Bill Hern writes: History is all around us and sometimes becomes apparent in the most unlikely of places and circumstances.
The Madeira Story Centre in Funchal tells the story of Madeira from its formation to the present day. It is an excellent museum and one I would recommend highly should you ever visit the island.
As you move between displays showing Madeira’s volcanic origins, its superb flora and fauna, sugar and rum production, explorers and warfare the last thing you expect to stumble across is a piece of iconic British Black History.
Madeira has long been a destination for those seeking a healthy and temperate climate. In the 19th century it was common for wealthy Britons suffering from health problems such as Tuberculosis to move to the island in order to recover. This was the case for Sarah Bonetta Forbes-Davies the African Princess who was ‘given’ to Queen Victoria who treated her like a goddaughter. Sadly the healthier climate didn’t help Sarah who died in 1880 and is buried in Funchal’s beautiful British Cemetery.
But Sarah is not represented in the museum. The unexpected piece of history is however, related to Madeira’s climate and attraction as a tourist resort.
Wrapped around a large pole in a dark corner of the museum is a poster from 1931 advertising cruises from Germany to many exotic places including Madeira. The cruise ships were called Monte Pascoal and Monte Rosa. Both had been launched the previous year and both would in years to come be captured by the British during World War 2. The Pascoal was loaded with chemical weapons and deliberately sunk off the coast of Scandinavia. The Monte Rosa however, survived the War although by 1945 she had been renamed the Empire Windrush.
The ship on the poster that had enticed wealthy Germans to spend their hard earned money on luxury cruises in the early 1930s had, less than twenty years later, become one of the most famous ships in history.
Surely no one in Britain can be unaware of the Windrush name whether it be the ship or the scandal. Many will know that the Windrush started life as a German cruise ship. Very few will know that a poster advertising cruises on the ship that would become the Empire Windrush is on display at a beautiful museum in Funchal, Madeira.
Keep your eyes open, history is everywhere and pops up in the most unexpected places!