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A NEW era is approaching for the 15ft high granite
column, surmounted by a stone lantern-stand, standing at the top of
Newlyn Slip.
For
generations it has been almost discounted, but the story of this unsung
and practically unknown memorial is a fascinating one, for it tells of
the wonderful sacrifice of a woman who died "in the service of her
country".
All
my life I have been intrigued by the "mysterious" story of Louisa
McGrigor. Today, not only is the full story revealed, but the memorial
has been adopted – in the absence of any known owners – by Penzance
Town Council so that this unique memorial will receive the tender
loving care is needs.
Former
Mayor, Ruth Simpson, of Newlyn, and her environmental team at Newlyn
Fish Industry Forum, have been working towards the recognition and
adoption. The lettering will be restored by local engraver Malcolm
Pilcher, a former chairman of Penwith District Council, who lives in
Newlyn. The site will also be tidied up.
But
who was the heroine Louisa McGrigor – so admired and mourned in her
time and remembered by this village landmark for more than 80 years? It
was a tricky trail for me to follow.
The people I asked, including local historians, could not solve the
riddle in full of The Lady and the Lantern. As with so many Cornish
heroes and heroines – a plaque commemorating the Chartist William
Lovett stands nearby – we had never been taught about her (or Lovett)
during our school years. It was only when I was asked to take a group
on a Newlyn walkabout and talkabout in aid of the local chapel, that
Louisa McGrigor became a name to conjure with. I was determined to
discover more about her.
Sadly,
the memorial does not say when it was unveiled, by whom or why. All we
know is that it was "erected by her fellow workers in the British Red
Cross Society, Women's Unionist Association, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides
and friends". That much I knew and I was interested in the choice of
lines inscribed, which read:
One who never turned her back,
But marched breast forward,
Never doubted clouds would break,
Never dreamed, though rights were worsted,
Wrong would triumph.
If
only a little of that had been replaced by something about Louisa. No
age, no home, no precise duties and place of death. But not all was
blank, for she was listed at Commandant of the VAD (Cornwall 22). The
VAD, I learned, stood for Voluntary Aid Detachment. She died "on
service" during the First World War, on March 21, 1917.
Then
a friend gave me a faded programme (printed by the Newlyn Press...now
that brings more memories) of the Order of Proceedings on Friday, March
18 in 1921, at 4.30pm, when Mrs Robins Bolitho, of the celebrated local
family, performed the unveiling ceremony. But alas, there was nothing
about Louisa.
There
was a dedication, the Last Post was played, and there were speeches by
a Mrs Paynter and a Miss Hunter, plus the formal handing over of the
memorial to the care of the district council, and God Save the King.
A
worse-for-wear newspaper cutting, of five short paragraphs (what about
the news and the human interest Mr Reporter of 1921?), covering the
event, provided a little more information.
Mrs
Paynter, it said, spoke highly of Miss McGrigor's work in the Red Cross
movement, and said she was one of the great army of soldier-women whose
names were not recorded by the War Office. She gave her life in the
cause of the nation.
Miss
Hunter "made reference to deceased's faithfulness to the great ideals
of the Girl Guide movement". Mrs G Poole handed the memorial over to
the care of the council, while John White spoke highly of Miss
McGrigor's "character and example".
So
far, so good. But what did she do, and why was there such an emotional
tide? It was time to become a serious detective and go to the museum
and archive department of British Red Cross headquarters in London.
They were more than helpful and soon a picture began to emerge.
Miss
Louisa Anne May McGrigor – the full name was one extra fact – was
Commandant of Cornwall Detachment 22, and ran the local VAD hospital
for wounded soldiers and sailors brought to West Cornwall for treatment
and recovery.
She
was given a funeral with full military honours on April 3 in 1917, just
three days after her death, and was succeeded as Commandant until March
1919 by Miss Charlotte Douglas Lockhart McGrigor, her sister.
Louisa
is included, says the Red Cross, in the index of those "who lost their
lives". She had lived at Mavis Bank, Newlyn, just off Paul Hill.
Her
sister wrote about her in the journal of the British Red Cross Society
in May 1917. And this told me most of what I wanted to know.
"I
am proud that she served our country and the Red Cross so well, and
though overwork and worry entailed by her service were largely the
cause of her death, I do not regret that she made the sacrifice. As she
died in the service of her country and worked for both sailors and
soldiers, she was accorded a military funeral. Soldiers from the VAD
Hospital at Penzance formed a guard of honour on either side of the
coffin, which was covered with the Union Jack.
"A
contingent from the naval bases and two commanders marched in front,
headed by a military band, and mounted guard at the station until the
train which conveyed her body to London for cremation left, and after
the service in church, the Last Post was sounded.
"My
sister's own detachment and others, and the staff of the hospital
followed. Apart from personal gratification, I am proud that a woman
and a VAD Commandant should have been thus honoured."
The
British Red Cross information provided by archivist Sian Wynne-Jones,
on "Louisa McGrigor, VAD WWI" had turned up trumps just in time for my
village tour. The jigsaw was almost complete, and with the precise date
of her death I was able to roll over the microfilm newspaper files of
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph to find more in the Saturday April
7 1917 issue. It reported: "The news of the almost sudden death of Miss
Louisa McGrigor will be received with deep regret by her large circle
of friends.
"Miss
McGrigor was, apparently, in her usual health last week and was out and
about the town and engaged in the many spheres in which she was
interested.
"At
the latter end of the week, however, she developed appendicitis, and
was removed to West Cornwall Hospital, where she died on Sunday.
"She
was the daughter of the late Lieutenant Colonel McGrigor, Bombay
Infantry, and of Louisa McGrigor of Canmethan House, Lanarkshire.
"Miss
McGrigor was a lady possessed of considerable public spirit and imbued
with a sense of doing her duty, notwithstanding the inconvenience it
involved personally.
"She
initiated the first local detachment of the Red Cross before the war,
at Newlyn, from which grew the local Red Cross movement until it
culminated in the splendid VA Hospital at Penzance.
"Into
this movement she threw her characteristic enthusiasm. She was the
Commandant of the Newlyn VA Detachment, the members of which entertain
a deep sense of gratitude for the service she rendered.
"Her
work was marked by a cheerfulness of disposition, generosity of spirit,
devotion to detail, and enthusiasm which left their mark on all with
whom she came into contact, and had a most beneficial influence on the
cause. In addition she was the Red Cross lady for the district.
"She
also started the local troop of Sea Scouts and Girl Guides. She was
also a zealous worker in the Unionist cause and was honorary secretary
of the Divisional Women's Association.
"Miss
McGrigor also did good and much appreciated work in conjunction with St
Peter's Church, Newlyn, where she taught in the Sunday School."
Before
she was taken to London, on the Tuesday following her death, a service
was held at St Mary's Church, Penzance. A large number attended,
including patients from the local VAD.
There
was a long procession to the railway station, including a detachment
from the naval base at Newlyn, the RDC Band, Girl Guides and many
nurses of the VAD.
There
were members of the Bolitho family among the mourners, together with
Norman Garstin – famed for his painting The Rain It Raineth Every Day –
and Mr J D Mackenzie, founder of the Newlyn craft workshops with its
famed copper-ware. The band played a Chopin march and the Dead March In
Saul.
It
was clear the district had been stunned by the death of this talented
lady. The flowers included a wreath from Newlyn VAD in the form of a
white circle with a red dot, which is the Scout signal for "Gone Home".
My
quest was complete, the riddle answered, the mystery solved. At last I
had gathered together all the threads in the story of this remarkable
and much-loved woman.
No
heroine of the war front. No victim of enemy action, in a direct sense.
Yet, in the words of her sister, Louisa wore herself out, made the
sacrifice and "died in the service of her country".
That
was the reason for that granite column at Newlyn Slip. Now, thanks to
Penzance Town Council and its clerk, David Gallie, Louisa will have as
secure a future as she had a renowned past.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
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