1790 - Prince Edward's Gate – The Inscription
This gate lies to the east of the two Southport Gates.. It traverses the lower section of Charles V Wall and was constructed in 1790. It was named after one of George II's sons who happened to be serving in Gibraltar at the time. Unlike other gates in Gibraltar, it has never been known as anything else but Prince Edward's Gate which might be thought of by some as rather unfortunate. The Prince - also known as the Duke of Kent - returned in 1802 as Governor of the Rock and proved himself to be one of the most unpopular military appointments ever to be sent to Gibraltar.
.JPG)
I can’t find any late 18th or 19th century plans showing the gate – but this one does (1830s - Piaget et Lailavoix)
Prince Edward's Gate from the Alameda (1830's - G. Vivian T. Boys)
.jpg)
Prince Edward's Gate from the Alameda (1846 - J. M . Carter)
Both the above pictures show the gate seen from the south. Looked at from the north would reveal two sentry boxes facing each other to the right and left of the gate. They appear to have been built at the same time as the gate on the northern section of Charles’s V Wall.
Prince Edward's Gate west facing sentry box (Early 21st century)
During the mid20th century, a red plaque was placed on the outside of the sentry box on the eastern side.
This red plaque was one of many placed around Gibraltar between 1959 and 1975, possibly a first attempt to make snapshots of the history of the Rock easily available to visitors and residents. They were the result of an initiative by the Gibraltar Museum Committee with Ms Dorothy Ellicott as chairperson.
Dorothy Ellicott (1901-1990) Gibraltar politician and historian
In an article written by Julia Harris “The Red Plaques of Gibraltar” which was published in 2014, the Prince Edward’ one is described as being:
At the end of Europa Road,drive through Prince Edwards Gateand plaque is on the right
The actual wording of the inscription was probably written by Ms Ellicott and one can only assume that it was a faithful copy of the original:
God and the soldier all men adoreIn time of trouble and no more,For when war is over and all things rightedGod is neglected and the old soldier slighted
As regards who might have been responsible for coming up with the original version, the following ditty which appears in Lord Anglesey’s History of the British Cavalry, under the heading of “the medical renderings of the epigrammatic John Owens (1560?-1622) might be a good candidate. It was probably written in the late 16th century and goes as follows.
God and the doctor we alike adoreBut only when in danger not beforeThe danger o’r, both are alike acquitted,God is forgotten, and the doctor slighted.
John Owens (1560-1562) Welsh Epigrammatist
The next oldest and perhaps more appropriate version I can find, is the following by the religious poet, Francis Quarles. It was written in the 17th century’
Our God and Souldiers we alike adore,Ev’n at the Brink of danger; not before:After deliverance, both alike required;Our God’s forgotten, and our Souldiers slighted.
Francis Quarles (c1592-1644) – Religious poet
Another 17th century attempt is by Thomas Jordan. And who was he|? Well, apparently, he was a poet, playwright and actor and his version went like this:
Our God and the Soldier we alike adore.When at the brink of ruin, not before.The danger past, both are alike requited;God is forgotten, and our soldier slighted.
.jpg)
That T.J. probably stands for Thomas Jordan.
A more well-known candidate is probably Rudyard Kipling who wrote the following – of which not one of the four lines are the same as those quoted on the plaque.
In times of war and not before,God and the soldier we adore.But in times of peace and all things righted,God is forgotten and the soldier slighted
.jpg)
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) -Journalist writer and poet
Kipling, apparently a compulsive plagiariser, probably took his cue from the ditty by Francis Quarles with similar sentiments and rhythm but using different words almost throughout.
Fast forward then to an event that took place in 1962, during the so called Cuban crisis in which the American President John F. Kennedy included the following in a speech at a meeting with his military men:
And you will recall, I am sure, the lines found in an old sentry box in Gibraltar. . .
God and the soldier, all men adoreIn time of danger and not beforeWhen the danger is passed and all things righted,God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.
Which is possibly closer to the quote on the plaque than the others so far. However, a footnote in Arthur Schlesinger’s - A Thousand Days – John F. Kennedy in the White House – states that Kennedy had copied his Gibraltar quote into his common-place book of 1945/46 with the following comment.
Lines found in an old sentry box found in Gibraltar. Based on Poem by Thomas Jordan.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
And that is as far back as I can go – and it takes me no further forward. My own guess is that if the inscription actually existed, whoever put it there – presumably a military man - was quoting from memory something he had read. It is certainly tempting to choose Kipling as the source – a temptation that is tempered by the fact that he is the only one of the lot who didn’t start the ditty with the very memorable, “God and the Soldier”.
The truth is that the inscription was somewhat inappropriate in so far as Gibraltar and the British were concerned. From 1704 more or less right up to the 20th century, no amount of peace would ever allow the authorities to turn a blind eye to the slightest suspicion of weakness to the Rock's defences or it garrison.
If it had been true of the sentiments of the civilian population the engraving might have read;
Pasado el peligro, adiós al santo.
On an unknown date probably in the early 20th century, a much needed pedestrian passageway was added. Local historian Ian Clinton has suggested that the bricked-up low window seen on the right hand side of the Gate looking south - as shown on the photo below - may have been a "sally port" through Charles V Wall perhaps of an even older construction than Prince Edward’s Gate itself. He suggests that this area may have been used to construct the pedestrian passageway. It certainly would have been the ideal place to build it.
The construction date would have been after 1953, the date when the photographer Ralph Crane took the snapshot shown below.
At the time of writing, and as far as I can tell, the gate, sentry boxes and passageway are all still there - as is the red plaque.
Returning to the original inscription . . . whatever it was carved or written upon has long disappeared – as have so many other historically interesting bits of bric-a-brac pertaining to the Rock
Postscript.
There is actually yet another version of this epigram. It is appears in Literary Anecdotes by John Nichols which was published in the early 19th century.
Apparently a certain army officer by the name of Budworth - who took part in the Great Siege of Gibraltar during 1782 and 1783 – had quoted it to Dr Hurd, the bishop Worchester. It went like this:
God and a soldier all people adoreIn times of war but not before:And when war is over and all things are righted,God is neglected, and an old soldier slighted.
Budworth found the inscription “chalked upon a sentry-box on Europa Guard” – which is nowhere near Prince Edward’s Gate. In point of fact Europa Guard was what the old Moorish chapel of Our Lady of Europa had been converted into by the British at their most philistine, soon after they had taken over in 1704.
Crop of a plan of Gibraltar – U is captioned as “Europa Guard” (1743 - John Hardesty)
Possibly the only useful insight that I can attribute to the above is the possibility that the missing epigram in the Prince Edward’s Gate was in fact “chalked on” to one of its inside or outside walls – as against having ever been on a plaque – which of course makes it much more understandable as to why it now no longer exists.