(first part of this story is given in Sa Maison and Lady Lockwood this is part 2)
After a peaceful decade of living in Malta
with her daughter and son, cultivating her lovely garden Lady Lockwood must have felt a
genuine relief that the torment and turbulence of her married life was behind
her. Given the court case and widespread
publicity within the British papers of her husband’s abuse her garden and home
in Sa Maison must have been a solace.
Few, knew of her here and she could live a quiet life in the sunny and
friendly Mediterranean island. The views
from her villa and garden are breath taking and the area to this day
has a wonderful calm atmosphere.
It must have been horrendous to find that
peace shattered by the onset of war in the Crimean. The British Expeditionary force arrived on
route to the Crimea and some of her husband’s ex regiments were included in the
battalions posted to Malta. It seems a
strange coincidence that some of the British force should be billeted in her
very garden. For a year and a half Malta
was full of soldiers and in order to get to their accommodation they had to
gain access through her garden. One of
the soldiers posted at this time was an artist and his paintings ( and some photographs of troops) in Malta show
how much the British Expeditionary force dominated the island during this
period.
Having arrived in 1843-46 Various accounts
suggest that they needed to use the site of her house to position guns to
defend the walls. They wanted to
demolish her house and for a year and half Lady Lockwood held out hoping that
she would not lose her home. Having been
to the garden and examined the bastions it seems strange to position the guns
on this lower bastion when much higher sites on the walls above would have
provided greater height and range. In
the end the military had their way and her villa was knocked to the
ground. It originally was a hunting
lodge built in the 18th century and its seems a shame that such a
historic building was flattened to provide two gun mountings. Lady Lockwood left the island and all that
remains are the beautiful gardens and two circular slabs on which the guns were
mounted. On the adjacent walls the
military have carved their insignia which can just be made out although weather
worn. I know historians have
argued that the demolition of the house
was purely a military expediency but one wonders what other factors played a
role in their decision. All the
paintings shown above are by a soldier from her husband’s old regiment the
rifle brigade. In the officer’s circles
they must have known of her husband, Captain Robert Manners Lockwood and his
disgrace in the press which had happened a few years previously. From one historical account there is this
piece which is tantalising.
‘In 1853 British military experts obtained
permission to pull down the house to make way for a gun platform... the
decision to bring in the Military experts to decide on the dismantling of
the house was taken after Lady Lockwood gave the
cold shoulder to a high ranking military official’.
Who knows?
I found it fascinating to see that there are actual photographs of the
troops at the Crimean war. I had thought
that this was before cameras were available but no there are these shots of
various officers from this time and it makes it all seem so much closer.
Florence Nightingale and forty of her
nurses visited Malta on route to the Crimea and their services were much
needed. In the Crimean War (October
1853 – February 1856) Russia lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman
Empire, and Sardinia.
At its end there were 350,000–375,000 dead.
 |
| Florence Nightingale 1854 |
I remember my father would often quote from a
famous poem (by Lord Tennyson) about a battle of the Crimea known as the Charge
of the Light Brigade.
Half a league, half a
league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the
Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismayed?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blundered:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Was there a man dismayed?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blundered:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of
them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
It ends with a section celebrating their
bravery
When can their glory
fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
A wonderful poem. It is thought a mistake was made in sending
instructions to this brigade and they were sent into direct withering
fire. I find it hard to celebrate
anything about war and loss of life.
Certainly, no glory or long lasting good seems to emerge from most
conflicts. Over 20,000 of the British
Expeditionary force would die in the Crimean war.
Yesterday, I walked along the front to the
gardens of Sa Maison and found the flowers blooming along its outer
bastions. Spring has arrived and Lady Lockwood might have been delighted to see how much of her
garden remains. Perhaps, as Marcus Aurelius said so succintly around 170 AD,
