Sarraut (Alberto)
French Minister of the Colonies Albert Sarraut, who visited Funchal on 17–18 October 1921 and honoured the sailors of the Surprise.
Minister of the Colonies of the French Republic. He arrived in Madeira aboard the cruiser Gueydon on 17 October 1921 and landed at about 2 p.m., having been greeted on board by the civil governor, the harbour master and the military commander. The due military honours were paid to him at the quay, after which he went on to the São Lourenço Palace (‘St Lawrence’), where he was received by the civil governor and the secretary-general (secretário geral). Accompanied by the civil and military authorities, he visited the Angústias (‘sorrows’) cemetery and laid a wreath with a dedication on the tomb-monument of the sailors of the Surprise, who died when that ship was torpedoed inside the bay of Funchal. The governor also laid a wreath on the same monument, and speeches were given at the cemetery by M. Sarraut, the civil governor and the vice-president of the executive committee of the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal). An infantry detachment and a detachment of the Republican Guard paid military honours to M. Sarraut at the cemetery. The Gueydon left the port of Funchal for Brest on the 18th.
In this article
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Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 04
Abroad
- Angústias Cemetery
Funchal. Cemetery holding the monument to the Surprise sailors.
Funchal municipal cemetery, which grew from a small Misericórdia burial ground of 1818 and was built in 1836–38. It has a carved basalt portico, a mortuary and a 1917 monument to the victims of the German bombardment. The 2nd Count of Carvalhal and Dean Andrade are among those buried there.
- Bay of Funchal
Funchal. Where the Surprise was torpedoed.
The Bay of Funchal, between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz, is the widest bay in the archipelago and the island's main anchorage, whose exposure to southerly gales caused many wrecks. The Elucidário notes it was surveyed by Vidal in 1843, that the Surprise was torpedoed there, and that it had never been studied oceanographically.
- Brest
France. Destination of the Gueydon.
Brest is a French port. The Elucidário mentions it as the destination of the Gueydon and as the port to which the Jules Michelet carried the remains. It was also the European end of the telegraph cable whose repair yielded lava samples.
- São Lourenço Palace
Funchal. Where Sarraut was received by the civil governor.
The Palácio de São Lourenço, the governors' palace-fortress in Funchal, was the scene of beija-mão ceremonies, receptions, balls and dinners, and of the 1861 exhibition. The Elucidário records a great fire there in 1699, a natural history museum in 1850, and an attempt by soldiers to enter it in 1829. The Teatro Grande stood opposite it.
People
People mentioned · 01-
French Minister of the Colonies who visited Madeira in October 1921 and laid a wreath on the Surprise sailors' monument.