The Children's Story of Westminster AbbeyTroutbeck, G. E. (Georgina E.)
History
The Children's Story of Westminster Abbey
Troutbeck, G. E. (Georgina E.)
Westminster Abbey
The grave of his brother, John, Lord Lawrence, reminds us of a great and
good man who served his country well in India. Although he was a
civilian and not a soldier by profession, he had great military ability,
and it was he who really saved the Punjaub at the time of the Mutiny. He
succeeded Lord Elgin as Viceroy of India in 1863, and died in 1879. On
his tombstone are words which we all might pray to deserve: “He feared
man so little because he feared God so much.”
There is a fine bust of Lord Lawrence against the south wall of the
Nave, not far from where he is buried.
In the North Transept are windows in memory of seven officers who were
killed in the Indian Mutiny. These are Sir Henry Barnard, K.C.B.,
Lieutenant-Colonel Woodford, Lovick Cooper, a young ensign, Captain
Thynne, Ensign Bankes, Captain Moorsom, and Lieutenant-Colonel Adrian
Hope.
Four of these officers had also fought in the Crimean War in 1854–56,
and had distinguished themselves by their services at that time.
Colonel Adrian Hope had also fought in the Kaffir War, and thus his name
brings the remembrance of South Africa into the Abbey, long before the
memorial was put up to those who fell in the last Boer War.
There is a window in the North Transept to the memory of officers who
were lost in the _Captain_, which foundered off Cape Finisterre on 7th
September 1870, five days after that great Battle of Sedan which ended
the terrible war between France and Germany.
In St. Andrew’s Chapel there is also a window to the memory of those
that fell in action and died from the effects of wounds or climate
during the Ashanti War in 1873.
A bronze bust in the North-West Tower reminds us of another soldier hero
of our time, Charles George Gordon, remembered chiefly for his work in
China, in Egypt, and in the Soudan. The story of Gordon’s death at
Khartoum in 1885 will never be forgotten. His name and noble character
are always kept fresh in our memory by the Gordon Boys’ Home, which does
such excellent work in training boys for the army.
South Africa has one direct memorial at Westminster, for in the North
Cloister there is a tablet in memory of the men of the Queen’s
Westminster Volunteer Corps who fell in the Boer War of 1899–1902. The
tablet was put up in 1901, and was unveiled by the Secretary of State
for War.
We are reminded of an earlier time in the history of the Volunteers by
the monument of George Herries, the first Colonel of the London and
Westminster Light Horse Volunteers, of which he was described as the
“father.” George Herries was a well-known merchant. He died in 1819, and
was buried in the Abbey with military honours. His monument is in the
Nave.
We must now look back over the nineteenth century, as we did over the
eighteenth, and call to mind many other great men whose graves and
monuments we find in the Abbey,—statesmen, writers, and men of science.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account