The Romance of Madame Tussaud'sTussaud, John Theodore
History
The Romance of Madame Tussaud's
Tussaud, John Theodore
Madame Tussaud and Sons' Exhibition; Tussaud, Marie, 1761-1850; Waxworks
My wife prepared the laurel wreath, placed above the model, on which are
inscribed Nurse Cavell’s words, uttered a few hours before her death, “I
am happy to die for my country.”
Soon after the boy hero of the Jutland naval battle was modelled and he
had been awarded the posthumous honour of the Victoria Cross, his mother,
accompanied by a lady friend, came to the Exhibition to see the figure of
her son. It was on the 24th of August, 1916.
[Illustration: JACK CORNWELL, V.C.
A Portrait Study by John T. Tussaud of the boy hero of the Battle of
Jutland.]
No sooner did Mrs. Cornwell catch sight of the image of her young hero
than she burst into a fit of weeping, and exclaimed, “My boy, my dear
boy!” Upon resuming her composure she expressed her surprise at the
remarkable resemblance, and added: “I am very proud of my boy, but I do
miss him so.”
Mrs. Cornwell had with her a letter she had received from the Captain of
H.M.S. _Chester_ (her son’s ship). He wrote:
I know you would wish to hear of the splendid fortitude and
courage shown by your boy. His devotion to duty was an example
to all of us. The wounds, which resulted in his death within
a short time, were received in the first few minutes of the
action. He remained steady at his most exposed post at the
gun, waiting for orders. His gun would not bear on the enemy;
all but two of the crew were killed or wounded, and he was the
only one who was in such an exposed position. But he felt he
might be needed, as indeed he might have been; so he stayed
there, standing and waiting under heavy fire with just his own
brave heart and God’s help to support him.
For the model of Captain Fryatt, of the Great Eastern Railway steamer
_Brussels_, I had to rely mainly upon photographs.
This brave seaman was captured, with his vessel, by the Germans on the
23rd of June, 1916. On the 27th of the following month he was condemned
to death at Bruges for attempting to ram a German submarine, the sentence
being carried out the same afternoon.
The model appropriately stands near that of Mr. Havelock Wilson, the
sailors’ champion, and, judging from the remarks of visitors who knew the
Captain well, it bears a good resemblance.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN FRYATT
The model of the martyred captain of the G. E. R. Ship “Brussels,” now at
Madame Tussaud’s.]
We cannot leave this subject without associating with these figures the
revered names of Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener, whose models stand near
by. The attitude of visitors towards them is that of deep admiration and
respect, expressed not so much by word of mouth as by demeanour, which
eloquently testifies to the public sympathy with these great warriors.
[Illustration: FIELD MARSHAL EARL KITCHENER
A Portrait Study by John T. Tussaud.]
* * * * *
Enclosed in a glass case is a walking-stick to which belongs a story
showing the kind-heartedness of Queen Alexandra.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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