At the time, helmets were common only in motorcycle racing and were not often used on the roads. A young neurosurgeon named Hugh Cairns was present at the military hospital where T.E.Lawrence died, and he went on to begin the first systematic assessment of head injuries in motorcycle crashes, and the first studies on the efficacy of helmets. That research, and Cairns connection to the military lead to the superior head protection that British Military Motorcycle Couriers enjoyed.