E.M. Forster, the British Association and St Helena

E. M. Forster, photographed in 1930's

In the list of famous visitors to St Helena, the scientific community is well represented by Halley, Maskelyne and Darwin, but other than a childhood visit by William Thackeray, no leading figures of the literary world, as far as I was aware, has had any association with the island. I was therefore surprised to find that E.M. Forster, one of England's greatest novelists, visited the island in 1929, and was enchanted by it.

Forster's visit occurred on a cruise to South Africa organised by the British Association. Unenthusiastic about accompanying some 500 scientists on a long sea voyage, Forster generally did not enjoy the experience, but St Helena was according to his biographer an exception: an intense experience, "an island of gentle birds and gentle people". (1) To a friend Forster wrote

Views over crags of lava and the soft radiant sea, and birds of fairy-white called "love terns" nest in the crevices .. Have seldom seen such a touching island, all the volcanic sternness and the live things perched about in it, longing for kindness and company. Some day we will go and give it to them."

Unfortunately he never returned, probably to St Helena's loss, for who knows what inspiration the author of A Passage to India might have gained from a more intimate acquaintance.

By contrast Forster was generally unimpressed by South Africa

.. beneath and beyond both English and Dutch are these millions of blacks whom one never speaks to and whose existence one assumes as one does electric bells! That was why I nearly cried at Pretoria. It is Valhalla, and the dwarfs haven't been paid. (2)

On his return home he sold his African mining shares.

SS Landovery Castle, which transported members of British Association to South Africa

Henry Balfour and St Helena

A very differet perspective on the visit was given by the archeologist Henry Balfour (1863-1939), President of the Anthropology Section of the B.A.A.S. (British Association for the Advancement of Science). Balfour was taken ashore on the launch of the Chief Secretary(Colonel Salier), stayed with the Governor and was accompanied by him on a tour of the Napoleonic sites: looking down on the Briars from the road above; visiting Napoleon's tomb "in a secluded ravine"; to Longwood where the rooms were bare with "only one bust in the room in which he died"; the hole in the shutters from which Napoleon could look out on the British Camp; New Longwood, "the fine, large house built for Napoleon, but never occupied by him." (3)

At this time Plantation House was being refurbished after devastation by white ants, so Balfour stayed in the Governor's temporary accommodation, but the next day, "after breakfast with local-grown coffee", he visited Plantation House and "interviewed the huge Mauritian tortoise, said to be over 200 years old + pre-Napoleonic, quite a nice friendly beast " (4) In his diary he listed the birds he had seen: Tropic birds (Ph aetherius), Noddies (A. stolid us), "Love terns" (Leucanus albus, Cygis alba or craw fords), Mynahs, Avadavats, Bishop Birds (weaver finches) Java Sparrows, some Pipit-like birds and small doves.[Wirebirds?]

Finally he recorded his impressions of the vegetation and terrain:

Vegetation, largely imported, is fine on the W. side of the island. Arancarcias, Eucalyptus, Daturas, Budleias, Arum lilies, Bougainvilleas etc. do very well. Phormicum tenax (New Zealand flax) is cultivated + the fibre exported in some quantity. Coffee also does well + small bananas. Scenery very hilly, volcanic, rugged + beautiful.(5)

A man of many parts and some energy, that evening on board the Llandovery Castle,

I gave a lecture on the natives of South Africa to the passengers in the third class, + had a very appreciative audience who asked me to come + talk to them again. (6)

Having read Balfour's detailed diary I couldn't help but recall Forsters apprehension about joining such a trip: they would, he feared, "be shown everything and see nothing." (7)

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1.P.N Furbank, EM Forstr A Life (1879-1970), (Two volume edition published London 1979), Vol 2 p. 160

2. Furbank p 161.

3. July 11th 1929 Diaries of Henry Balfour

4. July 12th 1929

5. ibid

6. ibid

7. Furbank p 159.

St Helena Britannica - new publication by the Friends of St Helena

The Friends of St Helena have recently published this collection of short pieces by the late Trevor W. Hearl(1924-2007) with an excellent preface by Alexander Schulenburg. The author's long association with St Helena began in July 1969 when he stepped ashore on the island "just thirty hours before the first Moon landing" and continued until his death. The current work is both a tribute and a substitute for the one that Mr Hearl was planning to write.

The book reflects the author's determination to rescue St Helena's history from historians of the captivity of Napoleon, its most famous inhabitant. As he reminds us, St Helena has not only been a "prison and fortress", but a vital part of British overseas expansion for 200 years, a natural treasury and scientific observatory, a seaport and whaling centre, a base in the fight against slavery and "a mecca for enterprising tourists, philatelists, naturalists, yachtsmen and game fishermen."

Among the pieces printed is the rather sad story of one of St Helena's first surgeons, Francis Moore whose premature death along with that of his wife left their children somehow to be cared for out of whatever proceeds could be gleaned from their property. Here too are chapters on the forgotten French Huguenots and St Helena's forlorn attempt to start a wine industry, on the East Indiamen that made St Helena a vital port for the British Empire before the opening of the Suez Canal, on the Southern Whale Fishery, on Consuls and Consular Agents, on scientific interest in St Helena, nicluding a short chapater on Charles Darwin which recalls the deep impression the island made on him and concludes

Today in the popular mind Darwin's name is tied to the Galapagos Islands, but if he could be asked which island he would like to explore again, I wonder what his choice would be? St Helena?

Perhaps most revealing were a couple of chapters on St Helena's "Social Revolution",the loss of power and influence of the country gentlemen at the top of the social pyramid in the days of the East India Company. From the 1830's they faced inadequate pensions, collapsing property prices and restricted opportunity for their children in a world in which the formerly despised trades people of Jamestown were now in the ascendancy. The book sheds a little more light on one of these, Charles Hodson, nicknamed "Hercules" by Napoleon after he visited him at Maldivia in 1815. Here we find him retired to England, St Helena still on his mind, concerned among other things about the introduction of Roman Catholic and dissenting places of worship, a reminder to us of the total dominance and social and political importance of the Anglican Church in the days of the East India Company.

Despite the author's non-Napoleonic orientation there are still five or six chapters spanning the period 1815-1821. These include one on the problem of supplying the islands with food stuffs and other essentials which the author claims gave Hudson Lowe more headaches than his relations with the inhabitants of Longwood. Another is on the races at Deadwood which began during the captivity of Napoleon and continued for a century thereafter. Here too is an excellent chapter on one of St Helena's most important inhabitants, Saul Solomon, a Jew who converted to Anglicanism, founded the Company that still bears his name, and was regarded with great suspicion by Hudson Lowe for his perceived sympathy and business relationship with the occupants of Longwood House, from which he derived great financial benefit. Solomon died many years later while on holiday in England, and his daughter brought his body back in a trunk, in fear that it would be discovered and consigned to the deep. There are though no secrets on St Helena, the body's arrival was greeetd with acclaim, and a suitably grand funeral soon followed.

The preface alone is worth consulting by anyone interested in the history of St Helena for its scholarly survey of the relatively little work that has been produced by professional historians. It correctly situates Hearl's contribution, his roots as a journalist and educator rather than a historian, his constant admission of the provisionality of his knowledge and expressions of hope that others would carry on from where he left off.

As a friend of mine said, it is a bit like a blog. You can dip into it and read whatever takes your fancy at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Produced by the Friends of St Helena, it may not be easily available from the usual places. I would recommend contacting Ian Mathieson at Miles Apart for this and any other books on St Helena that are otherwise difficult to obtain.

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1. Trevor W. Hearl, St Helena Britannica studies oin South Atlantic island history edited by A.H. Schulenbu rg, Society of Friends of St Helena, London 2013, pp 8-9

Rev Boys, Napoleon and the Death Mask at Bonhams

I have generally tried to steer clear of the claims and counter claims made over the various death masks of Napoleon, at least until Bonhams kindly sent me a listing of such a mask to be sold on June 19th on behalf of the family of Rev Boys. It is claimed that two such masks were acquired by Rev Boys, apparently from the painter Rubidge who was on St Helena when Napoleon died. One mask, the Sankey mask, named after Rev Boys' daughter, is currently on deposit in Oxford, the other is now being auctioned.

The provenance of the Boys' masks is based on analysis of two handwritten notes apparently both by Rev Boys but written at different times. No other evidence supports the claims made in those notes. Rubidge, credited with taking the casts, died in 1827, before the existence of the two masks came to light. (1)

Given this lack of supporting evidence a few nagging doubts come into my mind.

I wonder why the Rev Boys did not write both notes at the same time?

It seems strange that no word about the masks' existence came out at the time, amidst so much controversy between Dr Burton and the Bertrands over the disappearance of the front part of Burton's original mould. Surely the Rev Boys would have heard about the court case in London and would have provided any evidence in his possession to see that justice was done?

It is also strange that both masks appear to have been made of plaster superior to any known to be available on St Helena at the time.

Finally I wonder how Dr Boys managed to secure two masks, a little greedy for a man of the cloth, when others with stronger claims got none? The implicit suggestion in the Bonhams' catalogue of Boys' closeness to Longwood because of a mutual hostility to Hudson Lowe, set the alarm bells ringing.

Rev Mr Boys and Napoleon

Kent Cottage, former home of the Boys family on St Helena

The existence of various Boys family mementoes from St Helena has been known for well over a century, but the claims made about these artifacts are not supported by historical evidence.(2) It is disappointing therefore to find the claims repeated in the Bonhams catalogue to give an impression that Boys was close to Napoleon.

Thus we read that Rev Boys " is said to have been the first Englishman granted an audience with the exiled Emperor on his arrival on the island as well as being invited to play chess with him afterwards " and that Boys took the "armchair in which Napoleon is said to have used on his visits (and absent-mindedly scarred with his penknife while absorbed in conversation), as well as two walking sticks .. ". Elsewhere the catalogue suggests, in a rather circular argument, that in view of the mementoes that Boys took back with him it is unlikely that the two met only once! (3)

In fact there is no evidence that Napoleon ever met Rev Boys, and even Chaplin, the source cited by Bonhams and others, actually says that "Mr Boys was brought into contact with Napoleon on one occasion only", the well known case of the snuff box given for officiating at Cipriani's funeral. In fact Napoleon probably never saw either the snuff box or Rev Boys. The snuff box was purchased in Jamestown and O'Meara acted as intermediary between Longwood and Rev Boys. Chaplin's careful choice of words, "brought into contact with" does not indicate that the two actually met, and indeed there is no evidence that they ever did.(4)

So once again we fall back on the evidence of the two Boys' notes accompanying the two masks. That is all we have. I am no more qualified to judge the claims or counter claims than I was when I last touched on the subject in a previous blog in October 2009. I am though a little alarmed at a circular argument which seems to imply that because Boys got all those mementoes he must have been close to Longwood, and because he was close to Longwood then he was well positioned to get the death masks with the connivance of members of the household. I also wonder what was in it for Rubidge.

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1. The first note accompanying the Sankey mask, dated in 1862, affirms that the mask was "taken from the Face of Napoleon Buonaparte as he lay dead at Longwod (sic) St Helena, by Mr Rubidge .. ". The mask currently up for auction has a note apparently written earlier, maybe in the 1820's: "This Cast was taken from the Face of Napoleon Buonaparte as he lay dead at Longwood St Helena 7th May 1821 which I do hereby certify/ R. Boys M.A. Sen.r Chaplain/ By Rubidge".

2. Michel Martineau recounts how in 1929 Dr Leonard Boys of Aldeburgh wrote to The Times, mentioning the two death masks, and also claimed that Boys acquired a silver tea and coffee service belonging to Napoleon, a cane Napoleon used, an armchair, a lock of his hair and some tunic buttons. Michel Martineau pointed out that all the Emperor's personal effects were carefully packed in suitcases and left the island with the French party. "Doctor Boys ignored, or feigned to ignore, that after the death of Napoleon there was no sale of relics nor of silver belonging to the Emperor. All that was sold was that part of the furniture that belonged to the East India Company." Michel Martineau, Chroniques de Sainte-Hélène Atlantique Sud pp 136-7

3. The Bonhams catalogue quotes J.&J.A. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigenses (1922-54) on Boys, "Said to have been the first man Napoleon spoke to on landing there, and with whom he played chess and who left him an armchair and a walking stick - still cherished possessions of the family."

4. Arnold Chaplin, A St Helena Who's Who (London 1919). The 1914 edition doesn't even mention Napoleon in connection with Boys, it simply says: "Mr. Boys was brought into contact with Longwood on one occasion only."

* Bonhams Napoleon Death Mask * Bonhams Napoleon Death Mask * Bonhams Napoleon Death Mask * Bonhams *

Longwood House: Billiard Room sans Billiard Table

The Billiard Room at Longwood 2013

Earlier this year the staff at Longwood House were busy crating 36 pieces of furniture to be sent to Paris. There the furniture will be restored under the direction of M. Amaël Gohier, and in 2016 will go on display at Les Invalides in an exhibition that it is hoped will promote St Helena tourism.

Napoleon's Billiard Table

Apart from the bath, the most notable piece no longer on display is the billiard table used by Napoleon for laying out maps and papers rather than for playing billiards. Like all the original furniture at Longwood, the billiard table was made in England and shipped out for Napoleon. (1)

The ultimate aim of the work taking place at Longwood, which includes the rebuilding of the Generals' Quarters, is to recreate the house as it was when Napoleon died, ready for the bicentenary in 1821.

M. Amaël Gohier, furniture restorer, relaxing on RMS St Helena, March 2013

So, on its return to Longwood the famous table will be placed not in the billiard room at the front but to the rear of the building, where it was used by the servants in the later stages of Napoleon's captivity. With the airport hopefully operational, 5th May 2021 should be a momentous day in St Helena's calendar.

During his stay on St Helena the Parisian based restorer, Amaël Gohier, also ran a furniture restoration course for a number of Saints. It is hoped that in future there will be local people with the necessary skills to restore the old furniture which remains on the island in public and in private hands.

Longwood House Furniture at Tilbury Docks, May 2013

Michel Martineau's blog indicates that the Longwood furniture arrived undamaged in London. It has had a long circuitous journey, from St Helena to Ascension, back to St Helena, then to Cape Town, and there transferred to another ship and taken to Tilbury. Hopefully it is now safely in Paris.

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1. Claims at Highclere Castle, the famous Downton Abbey in the ITV series, that it has a French made desk used by Napoleon at Longwood seems to be without any foundation.

Beryl Bainbridge: Napoleon and Me

Napoleon Dancing at 42 Albert St, Camden Town, to the Strains of the Gramophone, 1967

On returning from St Helena I just managed to catch an interesting exhibition at the Liverpool Museum of paintings by Beryl Bainbridge, one of Britain's most successful post war novelists.

Apparently the Liverpool born writer was also a prolific painter, and fascinated by Napoleon, particularly by the contrast between his exile on St Helena and his previous public life in Europe as victorious soldier, Consul and Emperor. I suspect though that her vivid imagination may have somewhat exaggerated the amorous possibilities that Longwood House afforded him!

Pride of place in the exhibition, and the front cover of a new book on Bainbridge by Psiche Hughes, is a portrait of Napoleon dancing to a gramophone record with a naked lady, presumably Bainbridge herself, at her home in Camden.

Another shows one of the men in her life in the guise of a bearded Napoleon, apparently seated on a horse.

Napoleon On a Horse

Another shows a lover Don McKinley as a young Napoleon. To the left of Napoleon is a cut off face of Beryl Bainbridge herself and to the right a view of the Lancashire countryside presumably from the farmhouse close to Ramsbottom in which they lived.

Napoleon When Young

Another, which one journal claims was in the exhibition, but which I do not recall, and for which I can find no image (photography was not allowed), is entitled "Napoleon and Friend Retreating from Ramsbottom", which, at the risk of offending a few readers, seems like a good place to retreat from.

Also displayed were pictures of Scott of Antarctica, the Titanic and, most interesting to me, of Dr Johnson, including one of Johnson and his cat Hodge again set in her own house in Camden. Dr Johnson was one of Bainbridge's later passions and the subject of her novel “According to Queeney", which tells the story of his unrequited love for Mrs Thrale.

A quirky, apparently light hearted exhibition, with Adolf Hitler making a cameo appearance in a Titanic picture, there was an underlying more serious theme to Beryl's painting. I was interested by the comment of her daughter JoJo Davies, speaking about the portrayal of Dr Johnson: I love this painting. .. That look of disappointment on his face. Disappointment was a big theme in her novels, though not conscious I don’t think. Reading that I thought again of the Titanic and Scott of Antarctica, and despite the erotic imaginings, of Napoleon on St Helena. Interestingly though, in reviewing what was a very small exhibition, neither the Guardian nor the Telegraph thought Napoleon or Dr Johnson worth a mention.