FALL OF GIBRALTAR

Evening Star, Issue 23375, 19 September 1939, Page 11

FALL OF GIBRALTAR

TWO CENTURIES AGO SUCCESS GAINED CHEAPLY THE BRITISH EXPLOIT “The day is exceedingly hot and the sea almost covered with a thin slimy matter, as is usual after a long calm.” That was while the British Fleet moved across the Straits to attack Gibraltar, says Derek Hudson, in * The Listener.’ The chaplain of His Majesty’s ship Ranolagh, the Rev. Thomas I’ocock, noted this sentence in his diary on July 21, 1704. And a little later in the day, after the ships had rounded the southern end of the Rock, he scribbled: “Here is a Cliappcl dedicated to St. Europa. whose image is saluted by all Popish vessels that pass the Streights; and hero are two small cannon planted to answer the salutes, which make bold to treat ns a little more freely with shot at our coming into the Bay; but they did not kiss our ships, God be thanked.” I have been working on Pocock’s diary lately, and the other evening I was reading these extracts to a few friends, when it occurred to me that nowadays Gibraltar is oft-en in our thoughts, but the story of how we won it seems surprisingly little known. I can imagine some people saying: “The capture of Gibraltar — that must have been n tremendous business.” And so, of course, it has proved—in its effect on British prestige and on the development of our Empire. And if anyone asked: “ What did cost- us?” we would naturally expect to hear the tale of a long campaign and of terrible casualties. Yet the answer is. simply; a three-days’ siege, two hundred wounded, 60 killed. When wo remember that five hundred men fell every day in the Great War, that gives us something to think about. WAITING HER CHANCE. Since the days of Cromwell, England had been waiting for a chance to take Gibraltar; but it was not until the war of the Spanish Succession that a suitable opportunity arrived. In July. 1704, the English Fleet under Sir ' George Rqoke and a squadron of our Dutch allies lay off the coast or Morocco—with instructions to make yet another of our many attempts to' capture the Spanish town of Cadiz. Frankly, ißooke did not like the idea, and when he mot his admirals for a council he told them so. Something had to bo done, however, and there, seen dimly through the portholes of IRooke’s cabin, the summit of Gibraltar Rock made a tempting alternative. Gibraltar was known to have only a small garrison; and if once he could seize the place, Rooke thought, his marines could hold the land front while the fleet kept the coast clear for reinforcements. On the whole, it may have been lucky for ns that Admiral Byng, the second in command, did not think much of the plan. An objection from Byng always strengthened Rooke’s determination "to have his own way, and no doubt he took particular joy in ordering Byng himself to lead a division of 16 English and six Dutch ships into action. As you have heard from the Rev. Pocock, only a few shots whizzed harmlessly round them as they passed Europa Point; and the whole squadron sailed safely into the Bay, mooring in a long line with their broadsides to the shore. One gun alone was fired from the town. It was not a bad shot, for spars came tumbling from the mainmast of Byng’s flagship. But within an hour 1,800 marines had got a footing on the tongue of land _ which connects Gibraltar with the mainland, while a trumpeter summoned the Governor to surrender in the name of the Archduke Charles of Austria.

Never mind what the Archduke Charles had got to do with it. Our Queen Anne was givibg him England’s backing in an attofnpt to set him on tho throne of Spain. REPLY TO FRENCH THREAT.

That was in reply to the French threat to drive Queen Anne off the English throne and put the Jacobite Pretender there instead. But the important thing is that two and a-half centuries had gone by since the Spaniards had won Gibraltar from the Moors, and those two and a-half centuries of peace had brought the walls to decay, and made the Spaniards lazy and overconfident. If we put ourselves in the position of the Governor, Don Diego de Salinas, on that warm July day in 1704, we shall soon understand why tho herald’s trumpet had such an unpleasant sound. Despite repeated complaints to Mad-, rid, Don Diego’s garrison had been allowed to fall to so precarious a level that, bv his own reckoning, he had “ no more than 56 men, of whom there were not 30 in the service.” It is true that he had also collected a few hundred civilians, and armed them with a haphazard assortment of weapons—but the men, he complained, were ” of such bad quality that before they arrived they began to run away.” Of trained gunners, again, lie bud only a handful —though most of the cannon were too old and! rusty to be fired, anyway. This was a depressing situation for any commander. Don Diego faced it in the grand old Spanish manner. First of all the English commander told him that “ before proceeding, to tho extremity of warfare he took occasion to express a hope that the city would be governed by a sense of justice ami its true interests . . . and would obey the summons of His Majesty King Charles, as might bo expected from so noble and loyal a city.” DON DIEGO’S REPLY.

Don Diego stoutly replied that “ having taken an oath of fidelity to Don Philip V., as their natural lord and king, they would as faithful and loyal subjects sacrifice their lives in defence of the city.” In his heart, of course, he must have known that no resistance of his would prove successful; but during the following day, July 22, he saw that all women and children were out of danger in the chapel at Europa Point, and made what other preparations he could; while the English ships crept closer to the shore, and one of them, the Lennox, actually approached withiu_ musket shot of the New Mole, At o o’clock in the morning of July 23, the fleet began a tremendous bombardment. Don Diego estimated the number of cannon balls that fell in the town at 30,000. Probably the actual number was less, for after a few hours the smoke became so dense that the gunners could not see what they were aiming at, and Admiral Byng sent word that only the guns in the lower tier were to continue. Enough rounds were fired, however, to make the fleet extremely short of ammunition at the Battle of Malaga, a fortnight later. ,By 10 o’clock several bouses in the centre of Gibraltar were ablaze, and many of the Spanish soldiers had to take their places in a chain of men ami women that stretched to the old well, passing the leather fire buckets from hand to hand. At 11, Captain Jumper, of the Lennox, peered through the clearing smoke; saw no sign of life in the little fort that guarded the Mole; and asked permission to land. Fifteen minutes

later the English rowboats were grating on tho beach. A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. Then something happened which must have tomporaraly raised tho Spaniards’ ■hopes. Our sailors wore a good deal more brave than prudent, and as they dashed, happy-go-incky, into the empty fort, some had lighted gun-matchcs in their hands. It never occurred to them that the fort might also bo a powder magazine, and the result was a terrific explosion—in which _ 200 men wero hurled in all directions, at least 4Q were killed, and, ns wo road in an old account. “Mr Master, Admiral Byng’s own lieutenant and brother-in-law, was much hurt in the leg.” Several landing boats sank, and there was a brief panic—the first thought naturally that the enemy had sprung a m ; ne —but when it was realised that tho explosion was only an accident, and that the Spaniards were making nothing of their opportunity, the sailors rallied and marched along the deserted ramparts towards the town. At a bastion on the shore, a few yards from the south wall, Captain Whitaker hoisted the Union Jack. Gibraltar was now surrounded on three sides; and the women, who had been evacuated for safety, wero out off from their husbands. Envoys from Rooke and the Prince of Hesse demanded surrender in half an hourfailing which, they declared, they would enter “ with all the vigour which such resistance deserved.” Don Diego still refused to abandon hope, and obtained an extension of the time limit until tho following morning; but day dawned without any sign of a relieving army—and at 8 o’clock he reluctantly surrendered Gibraltar with all the honours of war. , , , Tho terms of the surrender were generous. Tho soldiers were allowed to inarch out with their arms and baggage, and whatever they could carry on their shoulders; they could also take ‘‘three brass ■ cannons of different calibres ” and “ supplies of bread, meat, and wine for six days. Any civilian who took the oath of allegiance to the so-called “ King Charles 111. of Spain ” was allowed to stay in the town, hut nearly all proved loyal to King Philip. ALL LOYAL TO PHILIP. It was really no wonder they preferred to go! Conditions in tho navy, at that time wero so wretched that, once sailors got ashore in a foreign port, it was impossible to control them, and many houses and churches in Gibraltar wero ruthlessly sacked. Only the church of St. Mary was spared, and that because a brave curate stayed behind to look after it. Rooko determined to make an example of one of the plunderers —one, no thought, would bo enough—and lots were drawn to decide which should suffer. In his diary, Mr Pocock recorded the execution of an English marine, “ which was hanged after he had threw dice with a Dutchman, who hove 10 and the Englishman nine.” Two days later, Don Diego reported his bad news to Madrid, and tho dispatch gives us our last glimpse of this gallant and courteous nobleman. Your Excellency,” he wrote, “ knows well how often I brought to your consideration the condition to which Gibraltar was reduced for lack of garrison and artillery, for want of food and ammunition. ... I had hoped 1 should obtain reinforcements which would have avoided this present occurrence. . . . Having regard to the lack of provision made against it, your Excellency cannot be surprised. . . .” In London, of course, tho news was received with pleasure—though not exactly with enthusiasm. Hedges, the Secretary of State, felt that Gibraltar “ would he of great use to iis foi securing our trade and interrupting of the enemy’s.” But Sir George Rooke was a diehard Tory whoso achievements never passed without criticism from political opponents. Bishop Burnett was inclined to scoff. “ It is much questioned by men who understand these matters,” he said in his history. “ whether our possessing ourselves of Gibraltar and our maintaining it were to our advantage or not—it has certainly put us to a great charge. . . .” IN NAME OF A PRETENDER.

Nobody had any idea of the importance it was one day to attain. And we must remember that we ac'tually took possession of the Rock in the name of a pretender to the Spanish throne, who, if ho had succeeded in becoming King, would hardly have wished us to keep it. Perhaps in the long run it was lucky that our campaign on behalf of the Archduke Charles was a failure, for during the next nine years England successfully garrisoned Gibraltar without assistance ; and in 1713 our title to the Rock was legally recognised by Philip of Spain in tho Treaty of Utrecht, In the words of Article X.: “ The Catholic King for himself and his successors cedes to Great Britain the entire possession of the city, castle, port, and fortifications of Gibraltar, to hold and be enjoyed absolutely and in full right for ever and without any reservation.”

But in spite of that high-sounding language tho Spaniards did not for some time give up hopes of recovering Gibraltar, and since 1713 the Rock has been through many trials. George I. valued it so little that in 1715 he actually made a jmrsonal offer to return it to Spain ; hut this did not receive the consent of Parliament! During the great siege, which began in 1779 and lasted four years, it was often on the brink of capture—until General Eliott discovered the devastating effect of redhot cannon balls on the enemy’s wooden ships and rafts. At the end of that siege, in 1783, the Spaniards agreed to abandon their claim to Gib-, raltar and accepted the return of Minorca and the cession of Florida in its place—so that it has been said that our ownership of Gibraltar is based on treatv rights quite as respectable, for example, as the present German possession of Heligoland. To-day bombs from tlie air constitute a fresh menace—and air raid shelters have been tunnelled deep into the Rock. But one thing at least is certain—Gibraltar will never he lost through carelessness. For surely no people in history can have regretted their carelessness more bitterly than the Spaniards, who left it without guns nr men or ammunition on that distant July afternoon when the topsails of Rooke’s fleet appeared so ominously on the horizon.