Group phoTo
A group photo exists in a private collection which must have been taken on the roof of the club’s premises, most probably on the day of the inauguration. On the cardboard backing of the photo, there is a note written in pencil: “Ladies Imperial Club Constitutional 1927”. The premises were situated in Kingsway, now Republic Street, corner with Archbishop’s Street, which until recently used to be the Bologna Restaurant. The club was often used to celebrate the visits of important people. The luncheon held in 1929, mentioned earlier, was one of them.
Lady marGareT huLTon sTriCkLand
Lord Gerald Strickland’s second wife was Lady Margaret Hulton, whom he married on August 31, 1926. She was the daughter of the British newspaper proprietor Edward Hulton. There was no issue from the marriage. Besides the Ladies Imperial Club, she had also founded in Malta the Catholic St Edwards College and endowed it with a gift of £100,000, and £5,000 each year to cover the running expenses. The trustees of the gift were Mrs Amery, Cardinal Bourne and the Governor of Malta. However, the archbishop had refused to bless the Catholic college.
This endowment to St Edward’s College was celebrated at the Imperial Ladies Club, which gave a reception on November 19, 1928. “The announcement was received with great pleasure, and Lord and Lady Strickland were mobbed on leaving the club. Thousands of people gave them a great ovation.” Lady Strickland had also built the Hotel Phoenicia in Floriana. Together with Mabel Strickland, Sir Gerald’s daughter from his first marriage, she founded the newspaper group, Allied Newspapers Ltd.
Lord sTriCkLand
Lord Gerald Strickland was born in Valletta on May 24, 1861. He started his political career quite young and, at the age of 28, he was elected to the Council of Government. After a spate as governor in the West Indies and Australia, he returned to Malta and founded the Anglo-Maltese Party in 1921, after which it merged with the Maltese Constitutional Party. In 1924, he also won a seat in the House of Commons in England.
After clashing with the ecclesiastical authorities, on May 1, 1930, Mgr Mauro Caruana, titular Archbishop of Rhodes and Bishop of Malta, together with Mgr Michael Gonzi, Bishop of Gozo, issued a pastoral letter, to be read in all the churches of Malta and Gozo. In it, Archbishop Caruana and Bishop Gonzi declared that whoever voted for the Constitutional Party and its former coalition partner, the Labour Party, committed a mortal sin. This pastoral letter infuriated Sir Gerald Strickland. Being also a member of the British Parliament, he gave an impassioned speech at the Houses of Parliament in London, asking whether the action of the Maltese ecclesiastics had been ordered from Rome.
He said that the action of “the ecclesiastical authorities in Malta is prejudicial to the Imperial connection, and goes beyond the ambit of Maltese politics. Lady Strickland has founded in Malta a Catholic college which the Archbishop has refused to bless, and also a Ladies Imperial Club, fundamentally non-political, and open to ladies connected with the Imperial Services. I feel sure that your Lordships’ House will be amazed to hear that the sacraments of the Church have been refused to ladies who belong to the Ladies Imperial Club in Malta. May I remind your Lordships that in Malta, ladies have no votes, and, therefore, this aggression against the Ladies Imperial Club has the aspect of aggression against the Imperial sentiments of those who uphold British supremacy and culture in that very important British place of arms. At the same time, Italian money is being spent to obtain possession of premises adjacent to the Ladies Imperial Club in Malta and to organise in such premises a centre of pro-Italian propaganda, Giovani Italia.” (Hansard 1803–2005).
It would have been assumed that given the political situation of the time and the fact that the archbishop had refused the sacraments to the members of the Ladies Imperial Club, the demise of the club would have been the inevitable consequence. But apparently, the lady members proved to be of more mettle and resilience than had been anticipated.
A framed letter signed by H.R.H. George, the Duke of Kent, came up for auction recently and is now in the author’s collection. The letter was addressed to Miss Dolores Debono and dated December 14, 1935, where the duke is thanking the Ladies Imperial Circle for the painting of Prince George which they had commissioned as a gift to him on his wedding to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, which took place on November 29, 1934, at Westminster Abbey. The painting may have been commissioned to Edward Caruana Dingli. This letter had been preceded by a letter of apology from John Lowthers, the private secretary of the duke, dated November 25, 1935, almost a full year after the marriage ceremony, where it is regretted that no acknowledgement had been sent because the portrait was stored temporarily until the duke had hung the portrait “in its allotted position” – a very flimsy excuse if there was ever one. But, from these two letters, we learn that Miss Dolores Debono was the honorary secretary of the committee of the Ladies Imperial Club and that Marchioness Agnes Testaferrata Bonici was the vice-president.
In 1940, Lord Lloyd received a letter from Lady Strickland asking whether it would be possible to “amalgamate” or absorb her Ladies Imperial Club with the British Institute if the club had to be closed. He answered that it would not be possible for a public-funded institution to amalgamate with a private club, but he offered to accept as members all the present members of her club. This request shows that by 1940, the Ladies Imperial Club had come to the end of its journey.
aCknowLedGemenTs
The author thanks Charles Farrugia, Peter Calascione, Jeremy Debono, Jasper de Trafford, Christopher Grech, Marquis de Piro and Louis Sant Cassia for their invaluable help in the writing of this article. The author welcomes any further information from readers which may have a connection with the Ladies Imperial Club. He can be reached at josephschiro60@gmail.com.