British Army in Ulysses - Major Tweedy's Neighborhood

The British Army in Ulysses

Online Supplement for Volume II of The British Army on Bloomsday

Addenda and Errata

Correct the Burke's Peerage reference for John Elliott Cecil Power, fn. 197, p. 80 to Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 1910, s.v. "Power of Kilfane."

Correct and amend the penultimate paragraph on p. 113 to read as follows:

Dublin born William Henry O'Shea in 1858 was commissioned, without purchase, a cornet (second lieutenant) in the 18th Hussars. He purchased a lieutenancy the following year, and a captaincy in 1862. Two years later, after six-years' service as a cavalry officer, he sold his commission. 307/. In January 1867, O'Shea married Katherine Wood, an Englishwoman who was the daughter of an Anglican clergyman. O'Shea then embarked on several business ventures, all of which failed. The year following his marriage, O'Shea took up part-time soldiering with the prestigious South Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry. Losses from the stud farm he established in 1868 caused him to file for bankruptcy and consequently, resign his yeomanry commission. 307-1/ In 1875, the O'Sheas separated with the Captain living in London, while his wife and three children settled in Kent. Both were supported by Katherine's wealthy, widowed Aunt, Maria Wood. 308/
307-1/ Commission as cornet in S. Herts. Yeomanry. London Gazette, June 23, 1868. Notice of First Meeting of Creditors, Bankruptcy of William Henry O'Shea. London Gazette, May 20, 1870. Resignation of yeomanry commission. London Gazette, July 8, 1870.

Replace the last paragraph on p. 234 and the first paragraph on p. 235 with the following:

Harry Compton was a professional actor who, unaccountably, was in Switzerland during the First World War. There, he appeared in at least ten productions of the English Players. 95/ Pre-war British periodicals show his first stage appearance was in 1886 as Charles Berkley in The Missing Link by Hal Collier. 96-1/ Later productions in which Compton performed are A Mad Passion, The Two Hussars, Work and Wages, and The Guilty Man. 96-2/ In 1902, Compton was a “funny comedian” in a variety show at the Empire Palace of Varieties, Bridgwater, England. 96-3/ Harry Compton was with the English Players from September 1918 through December 1919, and possibly afterwards. After the war, his name shows up in British notices for only one theatrical production: The Powder Girl, a musical review. 96-4/

Harry Compton was born in 1862 in Birmingham, England. As a youngster, he was apprenticed to a tailor. In 1882, Compton enlisted in the 15th Hussars, one of the British Army’s cavalry regiments. After two-years’ service in the UK, the army gave him a medical discharge on account of heart palpitations. Compton then took up residence in London. 97-1/
After James Joyce’s run-in with the British legation to Switzerland in mid-1918, he withdrew as The English Players' business manager hoping the British government would then provide financial assistance to the troupe. Harry Compton took over as business manager and apparently embezzled company funds. Claud Sykes, the company's artistic manager, discovered irregularities in the financial accounts and Compton made restitution. For this malfeasance, Joyce punished Compton by naming one of the two British army privates who abused Stephen Dedalus in Ulysses "Compton." 97-2/

95/ Brockman and Alonso, “Exit Carr.”
96-1/ The Stage, February 26, 1886.
96-2/ The Stage - February 17, 1888, August 29, 1895; The Era - May 26, 1900, September 21, 1901.
96-3/ The Era, November 29, 1902.
96-4/ The Stage, April 8 and June 3, 1920.
97-1/ British Army Service Record of Harry Compton, TNA WO 97/2538/144.
97-2/ Claud W. Sykes, My Recollections of James Joyce, James Joyce Collection, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, GEN MSS 112.

I. British Infantry Regiments Noted in Ulysses

In the novel, Joyce references directly or indirectly, twelve British Army infantry regiments: two Irish, two Welsh, three English, and five Scottish. Note that three-fourths of those regiments were associated with Celtic nations.

Royal Munster Fusiliers	The North Cork Militia, spoken of by Myles Crawford in "Aeolus," became the 9th Battalion of the Royal Rifles but recruited from the Munster Fusiliers' territory.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers	Brian Tweedy's Regiment.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers	Along King Bloom's processional route in "Circe."
South Wales Borderers	The defenders of Rorke's Drift were of this regiment.
East Lancashire	Regiment of Percy Apjohn, one of Bloom's childhood friends.
East Surrey	Molly remembers they replaced the Cameron Highlanders in Gibraltar.
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry	Repaired the damage caused by the biscuit tin The Citizen threw at Bloom.
Cameron Highlanders	Their stay in Gibraltar is recalled several times by Molly.
Seaforth Highlanders	Their bandsmen alighted from the tram at Grattan's statue by Trinity College.
Black Watch	Molly thought they looked splendid on parade in their kilts.
Gordon Highlanders	Regiment founded by the "Cock of the North" which in "Circe" is the name of Deasy's "brokenwinded isabelle nag."
Scottish Borderers	Along King Bloom's processional route in "Circe."

Regimental Territorial Districts

In 1873, as part of the reforms instituted by Liberal War Minister Edward Cardwell, infantry battalions were paired and assigned a common recruit depot and a "brigade territorial recruiting sub-district." This was known at the time as the "localisation scheme." In 1881, Liberal War Minister Hugh Childers advanced the localisation scheme to the "territorial scheme." Under this reorganization, the paired regiments became single, multi-battalion regiments and militia and volunteer force infantry units in the regimental districts were incorporated into the new formations. Note that a few regiments had four regular battalions.

Each Territorial District was commanded by a full colonel and headquarters was co-located with the regimental depot. The depot staff served as the district staff. The District Commanding Officer had authority over the depot and the auxiliary units (militia and volunteer force) but not the regular battalions.

Click Image to Enlarge

Regiments in Ulysses

"The officer in command of the regimental district is given the appointment, which he holds for five years or till he has attained the age of fifty-seven, merely because there is nothing against his character as an officer. It is in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the last active military command which he can ever exercise. He has reached the crown of his career; he has nothing to look forward to; ambition is dead within him, and it is impossible to expect him to show any zeal or to go out of his way to make the most of the recruits commencing their military career under his command. As a rule, he doses quietly through his five years, only anxious for peace and quite, thinking more of the approaching date when he will be able to retire on his £500 a year than of any possibility of future employment. To this there are, of course, exceptions."

n/ William E. Cairns, The Army from Within (London: Sands, 1901), 58-59.

The foot guards regiments, the Rifle Brigade, and the King's Royal Rifles had no recruitment territory as they sought enlistees throughout the UK. The foot guards "brigade" had its depot at Caterham Barracks, East Surrey. The Rifle Brigade and the Royal Rifles shared a depot at Upper Barracks, Winchester, Hampshire.

Download ESRI Shapefiles of Regimental Districts

The shapefiles are compressed into RegimentalTerritories.zip, an 8.1 MB file. The coordinate reference system is WGS 84. Click on the above link to download the .zip file from this website.

II. Flight of the Hyena of Brescia

(Julius Jacob von Haynau in Southwark, London)

The narrator of "Ithaca" states that an ancestor of Bloom's was raped by "Herr Hauptmann [captain] Hainau, Austrian army." The likely product of the "violation" was Bloom's father, Rudolph Virag. Joyce took the name of the perpetrator from the notorious Austrian general, Julius von Haynau.

n/ Ulysses (Gabler) 17:868-69; Harald Beck, "Heinous Hainau and the Blooms, James Joyce Online Notes 10 (December 2015).

After Haynau's forced retirement in July 1850, he embarked on a European tour that included England. His visit to London caused a disturbance that was widely reported and resulted in a minor, diplomatic row. Following is a syndicated report of the incident as it appeared in the Freeman's Journal, September 6, 1850.

DESPERATE ATTACK ON MARSHAL HAYNAU IN LONDON.

On Wednesday morning, shortly before twelve o'clock, three foreigners, one of whom was very old and wore long moustachios presented themselves at the brewery of Messrs. Barclay and Company, for the purpose of inspecting the establishment. According to the regular practice of visitors, they were requested to sign their names in a book in the office, after which they crossed the yard with one of the clerks. On inspecting the visitors' book the clerks discovered that one of the parties was no other than Marshal Haynau, the late commander of the Austrian forces during the attack upon the unfortunate Hungarians. It became known all over the brewery in less than two minutes, and before the general and his companions had crossed the yard nearly all the labourers and draymen ran out with brooms and dirt, shouting out "Down with the Austrian butcher," and other epithets of rather an alarming nature to the marshal. A number of the men gathered round the marshal as he was viewing the large vat, and continued their hostile manifestations. The marshal being made acquainted by one of the persons who accompanied him, of the feeling prevailing against him, immediately prepared to retire. But this was not so easily done. The attack was commenced by dropping a truss of straw upon his head as he passed through one of the lower rooms; after which grain and missiles of every kind that came to hand were freely bestowed upon him. The men next struck his hat over his eyes, and hustled him from all directions. His clothes were torn off his back. One of the men seized him by the beard, and tried to cut it off. The marshal's companions were treated with equal violence. They, however, defended themselves inartfully, and succeeded in reaching the outside of the building. Here there were assembled about five hundred persons, consisting of the brewer's men, coal-heavers, &c., the presence of the obnoxious visitor having become known in the vicinity. No sooner had the marshal made his appearance outside the gates than he was surrounded, pelted, struck with every available missile, and even dragged along by his moustache, which afforded ample facilities to his assailants from its excessive length, it reaching nearly down to his shoulders. Still battling with his assailants, he ran in a frantic manner along Bankside* until he came to the George public house, when finding the doors open he rushed in and proceeded up stairs into one of the bedrooms, to the utter astonishment of Mrs. Benfield, the landlady, who soon discovered his name and the reason of his entering the house. The furious mob rushed in after him, threatening to do for the ''Austrian Butcher;" but, fortunately for him, the house is very old fashioned, and contains a vast number of doors, which were all forced open, except the room in which the marshal was concealed. The mob had increased at that time to several hundreds, and from their excited state Mrs. Benfield became alarmed about her own property as well as the marshal's life. She accordingly despatched a messenger to the Southwark police-station for the assistance of the police, and in a short time Inspector Squires arrived at the George with a number of police, and with great difficulty dispersed the mob and got the marshal out of the house. A police galley was at the wharf at the time, into which he was taken, and rowed towards Somerset House, amidst the shouts and execrations of the mob. Messrs. Barclay have suspended all hands, in order to discover the principals in the attack. It appears that the two attendants of the Marshal were an aid-de camp and an interpreter. They had presented a letter of introduction from Baron Rothschild, who had therein described him as his friend Marshal Haynau.- Daily News.

* This is an error. He ran down Park Street to the George.

Whitbread's 1853 Plan of London - Library of Congress

1. Brewery
2. The George
3. Police Station
4. Southwark Pier
5. Somerset House

Commentary

From the Daily News and published in the Freeman's Journal on September 7, 1850. Click the above link and the article will open in a new browser window as a pdf.

The George Inn

The George Public House and Inn dates to the 16th Century and from then through the 1820s was patronized by London visitors from the southwest who arrived by coach. It is London's last remaining galleried inn. With the arrival of railroads and opening of London Bridge Terminus in 1836, the Inn's patrons arrived in London by train.

The George Inn, Southwark

B.W. Matz (London: Chapman and Hall, 1918). Illustrated book of the inn as "a survival of the old coaching days." From the Internet Archive. Click on the link and the webpage will open in a new browser window.

III. Civil Government in Mid-Victorian Gibraltar

British Gibraltar was established in 1704 as an army garrison and fortress. During the 19th century, state authority over civilian inhabitants transitioned from Crown military to colonial control. In 1830, Westminster made the Gibraltar courts independent of the military governor. In 1842, Robert Wilson was appointed "Governor and Commander in Chief in and over the City and Garrison of Gibraltar." The Governor, in his civil capacity, became subordinate to the new Colonial Office in 1854. Stanford Freeling became Gibraltar's first Colonial Secretary in 1859.

Unlike most colonies, Gibraltar did not have a legislative body. Local statutes were ordinances promulgated by the Governor and approved by the British government through the Privy Council. The Sanitary Commission was the governmental authority that most resembled a law-making body. The commission proposed public health ordinances, enforced the same when enacted, and assessed property taxes to maintain the water supply and sewage systems.

The Consolidated Laws of Gibraltar

The first codification of the Gibraltar ordinances. Compiled "under authority of government" by Robert Ffrench Sheriff, Attorney-General, Gibraltar (London: Stevens, 1890). From the Hathi Trust. Click on the link and the webpage will open in a new browser window. You must be a member of a partner institution to download the entire book.

Civil, Military, & Naval Establishments

The Ecclesiastical Department was the Church of England's presence in Gibraltar. Gibraltar was the seat of the diocese that encompassed the entire Mediterranean. In the Gibraltar Directory for 1883 the Right Rev. Charles W. Sandford, D.D. is shown as the Lord Bishop of Gibraltar.

From the Gibraltar Directory for 1883

Colonial Department.

Chief Justice-Sir H. B. Burford-Hancock, Kt., Arengo's Palace.

Colonial Secretary -

Attorney General - Robert Ffrench Sheriff, Esq., 14 Scud Hill.

Treasurer and Collector of H.M.'s Revenues - Melfort Campbell, Esq, 14 Scud Hill.

Colonial Auditor-Deputy Commissary General R.C. Healy, Rock Cottage.

Captain of the Port-Commander J. F. Baker, R.N., H.M.C.S. “Samarang.”

Police Magistrate - Major G. J. Gilbard, Secretary's Lane.
Registrar of the Supreme Court-Edward J. Baumgartner, Esq, Buena Vista House.
Colonial Engineer-Captain S. Buckle, Beaulieu, Europa Main Road.
Coroner and Registrar of Births, &c. (acting)-G. F. Cornwell, Esq, Southport-str.

Superintendent of Police -

Superintendent Gibraltar Government Telegraph - Miss Creswell, Post Office.
Inspector of Health - Surgeon General A. Smith, M.D., C.B., Bomb House.
Civil Chaplain - Archdeacon D. S. Govett, M.A., Diana Lodge, Europa Road.

Surgeon Civil Hospital-Dr. Joseph Baggetto, Castle Road.
Assistant Surgeon Civil Hospital - Dr. W. Turner, The Civil Hospital.

HMCS Samarang was formerly a sailed frigate of the Royal Navy. It ended its seagoing service in 1847 when it became the guard ship for Gibraltar. In the 1870s it was transferred by the Admiralty to the Gibraltar Colonial Department and redesignated Her Majesty's Colonial Ship. Samarang was permanently anchored in the Civil Harbour and housed the Port Offices. It was sold for scrap in 1883.

Gibraltar Cemetery Committee.

OFFICE—KING'S YARD, ROYAL ENGINEER OFFICE.

Sanitary Commissioners.

IV. Colorized Photos of Marion Tweedy's Gibraltar

(Appendix I)

Original photographs by James Hollingworth Mann except for Alameda Gardens (B.L. Singley), Old Jewish Cemetery (Tomi V. on Tripadvisor), Governor's Cottage (unattributed), and Catalan Bay (unattributed). For most of the Mann photographs, there are links to the original images on the website of the University of Aberdeen. The photographs are from the George Washington Wilson Collection. Click on the link for the Gibraltar sub-collection. The webpage will open in a new browser window.

Click on an image below and it will open in a popup window.

The Rock Viewed From Spain

Road to Town

Civil Harbor Mole