El siguiente informe aparece en la página de eventos de la web de Peninsular 200:
Inauguration of the Memorial to John Scrope Colquitt
in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Sevilla) on Saturday May 5th 2012
Lance Corporal George Vickers, a Grenadier drummer, playing The Last Post and The Rouse at
the Memorial to John Scrope Colquitt in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville) on
Saturday 5th May 2012.
On Saturday May 5th 2012, Alcalá de
Guadaíra paid tribute to Lieutenant Colonel John Scrope Colquitt of the First
Regiment of Foot Guards at the very spot where he was buried 200 years ago. Lt.
Col. Colquitt had fought with his battalion at Barrosa in 1811 and was stationed in Cadiz during the
siege of the city by the French. On 27th August 1812 he took part in
the liberation of Seville where he bravely led his troops across the Triana
Bridge. His company was sent to Alcalá de Guadaíra to restore the bread supply
to the city, but Lt Col Colquitt was unable to join them as he was ill with
fever. He died on 4th of September 1812 at the age of 37 and his
grief stricken troops decided to carry his remains to the town of Alcalá. The
local people refused permission to bury him at the town’s cemetery as he was an
Anglican “heathen” and so they buried his body by a wayside cross, which to
this very day is known as “La Cruz del Inglés” (The English Cross.)
An emotional ceremony was held in the local Town Hall.
Francisco Lopez spoke of all the research that has been carried out by The
English Cross Association and how they were able to piece together a story that
had been lost in time and to contact John Scrope Colquitt’s descendants.
Samantha Westmacott spoke on behalf of the Colquitt-Craven family. She said
that John Scrope Colquitt is a symbol of what is really good about the British
military, the idea that men serve their country in order to protect what is
good against what is evil. She also praised how the rediscovery of his story
had brought together a big family group which had lost touch with each other.
Top: The Colquitt-Craven family together with members of the English Cross
Association and the Mayor in the Town
Hall in Alcalá de Guadaíra
Bottom : Samantha Westmacott and Andrew Martin pay tribute to Lt. Col. John
Scrope Colquitt
Top :
Captain Charles Elwell of the Grenadier Guards presents the Mayor with a silver
statuette of a Grenadier Guard.
Bottom:
Francisco Lopez, Vice-President of the Association of the English Cross addresses
those present in the Town Hall
Andrew Martin, a member of the Association, read a
letter from the Lord Mayor of Liverpool who said that it is a matter of pride
that a son of the city should have made his mark in the service to his country
and that his name should still be honoured far from home. Stephen Thompson
(Colquitt-Craven family) then read Rupert Brooke’s poem “The Soldier”. Captain
Charles Elwell spoke in representation of the Grenadier Guards and recalled all
those who had died in conflicts, especially those Grenadier Guards who have
been killed in Afghanistan. He presented the Mayor with a silver statuette of a
Grenadier Guard to thank the Town for having honoured Lt Col. John Scrope
Colquitt.The Mayor of Alcalá de Guadaíra, D. Antonio Gutierrez Limones, then
spoke both in English and Spanish and thanked all those involved in the project
for having recovered part of the history of the town.
All those present then proceeded to the Cruz del
Inglés where the monument was unveiled by the Mayor and Sam Westmacott,
representing the Colquitt-Craven family. Wreaths were then laid by the family
and the English Cross Association. Owen Wynn of the Welsh Guards (member of the
Colquitt-Craven family) recited the Ode of Remembrance and the Grenadier
drummer Lance Corporal George Vickers then played the Last Post followed by a
minute of silence. He then sounded The Rouse, saluted the monument and marched
away.
The monument is located near the centre of Alcalá de
Guadaíra at the roundabout known as La Cruz del Inglés on the road from Mairena
del Alcor to Utrera and Dos Hermanas. There is an exhibition about John Scrope
Colquitt, The English Cross and Spain in 1812 in the local museum from May 7th
until September 23rd where John Scrope Colquitt’s original bilingual
tombstone, which was commissioned by his dear friend John Downie, can be
viewed.
Bottom: Samantha Westmacott and Owen Wynn laying a wreath on behalf of the
Colquitt-Craven family.
Top: A minute’s silence in memory of Lt. Col. John Scrope Colquitt
Captain Charles
Elwell has kindly sent the speech he made at the ceremony on May 5th
2012:
I am here to represent Her Majesty´s
First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, the regiment of Colquitt and the
regiment I also serve, when required, but from which I retired many years ago.
I am here to express our appreciation of the manner in which you are
commemorating Col Colquitt and of the honour you do him and to us, his
regiment. We give our heartfelt thanks to all those who have made this occasion
possible;
Firstly to His Excellency the Mayor,
their excellencies of the town hall and, above all to the people of
Alcalá de Guadaira. The effort and cost you have expended to enable this
occasion to take place is an example of the sort of solidarity and generosity
shown during the best moments of the time when our two nations fought together
during the War of Independence. The very difficult economic conditions we are
living through at present make this effort all the more laudable.
Second, I must thank you members of The
Association of the English Cross. It was your curiosity backed by dogged
detective work which set the whole thing alight. In particular I must thank
Andrew Martin who has been such a solid supporter of this event.
Third, thanks and congratulations to the
Colquitt clan. Under the leadership of Sam Westmacott you have demonstrated a
determination and tenacity worthy of your ancestor and without which this would
not have come to pass.
Please will you allow me a few words to
talk about the origins and history of our regiment. We were first formed around
the person of the man who was to become Charles the Second who was then in
exile in Bruges. At that time, as you will be aware, Bruges was under the
dominion of the Spanish crown. The first engagement we were involved in was the
Battle of the Dunes when we fought alongside Spanish troops against an English
force in what was the last battle of the English Civil War. And so we were born
on Spanish soil and fought our first fight with Spanish allies against an
English army, and yet when Charles was restored to the throne he decreed that
we should be the senior regiment of his guards, ranking above all other
infantry regiments in the English army´s order of battle.
Some one hundred and fifty years and
many battles later we were again in the Iberian peninsular. The regiment fought
from Cadiz to the Pyrenees, passing via Seville where Col. Colquitt fell.
It was not long afterwards, on the field of Waterloo that the regiment was
involved in the most celebrated action of its long history. After hours of
bloody conflict Napoleon, in a last desperate throw of the dice, launched his
Imperial Guard at the English line. These superb veterans had been undefeated
in dozens of battles throughout Europe and amongst them were the Imperial
Grenadiers, the elite of the elite. This force had taken no part in the battle
until that moment when they crashed into the depleted and exhausted ranks of
His Majesty´s First Regiment of Foot Guards. But the Foot Guards held
them. First they held them and, then after the most tremendous conflict
they flung them back and charged them. The most feared troops in Europe, the
invincible Imperial Guard had been put to flight. Dismay and disbelief swept
through the rest of the French army on seeing this and they turned tail, threw
down their weapons and ran from the field. It was to honour and remember this
historic moment that by Royal Decree the regiment was renamed The First or
Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, the only regiment in the British army whose
name was won on the field of battle.
I suppose that in the minds of many
people the Grenadiers are mostly associated with ceremonial duties taking place
within the relatively harmless arena of Buckingham Palace. And seeing the
magnificent figure of L/Cpl Vickers, who we are so lucky to have present, it is
easy to understand why. However, it should be remembered that it is first and
foremost an elite fighting force, trained to the very highest standards. Two
centuries after Col Colquitt died near here fighting to free Spain the regiment
he served continues to shed its blood on foreign soil. The regiment is now in
the Helmand province of Afghanistan and just eight days ago Guardsman Roland
was killed in action. When we observe silence to remember Col. Colquitt I would
ask that you also remember Roland and his family and his comrades. And I ask
that we give thanks that there still exist men and women who possess the
virtues of courage and honour which shone in Colquitt and who are prepared to
pay the ultimate price in defence of those we love and that which we hold dear.
I have with me a present for the people
of Alcalá de Guadaira, it is from the Lt. Col. And all ranks of the regiment.
It has a plaque inscribed thus
“To the City of Alcalá de Guadaíra from
The Regimental Lieutenant Colonel and All Ranks, Grenadier Guards on the
occasion of the Inauguration of the Monument in the Cruz del Inglés in memory
of Lieutenant Colonel John Scrope Colquitt, hero of the Peninsula War in 1812” .It
is a token of gratitude for the honour you have done us and a reminder of the
friendship which exists between us.
