Lord Baden-Powell is probably best known in our islands as the founder of the Boy Scout Movement; a movement that is still immensely popular in Malta and Gozo. While Baden-Powell visited Malta in later life, this article focuses on the three years that he spent in Malta as aide-de-camp (ADC) to his uncle, Governor Henry Augustus Smyth (1890-93).

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell was born on February 22, 1857. The Baden-Powell family was well connected; he took his first two names from his godfather, the eponymous railway and civil engineer. His mother Henrietta Grace Smyth came from a distinguished family. She was the eldest daughter of the learned Admiral William Henry Smyth, who spent many years in the Mediterranean.

Smyth ran away from home at the age of 14 to join the merchant marine and subsequently joined the Royal Navy in 1805. He served in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars and after the end of those hostilities he continued his hydrographic investigations until he retired from the Navy on half-pay in 1824.

Smyth published descriptive works on Sicily (1824) and Sardinia (1828) but was best known for his hydrographic charts, which were admired for their accuracy and graphic elegance; among these are numerous charts of the waters around Malta. These proved so accurate that they were used by the Royal Navy up to the middle of the 20th century. In his own day, Smyth earned the moniker ‘Mediterranean Smyth’, and in 1854 he was awarded the Royal Geographic Society’s Founder’s Medal for his survey work in the Mediterranean.

In 1815, the then Captain Smyth, RN, married Eliza Anne Warington, daughter of the British Consul Thomas Warington, in Messina. They had 11 children. One of their sons, Henry Augustus (1825-1906), was to become Governor of Malta and one of their daughters, Henrietta Grace, married Baden Henry Powell, a professor of mathematics at Oxford University. Henrietta Grace was Powell’s third wife. The professor’s first marriage was childless; his second produced four children and he was to have another 10 children by Henrietta Grace. After her husband’s death in 1860, the grieving widow altered her children’s last name to Baden-Powell in his honour.

Robert Stephenson Baden-Powell (1857-1941) was Henrietta Grace’s eighth child, and his sister Agnes was born just one year after Stephe (as he was known within the family). Agnes was to become the founder of the Girl Guides.

Even when Prof. Powell was alive, his meagre salary as an academic  and the large family he sired meant that the family was always conscious of their restricted financial means. There was a great deal of pressure on all, but especially the older siblings, to bring in funds either through earnings or by marriage.

As a younger son with no prospects of benefitting from any meaningful inheritance, Baden-Powell joined the army. In those days, a junior officer’s salary was approximately £300 and his mess bills could amount to £700 per year if serving in the British Isles. So, recognising that he would find it difficult to make ends meet by serving in the UK, Baden-Powell sought foreign service where his expenses would be significantly less and he might even gain distinction and promotion through military action.

Tandem carts in Malta. Photo: The Illustrated London NewsTandem carts in Malta. Photo: The Illustrated London News

Thus, in 1876, Baden-Powell joined the 13th Hussars stationed in India  and, in the 1880s, when they were posted to South Africa, he moved with them, eventually returning to England in 1885. When Baden-Powell’s uncle, Lieutenant-General Henry Smyth, was appointed commander-in-chief of the British Army in Cape Colony in 1887, he applied to serve as his uncle’s ADC; the increased salary would be welcome and he might even be able to send funds home to his family.

When Sir Henry was subsequently appointed Governor of Malta in 1890, Captain Baden-Powell joined him as assistant military secretary and senior ADC. Now, in addition to holding an appointment as ADC, he was part of the Governor’s household and could take up residence at the Palace; he would thus be able to achieve further financial savings.

The photograph of Governor Smyth and his staff (top left), most probably taken by Richard Ellis in 1892, shows the newly-promoted Major Baden-Powell seated on the extreme right. Working to the left are Colonel J. R. Hogg, Commanding Royal Engineers, Malta; Governor Smyth; Colonel R. K. Bayly, CB, Deputy Adjutant General, Black Watch; Colonel F. Gatt, CMG, Colonial ADC, Royal Malta Regiment of Militia; and Surgeon General D. A. C. Fraser, MD.

Two other persons to note, both junior officers with distinguished military careers ahead of them, are Major A. G. Duff, ADC to the Infantry Brigade Commander, Black Watch, and Captain A. R. Mosley, second ADC to the Governor, 6th Dragoons, standing 10th and third from the right respectively.

As a regimental officer, Baden-Powell was unusual in that he took the trouble to ensure the welfare of those under his command – a feature that would later bear fruit in the Boy Scout Movement. In the heyday of the British Empire, Malta catered to servicemen’s various needs: prostitution was commonplace and venereal disease an ever-present scourge.

Baden-Powell attempted to distract his men from these vices by providing innocent entertainments for the rank and file. He promoted ‘smoking concerts’ at the Valletta Gymnasium both to occupy servicemen in their idle hours and to raise funds for a social club that was in the making.

His efforts weren’t merely administrative: he also provided some of the entertainment for which he demonstrated a natural gift. He generally indulged in a sort of burlesque that had proved popular with the troops in previous postings. One such turn was listed as a musical sketch such as The Village Blacksmith or Long Shoreman Billy, which generally garnered enthusiastic applause. On another occasion, the Assistant Military Secretary regaled the audience with a recitation entitled The Mermaid.

One performance which seemed to stand out from all the others and for which the Daily Malta Chronicle reported Major Baden-Powell convulsed the house, as usual was the final number Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay, which they concluded in rather superior tones: “We must confess much disappointed us; for it has an important blemish. It is very silly.”

The serious and ultra-cautious Governor took a dim view of his nephew’s frivolous performances on stage; however, Lady Smyth, who was 21 years her husband’s junior, took a more relaxed view. Aunt Constance was by contrast warm-hearted and something of a tomboy. In fact, it was Baden-Powell who kept a watchful eye on his aunt in an effort to avoid social mishaps, such as ensuring that the bootlace she frequently used to secure her diamond necklace was not on display.

Baden-Powell was remarkably versatile and turned his hand to a variety of tasks. In July 1892, he gave a ‘speaking likeness’ of Bill Adams, winning the Battle of Waterloo, which brought the house down by his quaint manner and ready wit. The programme wound up with the cast posing in a tableau of the battle, where the backdrop was painted by Major Baden-Powell, and elicited much admiration by its dramatic power.

On another occasion, rather than cancel a performance, he improvised: suffering from a sore throat he was unable to render the musical sketch that was listed on the programme, so he substituted this with a dumb show entitled A Visit to the Dentist, which was represented so gracefully as to call forth numerous tender enquiries after his health from the majority of the fair sex present.

Mosta picnic, Royal Berkshire Regiment, 1892.Mosta picnic, Royal Berkshire Regiment, 1892.

Henrietta Grace Baden-Powell and her daughter Agnes.Henrietta Grace Baden-Powell and her daughter Agnes.

The mention of female company brings up an important aspect of Baden-Powell’s life: his sexuality and his relationships with women. Tim Jeal, the author of what is generally considered the most authoritative biography of Baden-Powell to date, devotes much space to his subject’s sexuality. He concludes that Baden-Powell was most probably a repressed homosexual who suffered from a fear of women. However, Jeal also informs us that it was in Malta that the 33-year-old Baden-Powell “formed his first close relationship with a woman of marriageable age”.

This was Caroline Heap, daughter of American engineer Gwyn Heap, who lived in Valletta between 1890 and 1892. At the time, Caroline was an ebullient girl in her late teens; it may have been her energetic American manner that attracted her to him. In any case, things must have got serious between them as she was the first woman who Baden-Powell contemplated introducing to his mother.

Jeal writes: “It seems likely that he saw Caroline regularly”, but does not go into much detail. In carrying out research for this article, I have been able to turn up some detail of their meetings thanks to the detailed accounts of society events given in The Daily Malta Chronicle.

Soon after Governor Smyth and his nephew arrived in Malta, the Tandem Club was established. Tandems were carts pulled by two horses in line, one ahead of the other, and generally carried two passengers. Meets were held regularly and normally gathered outside the Palace in Valletta at noon and rode out to a destination in the countryside; sometimes this was Verdala Palace, other times Mosta valley, etc.

Apart from the purely recreational aspects, there was also an element of performance, if not competitiveness, to ensure that all horses and carts were well turned out and that a “perfect line was kept”. It was customary for the group to stop at a favoured location for lunch or tea, which was generally sponsored by one of the members of the club.

The first outing, recorded in The Daily Malta Chronicle, where Caroline Heap accompanied Baden-Powell, was in early January 1891, when the attentive Assistant Military Secretary was quite obviously out to impress, since he provided a successful tea party for the whole Tandem Meet at San Anton Palace.

Participating in other tandems were Captain Mosley, ADC, with Miss Azarian and Alfred Christian with Ms Laprimaudaye; Caroline’s mother was also present among the guests assembled at San Anton – no doubt she was there to keep a watchful eye on the couple.

As a regimental officer, Baden-Powell was unusual in that he took the trouble to ensure the welfare of those under his command – a feature that would later bear fruit in the Boy Scout Movement

In late January, Caroline again accompanied Major Baden-Powell in his tandem, and on St Valentine’s Day he supplied an Indian tent for a tea party in Rocky Valley, near Mosta, which provided welcome shelter for the gathering, which included Caroline and her mother as well as Captain Mosley and Ms Azarian.

On March 7, Caroline rode with Major Baden-Powell on the tandem outing to Binġemma, where the party ate a lunch provided by the Tandem Club. We are informed that the view from the heights was perfect and the island of Gozo formed a very picturesque background.

Agnes Baden-Powell’s menu, Admiralty House, February 1892.Agnes Baden-Powell’s menu, Admiralty House, February 1892.

On May 8, 1891, a Tandem Meet to Verdala Palace took place where the guests were received by the Governor and Lady Smyth. Once again, Caroline accompanied Major Baden-Powell.

In February the following year, Baden-Powell’s mother and sister Agnes visited Malta for a few weeks. The Daily Malta Chronicle lists them, in the Residents and Visitors section, as living at the Palace. No doubt this arrangement suited the Baden-Powells’ pockets. Mother and daughter joined in the entertainments and we find them listed as attending various meets and dances.

One event that Agnes seemed particularly excited at attending was a dinner followed by a dance hosted by Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet Admiral Sir George and Lady Tryon at Admiralty House in February 1892. Agnes’s own menu is illustrated here. She seemed to delight in noting that the only course that Lord Barnard ate was the roast goose.

According to The Daily Malta Chronicle, some 500 guests were invited, and most of these turned up to enjoy their hosts’ famed hospitality. Among the guests were the Duchess of Leeds, Lady Osborne, Lord and Lady Barnard, Baroness and Ms D’Amico, Count and Lady Edeline Strickland, and Sir Adrian and Lady Dingli.

The newspaper lamented that the dancing inevitably suffered from overcrowding at Admiralty House and berated the authorities for providing such mean accommodation for the top naval officer of the Mediterranean fleet.

One of the regiments stationed on Malta at this time was the Royal Berkshire Regiment. They performed many of the regular garrison duties and their band frequently gave concerts in Palace Square. The regiment also organised a number of social events.

While Mrs and Ms Baden-Powell were in Malta, the officers of the regiment organised a picnic at Mosta valley. The event was captured for posterity in the photo shown above (top right), which also came from Agnes’s scrap album. The two Baden-Powell women can be seen just left of centre, seated in the second row. Captain Mosley, ADC, can be spotted standing at the rear, fourth from the right, wearing a coat and bowler hat. If Caroline was present at this outing, then Agnes omitted to identify her in the captions she wrote below the photograph.

The last recorded outing for Major Baden-Powell and Caroline appears to be the Tandem Meet on Friday, March 27, 1892. In fact, soon after this date, the Heap family left Malta as Caroline’s father took up an appointment as American Consul in Constantinople.

While the Heap family was resident in Malta they lived at 103, Archbishop Street, Valletta. On their departure, the recently-married Major and Mrs Duff took over that property.

The biographer Jeal quotes a poem penned by Baden-Powell at this time. It is uncertain whether the subject is Caroline; however, it does demonstrate Baden-Powell’s hesitation with women: I ne’er shall forget her/That girl of Valetta./The first time I met her/I thought she was prime./But I managed to get a/Peep through her faldetta/And thought that I’d better/Get out while I’d time.

In 1893, Caroline married Captain Arthur Slade-Baker of the Royal Artillery, who eventually reached the rank of Brigadier-General in the British Army.

Captain Mosley left Malta in 1894. In 1897, he was involved in an undefended lawsuit whereby William Woolley, a solicitor from Derby, sought a divorce due to the adultery of his wife with the co-respondent Captain Arthur Rowland Mosley. The case was decided in favour of Woolley, with costs and custody of the only child of their marriage.

Major Baden-Powell left Malta in April 1893. He married Olave Soames in 1912; they spent some time in Malta on their honeymoon.

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