'WELL DONE, CONDOR!'
ALEXANDRIA, 1882
But little recked they of doubts or fears that vexed the soul of the wise,
They did as the world did round them, and they claimed their share of the prize.
Sir Rennell Rodd.
The modern story of what Lord Charles Beresford's Condor did at the bombardment of Alexandria on the 11th of July 1882 closes our series. Everybody knows in a general way something about it, but the details of the fight deserve attention on their own account. It was no doubt only one incident of the day, but all the same it was a good piece of work.
This briefly is how the situation came into being at the outset.
The bombardment of Alexandria was brought about by the usurpation of power in Egypt by Arabi Pasha and the so-called National Party early in 1882, raising the cry of 'Egypt for the Egyptians.' Great Britain, alarmed at their avowed hostility towards her, was forced to intervene on behalf of her interests in Egypt, and to ensure the safety of the Suez Canal. Diplomacy, and all efforts to induce the Sultan, as suzerain of the Khedive, to take action, having failed, in June the British Mediterranean Fleet was ordered to the scene, at first by way of demonstration. A French squadron arrived at the same time, France being specially interested in Egypt under the Joint Control agreement, and other Great Powers sent representative ships. In reply Arabi and his partisans began throwing up works and mounting additional guns at Alexandria, and then riots broke out in the city and at Cairo leading to a massacre of Europeans. At the end of June the arming of the forts, which had been suspended under direct orders from Constantinople, was defiantly resumed, drawing strong remonstrances from the British Admiral, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, as the late Lord Alcester then was. The discovery of a plot to wreck part of the Suez Canal and to block Alexandria harbour, and the activity displayed on the fortifications, resulted in leave being telegraphed from England to the British Admiral to take action if necessary. Thereupon, on the 6th of July, Admiral Seymour demanded the immediate disarmament of the harbour forts on pain of bombardment. An evasive reply was given, while the mounting of heavy guns proceeded with increased vigour at night, as the searchlights of the fleet disclosed. On the 10th the British Admiral notified to the Governor of Alexandria that, unless in the course of that day certain of the harbour forts were evacuated and handed over to him to dismantle, he would open fire next morning. The foreign consuls were informed of Sir Beauchamp Seymour's intention, and during the day all the foreign men-of-war withdrew outside, the French squadron proceeding to Port Said.
The British Fleet off Alexandria comprised eight battle-ships and five gun-vessels. When the British Admiral's ultimatum was sent off on the morning of the 10th two of the battle-ships, the Invincible, on board which Admiral Seymour had his flag, and the Monarch, with the gun-vessel Condor commanded by Lord Charles Beresford, and the other gun-vessels, were inside the harbour. The rest of the fleet, the battle-ships Alexandra, Sultan, Inflexible, Téméraire, Superb, and Penelope, were lying outside.