The Postscript – Reflections, Celebration, the Funds, the Grave.

It is difficult to convey the sense of vacuum that every Trek member must have felt on returning from a month in the desert to a “normality” absorbed by the run-of-the-mill responsibilities of life.

Someone once said that “Poetry is written by many, but read by few,” and that might be so. However, in some cases, expressing one’s feelings is not only cathartic but might give the rare poetry reader an insight into the writer’s real feelings. This is what I wrote shortly after I arrived home:

No 0545 alarm from sleep to wake,

Or trade of warm sleeping bag for cold clothes to make.

No sleeping bag to wrestle and roll,

Or kit with dew and sand to fold.

No morning tea around an open fire to warm,

Where mist of breath meets cold air of morn.

No Camel to greet, no bites to swerve,

In protest to Shedad tied-on with knots and nerve.

No wood-burned oatmeal to prefer to eat,

Or Ged to tape our fingers and feet.

No thinking, “ride or walk to start day’s length?”

Or watch my camel for clue in mood or strength.

No morning trots to warm-up muscles cold,

Or blisters to protect with padding rolled.

No Nefud hills to behold and beat,

No salt-lake crunch from four strong feet.

No thoughts of Lawrence came this way too,

Or thoughts of pain he also went through.

No camel personalities to master,

Or wish that we could just trot faster.

No reflections on Sun, sounds and sands,

Or camel to talk to all day long in strands.

No cries of “Camp” to hear from lead,

Or pride that another brave day has been ridden with deed.

No dinner of Chicken and Rice to savour,

Or talks about which camel we favour.

Just memories of such special times with camel that be,

With a Camel Trekker’s thanks to the team of SFC.

OK, so it’s not exactly William Wordsworth, but hopefully you get the picture.

The Trek had brought about several surprises. The first was the welcome to Aqaba and the gifts and presentations we received from the Jordanians, and even King Abdullah himself. We’d been unprepared. So, to that end, a month later, over 50 of us, Trek members, Club members and Supporters, returned to Jordan with our own gifts and mementoes. We held a special reception for the Jordanians, which included the Governor of Aqaba, the Gendarmerie, the Bedouin Police (who brought two camels), the Special Branch, Jordan Heritage Revival Company and members of the Royal Protocol Office. We shared a thank-you video and presented each group with SFCBF plaques and challenge coins. The following day we attended a private reception at a rather large house… but that’s all I can say about that! ;-)

The second surprise was one where we also needed to thank the Saudis for their massive contribution to enabling the Trek to go ahead. In particular, His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, the Saudi Ambassador to the UK, and his staff had done so much to help us secure the vital clearances. We quickly ascertained a date when he was available, and with the help of our Club President, Lord Sedwill, we secured Stationers' Hall for a thank-you dinner. With the help of “John A” and “Mr Rebecca”, we pulled it all together, and on 15 May, the Hall was filled with 160 of the good and the great who had been a part of our Trek in one way or another. The actor Al Petrie was our Master of Ceremonies. When on stage, he commanded the room and connected with the audience to make what was one of the best functions that I’ve ever been to. Prince Khaled was our guest of honour, and perhaps a highlight for me was to present him with a commemorative box of the sands that we’d collected from five documented locations on Lawrence’s Path to Aqaba. I joked that it was probably the first time sand had been presented to a Saudi Prince!

Just four days after the Stationers Hall dinner, we travelled to Lawrence's Grave, which would mark the end of the trek. The article that was written for the SF Club News perhaps encapsulates that event:

On the 19th of May, at the invitation of the Lawrence Society and on the 90th Anniversary of T.E. Lawrence's death, the Trek Team and SFC members gathered at his humble grave to complete their mission.

In stark contrast to the severity of the Hejaz Mountains, the Nefud Plain and Wadi Sirhan

Lawrence is buried in the small "Walled Garden" cemetery at St Nicholas' Church in Moreton, a sleepy English village nestled in the lush pastoral countryside of Dorset.

On the morning of the visit, the Trek Team arrived with the quiet reverence of those who understand, perhaps better than most, what Lawrence had experienced in the desert and the life, legacy, and indelible emotion that the desert leaves in an individual.

During the Trek, the Team had gathered sand from five specific locations that Lawrence had written about in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. To mark the Trek's end, they had always intended to go to Lawrence's grave to reunite him with the sands he had never returned to since he left Damascus following its liberation from the Turks. The Lawrence Society had identified the date upon which it should happen.

The ceremony was simple but deeply symbolic. The Lawrence Society laid a modest wreath of flowers, and a short passage written by Lawrence's brother was read. The Trek Riders and Support Team Leader were then asked to step forward to reunite Lawrence with his desert.

A very short description of the gathering of sand was provided to the nearly 100 people who had gathered by the graveside that day, and then the simple words, "You could not come to the desert, so we have brought the desert to you. Because there is only the desert for you."

In turn, each member had removed a sachet of sand from the commemorative box, stepped forward, stooped to one knee, and simply stated from where the sands had been gathered. “Al Wajh”, “Al Fajr”, “Wadi Sirhan”, “Bayr Fort”, “Aqaba”. It was a moment of considerable emotion with an audible gasp from the gathering when the word "Aqaba" was spoken.

As the ceremony concluded, the Trek members paused for a final moment beside the modest headstone. The tribute felt suitably apt and poignant. No fanfare, no grand speech. It was just a circle of men and women shaped by the same invisible forces that once drove Lawrence across the harshest lands of Arabia.

In honouring his memory, the Trek team and the Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund reaffirmed an unspoken creed: the past is not just to be remembered — it is to be lived through those who continue the mission.

The Epilogue.

The Nasir, Bekri, Tayi, and Lawrence Tribute Trek had completed its long journey. However, the work of the Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund would continue, just as it has since 1947.

Then came the most significant surprise of all. Thanks to the Trek, its Team, Benefactors, Sponsors, and Supporters, fundraising has surpassed our target, raising over £800,000 to date for the SFCBF. This will change the way we can support the Fund’s cause and mission: helping those in our community who need timely support and assistance.

Thank you so much to all who have supported us.

Trek Mission complete. Awaiting further assignment.