: SWNS

Two daggers, an Arabian Janbiya dagger with a bone handle, is estimated to fetch £8,000 and £10,000, and a horn-handled dagger by William Lund is estimated to sell for £6,000 to £8,000.

Hand-written and signed letters could sell for £3,000 to £5,000.

A spokesman for Great Western Auctions said: "This collection of items from 13 Birmingham Street has come to light for the first time after being safeguarded by the Hatcher family for over 80 years.

"These personal possessions and letters give us a glimpse into Lawrence's private and secret life, his desire to avoid fame and to separate himself from the icon he had become."

The items will be going under the hammer on Friday, June 14.

PERSONAL: Hand-written and signed letters, (estimates: £3,000-5,000) written by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) to be sold by Great Western Auctions. Picture: SWNS