Historical musings Honours by foreign sovereigns

By Anthony Lombard

Further to your interesting article, in your issue of the 22nd July, last, and in connection with the bestowal of the Spanish Order of Isabel the Catholic, by the Spanish Government, upon those Spaniards involved in the negotiations relating to the EU/UK Treaty on Gibraltar, your readers may be interested to be reminded that according to my understanding, and as I highlight in one of my letters to your newspaper, in August 2008, and so of 17 years ago, the only Gibraltarian, to date, to be honoured with the Order of Isabel the Catholic was Isaac Cardozo (1799-1875), who was bestowed with a Knighthood of that Order.

Isaac was the nephew and heir of the legendary Aaron Cardozo [1761-1833] (who was himself awarded the Légion d'Honneur, by Louis XVIII of France, in 1824) and husband of Judith Abudarham (1809-1888), whom, modesty aside, was my maternal 4th great-aunt, the daughter of my maternal 3rd great-grandfather, Joseph de Abraham Abudarham [1749-1820 and Representative of the Jewish Nation; President of the Abudarham Synagogue; contributor to the Exchange and Commercial Library (today our Parliament building); Rating Commissioner; Jewish Deputy Governor of the Colonial Hospital; Merchant; Ship owner; Privateer; and Landowner].

Isaac was similarly a principal Merchant, Landowner, and Contributor to the Commercial and Exchange Library, who, inter alia, inherited the Cardozo Mansion, now the City Hall, in 1833, and in 1835, was also appointed Consul General of Tunis, in succession to his Uncle, who had discharged the Tunisian Diplomatic Representation in Gibraltar, since 1805 .

In addition, Isaac was also appointed a Knight of the Order of the Tower and Sword of Portugal; Knight Commander of the Order of Medgie and Nicham Ifikar of Tunis and Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy.

Moreover, Isaac was succeeded as Consul General of Tunis by his wife’s nephew, my maternal 2nd great-grandfather, Solomon Judah Abudarham [1815-1890], in 1848, and which position he held for 17 years, until 1865.

However, there may have been a second Gibraltarian who was also a member of the Spanish Order of Isabel the Catholic and in the person of Manuel Gomez [1828-1878], whose imposing facial features, in marble, may be viewed to this day upon his Memorial at North Front cemetery, plus wearing what seems to be the neck insignia of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, and which insignia, I suspect, may, possibly, be that of the rank of a Commander of that Order. However, it is impossible to say with due certainty, and so the insignia in question may relate to another Spanish Order of Chivalry.

Be that as it may, the three dimensional marble sculpture upon the Gomez Memorial is clearly of such superior quality, that, to this day, the neck ribbon clearly conveys the flexibility of cloth, as opposed to immortal stone – well: 'immortal' to a degree, and given the Memorial in question, is subject to the commencement of decay, which so sadly, inexplicably, afflicts other ancient monuments in our cemetery. However, the decay affecting the Gomez Memorial proves particularly pitiful, because it is one of the few fine pieces of Victorian sculptural portrayal in our City, and which, in keeping with all such antique Memorials, should be designated a listed monument, and maintained and retained by the public purse, upon the failure or absence of heirs, and for the benefit of future generations, and as objects of valuable heritage, beauty and refinement.

Through the centuries, a number of Gibraltarians have been honoured by foreign Sovereigns. Such awards have arisen mainly as a result of diplomatic services, in connection with national representations. Moreover, during the early 19th century, some of those representatives, who received foreign Knighthoods, proceeded to obtain Letters Patent of Royal Licence from the Sovereign and permitting them to employ the use of the designation of a British knight and so be described as: 'Sir'. For example: Sir Emanuel Viale, Consul of the Kingdom of the Two Sicillies, upon the bestowal of a Knighthood of the Constantinian Order of St. George of Naples, in 1811, or Sir John Maria Boschetti, Consul [and possibly Count] of the Roman [Papal] States, upon the bestowal of a Knighthood of the Golden Spur, in 1828.

However, the highest chivalric rank bestowed upon a Gibraltarian by the Spanish State has been the grant to the late Ambasador Solomon Seruya of a Knighthood of the Spanish Order of Civil Merit, and in the rank, dignity and status of a Knight Grand Cross. Accordingly, as the recipient of the highest degree of a Spanish State Order of Chivalry, Ambassador Seruya holds a unique distinction amongst Gibraltarians. So much so, he became, I believe, only the second Gibraltarian, to be so honoured by a Sovereign.

By way of anecdote, and as it happens, I believe Ambassador Seruya was initially offered a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic but he declined the same and so was, instead, offered the one of Civil Merit. I equally understand a somewhat similar situation arose when the late Bishop Devlin was offered the Order of the British Empire, in the rank of a Commander; save, as an ardent Irish citizen, he declined, and as may be imagined it caused some consternation. However, in the event, the matter was happily resolved via the bestowal of a Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and which Bishop Devlin gratefully accepted.

As far as I am aware, the other Gibraltarian to be bestowed with a Grand Cross Knighthood by a Sovereign was the late Sir Joshua Hassan, and in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and which, as a result, also enabled him to petition the English College of Arms, as the Armorial Deputy of The Queen of England, for the grant of Armorial Supporters to his heraldic Arms.

Sir Joshua Hassan’s heraldic Arms were originally granted to him, in the 1960s, by the same English Sovereign, and also via the latter’s said Armorial Deputy, the English College of Arms. Those English Arms were based upon the Arms of Sir Joshua’s maternal Cansino ancestors, and which were originally granted to Jacob Cansino, Spanish Ambassador to Morocco, and who was ennobled by the Emperor Charles V, in 1556.

The grant of Armorial Supporters is an extremely rare accolade, in England and Scotland, and is strictly limited to only Peers of the Realm and Knights Grand Crosses.

For obvious reasons, Sir Joshua's inspired choices were a rampant Barbary Macaque and a rampant Lion; not to mention, the equally appropriate Castle and Key of his Crest. However, regrettably, those Supporters could not be inherited by Sir Joshua's daughters, as co-heiresses to his Arms, the latter to be eventually passed as quarters to Sir Joshua's grandchildren, provided his son-in-laws are Armigerous in their own right.