This card is included not for the person on the front, but for the "Rule Britannia" on the reverse, for that, for many years, was the song which was most connected with the Promenade Concerts.
And despite some controversy, it remains so to this day.
Strange then that it did not start its life as music at all, but as a poem, written in 1740 by James Thomson. However it was soon set to music, by Thomas Arne, to serve as the closing refrain in his theatrical production of "Alfred". This, a musical comedy about Alfred the Great, seems an odd idea, but it seems to have been much enjoyed by George I, to whom it was first performed, at his son`s home, Cliveden, in Berkshire.
The version which was performed at the Proms was actually arranged by Sir Malcolm Sargent. However, as times have changed it has fallen into disrepute, for its links with the Far Right, and also its celebration of colonialism and slavery. There have been many calls to remove it from the schedule, and actually it was removed in 1969, along with "Land of Hope and Glory". But it was reinstated the following year. And in 2020 it was only played as an orchestral piece, not sung.
Anyway, to our card, and here we have Field Marshal Philip Walhouse Chetwode, or 1st Baron Chetwode, or even Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Lord Chetwode.
He is shown here in 1915, but his military career was much longer than just the First World War, at which time he was almost fifty, for he was born on the 21st of September, 1869. His first overseas actions came in Burma, in the early 1890s. and he fought during the Second Boer War, being present at the Siege of Ladysmith, as well as many other strategic battles, and winning the Distinguished Service Order, one of his many medals.
During the First World War he found himself on the Western Front, and then sent to Palestine, from where he fought throughout the region, ending up at the Battle of Jerusalem in November 1917. After that, he was still in demand, and, after a spell in Aldershot, which did not really suit him, he was transferred to India, where he ended up as Commander in Chief.
He stayed there until the mid 1930s, then returned to England. For a short while he was even in charge of the Tower of London. He died, aged eighty-one, on the 6th of July, 1950.
Sadly his son had been killed in action in August 1940. Whilst his daughter, as those readers with an interest in poetry may already know, had married John Betjeman.
Our original British Trade Index lists this set as :
- RULE BRITANNIA ! Sm. 65 x 36. Steel blue. Great War Leaders and Warships. Nd. (25) … FRY-13
Whilst our updated version adds the date, and reads :
- RULE BRITANNIA ! 1915. 65 x 36. Steel blue. Great War Leaders and Warships. Nd. (25) … FRY-320
I am not entirely sure whether that is the title, or just an exhortation on what was intended to be perhaps just a military series. And I am curious as to the fact that it comprises leaders and warships. However I have not seen enough of the set to offer any opinions yet.