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I read the abridged version of " Seven Pillars of Wisdom " by T E Lawrence at school in the 1950's and regardless of any historical , political or military inaccuracies this film is a phenomenal interpretation . Superb actors , dialogue , musical score and plot but the main star just has to be the panoramic images captured with skilful camera work and of course made long before CGI .

As an aside in the 1960's I took the opportunity to visit Lawrence's cottage near Bovington and remember it as being quite small , spartan and the key feature in what must have been his main room a huge leather day bed on which he would recline .

First came across this rare pre WW2 UK colour documentary a couple of years ago . The background music , The Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven , is a perfect choice . The commentary contains some fine dialogue including " Ploughing .The King of jobs . The most charming disguise that work can wear ". Made in a time long past and now nearly lost . Every year I see ploughing taking place in the fields all around where I live but no longer at the leisurely pace captured in the film .

My wife's uncle , George Wood ,was an RAF trainee Sergeant Pilot at the Base when this film was made . The film as part of its propaganda purpose made use of his , and other courses , and he appears full head and shoulders in a scanned shot of a parade . He looks like a young boy . He completed his training and went on to fly Wellington Bombers , regrettably he was shot down over Holland in 1943 . We knew he had appeared in a film but were not sure of the title and by chance came across a Cinema Poster for Thunder Birds on the Internet and this showed RAF personnel marching past aircraft . We had a black and white photograph of him standing by similar aircraft and thus established a possible link . We were subsequently able to obtain a copy of the film . The aerial shots are astounding and do seem ahead of their time .