Could Shropshire solve mystery of £250k Lawrence of Arabia compass?

"I leave to my dear friend Taffy, my compass, which saw me safely across a wilderness, so that he may occasionally know where he is going," said the wry inscription.

There was also "my watch, which almost cost me my life, so that he may occasionally arrive at an appointed time. With regards from his erstwhile passenger, Lawrence" – the reference to the threat to his life was because the watch had attracted a would-be robber in Syria.

Fast forwards across the decades to 2006 when new owner Colin Humphreys was putting the compass, pocket watch, and silver cigarette case up for auction at Christie's.

"Remember Delboy with the watch? When it's going up £20,000 a time, you think 'That's more than my car's worth.' And you sit at the end and think 'That sold for more than my house is worth,'" said Mr Humphreys.

Expected to sell for up to £16,000, the collection in fact sold for £254,000 which, after deductions, meant that Mr Humphreys, a collector of militaria who had bought them for £4,000 when family descendants had sold them at auction, was £220,000 the richer. But only briefly, on paper.

"The people of the Lawrence of Arabia Society said they can't be real.

"The buyer refused to pay and they cancelled the sale. Christie's still have the items in storage."

Which is why Mr Humphreys, who is from Fareham in Hampshire, is turning to Shropshire Star readers in the hope that they can corroborate the story which links Evans' items to Lawrence of Arabia.

"During my investigations it has come to my attention that the items were kept in Shropshire and were loaned to the local Army Cadet Force to be displayed at their summer camps during the late 1950s. I have a photo of one of the ACF units concerned. The boys are wearing the cap badge of the Shropshire Yeomanry, which was affiliated to the ACF units in Ludlow and Wellington at the time.

"It would greatly assist my investigations if I could identify any of the boys and speak to them about what they remember.

"One of the things claimed is that the items are modern forgeries – but if people remember them from then we will know they existed in the 1950s.

"Lance Corporal Evans came from Atcham, near Shrewsbury. I have his army records and he was born Albert Richard Evans on April 26, 1899, at Victoria Terrace, Castle Fields, Shrewsbury, and when he joined the Army he was living at 32 Longden Coleham. He joined the Machine Gun Corps and went to France. He did not get there until April 1918.

"He lived in Atcham quite peacefully and quietly. He worked on the railway as a plate layer. He did have a swagger stick belonging to Lawrence of Arabia which he gave away in 1930 in lieu of a debt. It had the initials T.L. on top of it. That was sold at auction in Dorset years ago.

"Evans died in 1977 in the registration district of Shrewsbury."

Mr Humphreys, a retired communications engineer, said he was angry when the sale of the items at Christie's fell through.

Lawrence's authorised biographer Jeremy Wilson said he had never come across any reference to Taffy Evans, or indeed any other driver, in 30 years of research, and questioned why the great British hero would have a cigarette case when he never smoked. Another objection was an inscription "T.E." on the case – a short form he said was not used until 1923.

The objections shone the spotlight on whether that young Shropshire driver really was given the items by Lawrence.

"Either he was the best forger in the world, or the story was true," says Mr Humphreys who says that if he can verify the provenance of the items, he will give them to a museum, rather than sell them.

"I will let those people who thought they had them last time burn, and they can go to the museum and look at them, without getting their hands on them. Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold."

Anyone with information about the items can contact Mr Humphreys at 01329 289897, on email at colinjhumphreys@aol.com, or by post at 11 Scafell Avenue, Fareham, Hampshire, PO14 1SQ.