Page 288 - Gertrude Bell (H.V.F.Winstone)

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GERTRUDE BELL
The nationalist newspaper Al Alam al Arabi wrote: ‘The true
sincerity of her patriotism, free from all desire for personal gain,
and the zeal for the interests of her country which illuminated the
service of this noble and incomparable woman makes her an
example to all men of Iraq; especially at this time when Iraq is so
sorely in need of serving hands ... We pray from our hearts that
the sons of our country will follow her great example by serving
their country as she served hers/
The Times wrote in a leader on July 13th: ‘Some power in her
linked her love of the East with a practical aim that became a
dominating purpose ... That she endured drudgery, was never
dismayed by continual disappointment and never allowed her
idealism to turn to bitterness, shows a strength of character rare
indeed among those of the English for whom the East has become
a passion. She was the one distinguished woman among them and
her quality was of the purest English mettle ... Miss Bell has left
the memory of a great Englishwoman.’
King George V wrote to Sir Hugh and Lady Bell: ‘The Queen
and I are grieved to hear of the death of your distinguished and
gifted daughter, whom we held in high regard. The nation will
with us mourn one who by her intellectual powers, force of
character and personal courage rendered important and what I
trust will prove lasting benefit to the country and to those regions
where she worked with such devotion and self-sacrifice ... ’
There were tributes from the new Colonial Secretary Leo Amery,
from distinguished archaeologists the world over, from Chirol,
Wilson, Cox and almost all who had served with her, whether in
amity or discord. All made handsome acknowledgment of her
part in the creation of the Kingdom of Iraq. More than twenty
years were to pass before that monarchy was drowned in blood
and the corpses of its political masters dragged through the streets
of Baghdad by republican mobs as a warning to others who might
be tempted to engage in the dangerous business of king-making.
At the moment of his early triumph in 1927, King Faisal suggested
that one of the principal rooms in the Baghdad Museum which
Gertrude created should be dedicated to her memory. A plaque
was placed in it which read: