REQUEST FOR HELP

The famous book The Waterloo Letters by Major General H.G. Siborne contains only a selection of letters from the Siborne archive. Greenhill Books, London, are seeking a typed-up version of the unpublished letters. The letters have been accessible to readers at the British Museum over the years, and microfilm has been available, and the question is whether somebody somewhere has transcribed and typed them out. Can you help, or advise of a location?

The sad demise of Jac Weller occurred when Greenhill Books were in correspondance with him about a possible new book. Earlier this year Greenhill published David Chandler's On The Napoleonic Wars which presents material not available elsewhere, gathered together for the first time and awarded the 1994 Literary Award of the Napoleonic Society of America. Greenhill were discussing the possibility of publishing a similar collection of Jac's writings.

Jac however, had not kept a record of his Napoleonic War articles, which appeared over the years in a number of journals. Greenhill are now trying to put together a record of these works, so as to be able to then consider undertaking publication in volume form. So do you know of any of Jac's articles?

If you can assist with either of these requests, please contact Greenhill Books, Park House, I Russell Gardens, London NWI I 9NN.

BRITISH MILITIA AND VOLUNTEERS STUDY GROUP

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain became a vast armed camp, not only of regular soldiers and sailors preparing for service overseas but hundreds of thousands of ordinary men who answered the call to arms for the country's home defence. What happened to the myriad of Militia, Fencible, Volunteer and Yeomanry units? What trace of local defences and plans are left, to which these men would have marched had the enemy landed?

The British Militia and Volunteers Study Group has been formed within the Napoleonic Association to pull together the local histories of these men and units, and where possible put a name or identity to these ordinary men who stepped forward in uncertain times.

This will be a huge endeavour if we are to avoid these units slipping into obscurity. If you would like more information about this new Group, please write to David Bell, 32 Abbotts House, Pimlico, London SW1V 3RN.

THE DAWSON COLLECTION

This account of an important Napoleonic collection was submitted by Terry Senior.

A little over twelve months ago, I saw an advertisement in my local paper, The Cornishman, announcing that a Napoleonic Exhibition was to be held at Penzance Library, and timed to commemorate the 178th anniversary of the great Battle of Waterloo. Although my wife and I were due to drive to London that day in readiness for a trip to the battlefield at Waterloo that very weekend, we put back our departure time in order to attend the exhibition.

There was a very interesting display of instruments and equipment as used by surgeons and physicians of the Grande Armee, presented by members of the Napoleonic Association, some of whom were in full uniform. Also on display was a magnificent collection of prints of a very large number of personalities, battles, events, maps and monuments etc from the Napoleonic period. The majority of those featured were military and French, although there were some diplomats and politicians, and a good representative selection from other participating nations.

Among the portraits are, as might be expected, many of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. Other personalities featured include Berthier, Marshal Lannes, Duke of Brunswick, Marshal Massena, ArchDuke Charles, Tsar Alexander, Platov, Murat, Lafayette, Duroc, Bolivar, Moreau and many, many more.

Many maps and plans are also shown including Malta, Vimiero, the principal states of Europe as they were in 1793, Tarragona, Brussels, plans of the Arc de Triomphe, Elba, the Basque Roads, Toulon, Cadiz, Hamburg, Egypt etc. Battle scenes include Rolica, Waterloo, Assaye, Busaco, Krasnoe, the Arapiles, Mondovi, Vich, the Bridge of Goy, the Great Redoubt at Borodino, Valmy, Talavera and many others. Among the many artists, engravers and publishers are Bellange, Colburn, Bowyer, Pirenger, Engelman, Appiani, Bartolozzi, Thomas Kelly, William Heath, Lemercier, Thomas Crabb, Bertaux, Deluch, Sutherland, Samuel Leigh and H.Grellier.

The building in which the collection is housed is a subscription library in Morrab Gardens, not to be confused with Penzance Public Library which is in nearby Morrab Road.

I have since made a number of visits to the library and have still seen less than half of the contents. The collection is particularly attractive from my own point of view for most, if not all, of the French Commanders are featured, and those are my favourite subjects. A start has recently been made on the painstaking task of cataloguing the contents of this fine collection. A task that has rather surprisingly not previously been undertaken.

The man responsible for the existence of the collection in the first place was one Thomas Dawson, the second son of John Dawson of Salford, Lancashire. Dawson himself was born in 1811 at Allen Bank, Grasmere, Westmorland. He had an older brother, John.

Dawson began his collection in 1826 at the age of 15. Three years later he attended Trinity College for a short time, paying his own way before moving to Downing College in 1831. Both Dawson and his brother were destined to enjoy very successful careers in the legal profession. In November 1833 our benefactor was admitted to Lincolns Inn, and six years later at the age of 28 he was called to the bar. Having taken his BA in 1837, he graduated as an MA in 1840. He married and had three daughters, although it appears that only two survived him. He and his family lived variously at Grasmere, Taunton and various addresses in London.

Dawson's wife died when he was in his mid 50s, at which time he turned more to what was by now his principle pastime, sailing his yacht Shamrock.

It was in June 1869, when he was 58, that Dawson made the apparently sudden decision to dispose of his collection. This surprising move came just after the Sainsbury Collection, then acknowledged to be the premier collection on the Napoleonic subject, had been dispersed, leading Dawson to believe that his was now the finest of its kind in the world. It seems he had simply outgrown his interest in the collection and though still very proud of it, it now took second place to his love of sailing.

The first part of the collection arrived in Penzance in 1869 followed by a second part four years later. InI874 came what were collectively known as the Napoleonic Relics, and finally in 1877, three portraits were given.

The Relics included a piece of wood claimed to have come from Napoleon's original coffin on St.Helena, and a lock of the late Emperor's hair. Whether these artifacts were genuine was never established and their present whereabouts is unknown. Among the other Relics and known very much to exist was Lord Nelson's swordbelt which can presently be seen in Penwith Museum.

The three portraits were one of Dawson himself depicted wearing the Freemasons livery of the Order of the Temple and painted by Robert Clothier. This painting is still in the possession of the Library and can be seen hanging on the staircase at Morrab House where it has been displayed since December 1877. The second portrait was known as The Empress and was said to be of MarieLouise, but was more likely thought to be of Josephine.

Dawson himself paid £ 100 for this picture. In 1980 the library was in need of funds to carry out urgent repairs to some of its book, and decided to sell some of its paintings. This particular work, which realised 2,000, was one of the items disposed of. The third picture, said to be of Nelson's daugher Horatia and understood to have been painted by a member of the Hamilton family, was never delivered to the Library and its current location remains unknown.

Although Dawsons gift contained much more than the Napoleonic collection, it is these that the writer is solely interested in, the remainder having no connection with either the Emperor or France.

It is understood that the prints were received loose. The contents are believed to number around 3,000 items and towards the end of the 19th century they were rather haphazardly pasted into eleven very large and very heavy leather bound books. It appears that little attempt was made to place the colection in any semblance of order, chronological or otherwise, and the viewer should not be surprised to find items relating to the Italian Campaign intermingled with those of Waterloo, and those depicting Revolutionary events appearing adjacent to those of the Peninsular Wars.

However, to the true Napoleonic enthusiast, this does not detract too much from the overall content of the collection. Over the years these large volumes, some of which probably weigh in excess of 25 lbs, have shown some degree of wear and tear, as have also their valuable contents.

To get back to Dawson himself, although he may well have sailed into Mounts Bay on his yacht and at some time anchored off Penzance, there is no evidence that he actually set foot in the town, let alone visited the library, However, he explained in a letter dated June 1874 that the donation of the Collection to the library was a direct result of his friendship with a local gentleman, Mr William Bolitho Junior, of Ponsandane, Penzance, a member of the well-known Cornish banking family.

Dawson died in June 1895 at the ripe old age of 84 in London.

From what I can gather, this wonderful collection has received little publicity, and knowledge of its existence appears to be very limited. It is well worth a visit and excellent value for its &I admission fee. The library is currently open Tuesday to Friday inclusive 10.00am to 4.00pm, and on Saturday mornings 10.00am to 1.00pm.

If anyone would like further information about the collection they can contact Terry at 4 Parc-An-Pons, Green Lane, Marazion, Cornwall TR 17 OHQ. It is hoped that in the not too distant future a complete catalogue of the contents of the collection will be published. Anyone wishing to receive news of this catalogue is also welcome to get in touch with Terry.

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