In
the July issue of BBC History David
Olusoga discusses the support in Britain for Garibaldi in the liberation of
Italy. He mentions the volunteers from Britain and Europe who went to fight
with him. One of those was George Larmuth from Manchester.
I
came across Larmuth just over 20 years ago while looking at The Protestant
Standard newspaper for 3 June 1911.
‘GARIBALDI'S
ENGLISH LEGION
THE MANCHESTER
SURVIVOR
‘The
Manchester survivor of Garibaldi's English Legion is Mr. George. H. Larmuth, of
10, St Ann's-square. Mr. Larmuth will be on the party of Garibaldian veterans
who will shortly leave for Rome to join in the celebration of the jubilee of
Italian unity and independence. When the war broke out Mr. Larmuth had just
completed his apprenticeship with the old Manchester firm of Messrs. Hewitt and
Paul, land agents and valuers. He was one of Captain Bridgford's Company (No.
6) of the 1st Manchester Volunteers, and was attracted by the advertisements
which held out a prospect of exciting adventure in Italy. Accordingly he
communicated with Captain. E. J. Hampton, and Captain Hampton came to
Manchester to see applicants. Several young men went from Manchester, but some
who had entertained the notion drew back at the last. Mr. Larmuth sailed with
his companions from Harwich, and was present at such fighting as the Legion
got. When he returned to Manchester he established the firm of valuers and
estate agents of which he is still the head. Mr. Larmuth has been abroad a
great deal, but has not visited Italy since he went as a member of the Legion.’
I
wrote to the Manchester Central Library requesting any information they had.
Richard Bond. The Archives and Local Studies Officer replied attaching photocopies of three newspaper
articles about Larmuth visiting Italy for celebrations in 1911 and dieing in
1913.
The 1911
Celebrations
The Daily
Dispatch reported on
the Celebrations in Italy in 1911, including interviewing Larmuth.
The Dispatch recounted that Colonel Peard, of Cornwall, and
Dr. J. Nelson, of Belfast, were the first British on the battlefield, and that
Garibaldi subsequently gave Colonel Peard the command of the BritIsh Legion.
Contingents from Liverpool, London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh landed at
Naples from two steamers. On their way to battle they were reviewed by
Garibaldi. The Legion comprised 674 men.
The
first Englishman killed was Lieutenant Tucker, a Devonian, who joined in
London. Some of them were involved in building a bridge of boats across the
River Volturno, enabling Garibaldi to join up with the Sardinian Army under
Victor Emmauel. Under shelling they cross the bridge before it was destroyed by
enemy fire. They then experienced a four day forced march over the Apennines
where the two armies joined up near Capua.
Larmuth
told The Daily Dispatch: “There was
not much fighting, but those of us who remain will never forget. It was an
exciting time while it lasted. We were in the vineyards, where much of the
fighting took pace. It was the first time I had seen shot and shell, and we had
to drop under the trees, where we were shelled. Quite number of men fell around
me.”
When
ordered to retreat at another location “We did retreat and were glad to do it.
It was by an accident that we had been ordered into the fighting line.” ‘In one
of the vineyards, where they had encountered the enemy, some of the Legion made
what was regarded as ‘a very lucky discovery.’
“It was from a well in which we found two old umbrellas, two bottles of wine – which proved to be sour
– and some bacon, which we ate with much gusto.”’
“It
was only what you might call a short date excursion for we were back in England
in less than three months.”
He
went to Italy in 1911 to represent the veterans at the unveiling of the
monument to King Victor Emmanuel II in
Rome, and then to take part in the celebration of the jubilee of independence
on 1 June. During the first ceremony King Victor Emmanuel II passed before the
British Legion. ‘Noticing the British colours, which were carried by. Mr. Henry
Noble, of Exeter, His Majesty remarked: “This is the flag of the brave British
Legion” ‘and at the same time saluted in military fashion, while the flag was
lowered.’ The veterans them took part in a procession to the Pantheon to visit
the tombs of King Victory Emanuel and King Humbert. Colonel Byrne and Larmuth
officially represented the veterans.
Because
many of the survivors were poor the Society of Veterans (English and Italian)
‘opened a fund to enable as many as possible to undertake the journey to Rome
on June 1st.’
Larmuth’s Career
and Activities
After
schooling he became an apprentice in an estate agency. Later he established
Messrs George Larmuth and Sons auctioneers, valuers, and estate agents. The
last proper transaction he was involved with was the valuation of the land and
buildings required for the Royal Exchange extension scheme. He had also been
involved in city extension schemes for railway companies, street improvements ,
the Ship Canal and the tramways. For the latter he acted for the City
Corporation, which took over the system from the commercial companies.
He
was active in Manchester’s civic society. He was Secretary of the Salford and
Pendelton District Hospital, advertising for a District surgeon in July 1884. (1)
He was a member of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, and an
occasional contributor The Manchester
City News Notes and Queries column. (2)
The
work of his agency in 1911 included a sale of seven cottages at Ancoats. ‘To be sold by auction, pursuant to an Order of
the High Court of Justice, made in an action BENNETT v. HOULDSWORTH, 1872, B.
No. 230, with the approbation of Mr. Justice Eve, by Mr. Reginald Ashley
Larmuth, of the firm of Messrs. George H. Larmuth and Sons, of 10, St.
Ann's-square, Manchester, the person appointed by the said Judge, at the Albion
Hotel, Piccadilly, Manchester, on Tuesday, the 16th day of May, 1911, at 5
o'clock in the evening prompt, subject to conditions of sale, to be then and
there produced. Lot 1.—Seven cottages (one used as a shop), numbered 164 to 176
(even numbers, both inclusive), in Mill-street, Ancoats, Manchester aforesaid,
let on weekly tenancies at an aggregate rental of £97 5s. 8d. This lot will be
sold free from the rent of £9 7s. 6d. hereinafter mentioned. Lot 2.—A fully
licensed inn or public-house, known - as " The Bridge Inn," situated
in Mill-street’. (3)
His
book Real Property Hand-book: A Practical
Guide. Also treating of the Law of Landlord and Tenant. With an Appendix,
containing useful forms of Agreement, Notices, Lists of Prices for Work and
Material, &c. went into three editions.
(2)
He
wrote two plays, a burlesque Alonzo the
Brave and Advertising for a Wife.
(4)
Reporting his
death in 1913
He
died at his home Enderley, Bramhall, in late August 1913 aged 76. He was one of
the few survivors of the Legion and the last of those from Manchester. At his
funeral the coffin was draped with the Italian Flag. (2)
Garibaldi and Britain
In
1854 having bought a ship in the United State Garibaldi stopped at Newcastle to
load coal before sailing on to Italy. He was welcomed by the radicals like
Joseph Cowen. The Northern Reformer journal
Cowen funded included a report that his supporters organised a public meeting
on 28 March and agreed to make a presentation to him which took place on his
American boat the Commonwealth at Shields on 11 April. The deputation included
Cowen, Thomas Pringle, G. Julian Harney from London, and Constantine Lekawski,
a Polish exile. (5) It also published To
the Children of Garibaldi, a poem by Walter Savage Landor. (6)
Other
organised support for Garibaldi in 1860 and 1861 included the Garibaldi Italian Unity Committee. One of the Committee members was J. P. Malleson
of Croydon. (7) Malleson is probably the Reverend who
lived at Birdhurst in 1854, a Trustee of Manchester New College, later a member
of the Committee of the London Domestic Mission, and a member of the Local
Education Board for Croydon. (8) Cowen’s Newcastle
Chronicle organised support for the formation of the British Legion. (9)
In April 1864 Garibaldi visited Britain. So many people were expected to
welcome him that the former Nine Elms Station, which no longer served
passengers, was opened for his arrival. (10) Robert Applegarth, the trade
union leader, who would later settle in Thornton Heath, was a member of the reception
committee. (11) Although Cowen and
others organised a welcome for Garibaldi to Newcastle, it did not take place
due to Garibaldi sailing for Italy. (12)
John
Jennison the owner of Manchester’s Belle Vue Zoological
Gardens built some cottages and a pub for his workers, naming pub The Garibaldi Inn. (13)
A
number of mutual organisations which were established adopted the name of Garibaldi.
Manchester had a Garibaldi Loan Society from 1866.(14) The Loyal Garibaldi
Lodge of the London Oddfellows started in Lambeth’s York St in 1867; by 1873 it
had amalgamated with the Brixton based Reiman. (15)
(1)
British
Medical Journal. 2 August 1884
(2)
The
Manchester City News. 6 September 1913. p. 189
(3) The
London Gazette. 5 May 1911. p. 3491
(4) Manchester Literary Club Papers on line
www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/manchester-literary-club/papers-ala/page-22-papers-ala.shtml & Thomas
Costley. Lancashire Poets and Other
Literary Sketches. Abel Haywood &Son, Manchester. 1897. p. 54
(5)
The
Northern Reformer. Vol 1. No. 5. p. 175-6
(6) Ditto. Vol 1. No 6. p. 207
(7) Letter. Garibaldi
Italian Unity Committee Committee Secretary. September 1861 calling for local
committees to be set up. Copy on Google Books
(8) Reports of Manchester New College Annual Meetings from 1861; & London
Domestic Mission Society (London). The Thirtieth Annual Report. Presented ...
29th May, 1865; Journal. Royal
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. 1862. p. 358
(9) Joan Allen. Joseph Cowen and Popular Radicalism on Tyneside
1829-1900. Merlin Press. 2007
(10) Margot C Finn. After
Chartism: Class and
Nation in English Radical Politics 1848-1874. Cambridge
University Press. 2003 & Paul Laity. The British Peace Movement 1870-1914. Clarendon
Press. 2002.
(11) Sean Creighton. Thornton Heath History. An Introductory Overview. History & Social Action Publications. 2018
(12) W. E. Adams.
Memoirs of a Social Atom. Augustus
M. Kelley Publishers. 1968. p.
527.
(13) Robert
Nicholls. Looking Back at Belle Vue.Willow
Publishing; & Heather Stackhouse and
Daniel Hyams. Pocket Belle Vue: Manchester's Playground. At Heart
Publications. 2007. The Belle Vue Archive is at Chetham's Library: www.chethams.org.uk/belle_vue.htm. Details of the collection can
be seen on the National Archives Access to Archives website.
(14) QDS/1/4/279
1866. Lancashire Record Office.
(15) Sean Creighton. Organising Together in Lambeth. A Historical
Review of Co-operative and Mutual Social Action. History & Social
Action Publications. 2018
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