Many Veterans returning from the War were expected to take up their previous lives in a peaceful but changed society. Unable to talk about their experiences with family or friends, veterans were held back by the fear of shocking and upsetting ‘polite company’ or worse still, being disbelieved. Receiving little or no sympathy, many veterans’ mental health declined and became much worse, with many being sent to Mental war hospitals, suffering the after-effects of ‘shell shock.’

The founding Patrons of the Ex-servicemen’s charity, later Combat Stress, recognised the need to change the attitude towards the treatment of mental health problems by the introduction of rehabilitation programmes, including occupational therapy, such as basket weaving, writing, and painting.

TE Lawrence, having changed his name to T E Shaw, was like many of his contemporaries who returned after the end of WW1, suffering from psychological and physical exhaustion. He went on to write about some of his experiences in his literary masterpiece, Seven Pillars of Wisdom as a way of ridding the horrors and ghosts of the past from mind. About the same time as Lawrence/Shaw was trying to write, Seven Pillars of wisdom, he bought Clouds Hill, a tiny secluded cottage in Dorset near Bovington, during his brief time in the Royal Tank Corps. Here he could retreat from the outside world, away from the press and media, where no one could disturb his quiet thoughts, writing poetry or listening to music, or just chopping wood for the fire, or be tinkering with his beloved Brough Superior motorbike. Above all, Clouds Hill was a safe haven, a place where he could be himself and not have to be ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, a place where he could talk freely among his many friends, who visited often, among them Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, EM Forster, John Buchan, Eric Kennington and William Rothenstein.  Later he was to carve the Greek words, ‘oupovtis’ (ouphrontis) above the doorway of his cottage, Clouds Hill, which translates roughly for ‘no worries’or ‘why worry’ or ‘who cares’.

At the time Lawrence/Shaw did not realise that having Clouds Hill was a form of occupational therapy very similar to the treatment programmes now run by Combat Stress.

It is a charity devoted to improving the care and resources available for former servicemen and women deal with issues like trauma, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Combat Stress works diligently towards improving the lives veterans, and in furthering the understanding and treatment of our veterans’ mental health by contributing to peer-reviewed research journals.

Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Khaki believe in the commendable support Combat Stress deliver across a range of residential treatment programmes, therapies, peer-support groups, and a 24-hour helpline, all free of charge to veterans. Therefore, Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Khaki feel that Combat Stress is a commendable and relevant charity, and as such Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Khaki  support this charity by donating on your behalf, £1.00 of our proceeds of each total purchase amount over £25.00, (not including vat or postage and packing) to this worthwhile cause.

When making your purchase, please consider Combat Stress and the remarkable work your donation will be supporting, and perhaps take a look at their website for yourselves to learn more and perhaps get further involved. Thank you for your anticipated consideration.

Raising funds in support of Combat Stress registered charity, England and Wales, no. 206002.

Read more about our other Charities stories and why we support them…