Notable burials in the English Cemetery of Malaga
Notable burials in the English Cemetery of Malaga include Gerald Brenan, Gamel Woolsley, Robert Boyd, Sir George Langworthy, Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson, Jorge Guillé, four members of the Royal Air Force, 62 officers and crew of the Gneisenau, Geoffrey Beyts.
Philip Ashworth, the son of Edmund and Charlotte Ashworth of Egerton Hall, Bolton, who died on 17th January 1871 aged 26 years, is buried at the English Cemetery. It is also the final resting place of one of the principal figures of the Generation of 27, Spanish poet Jorge Guillén (1893-1984) and of his Italian wife, Irene.
The cemetery has numerous sculptures and monuments, one of which is dedicated to 62 officers and crew of the Gneisenau which belonged to the Imperial German Navy and sank in the port of Malaga on 16th December 1900. The survivors of the disaster were rescued by the townspeople and, in gratitude for their help, the German government paid for the construction of the Santo Domingo Bridge, popularly known as the Germans' Bridge, which spans the Guadalmedina River in Malaga city centre. The unfortunate victims were buried in a common fosse in the English Cemetery.
The graves of four members of the Royal Air Force (an Australian Royal Air Force Flying Officer, a Royal Navy Commander and two RAF radio operator-air gunner Sergeants) are easy to spot in the style that was established at the end of the First World War. John MacGregor in an Australian Air Force Vickers Wellington crashed of Europa Point Gibraltar on 9th January 1942 was buried here on 12 April 1942. The other three's bodies were washed up on the beach at Marbella in separate incidents during the Second World War and were buried at the Marbella municipal cemetry. They were transfered to Malaga after the war and reburied on 2nd April 1946. One of their epitaphs, that of Flight Sergeant C.A. Ross, reads: "My darling husband The war united us The war parted us I'll love your memory always". Two sergent airmen in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve: Francis William Calladine, 22, who dies on 31 December 1942 when his plane crashed into the sea 19 miles west of Gibraltar; and Albert Arthur Ross, 35, who lost his life when his Gibraltar-based reconnaissance plane crashed in the Straits on 3 June 1943. Major Wallace Douglas Stranack, 45, a veteran of the First World War, died on board the light cruiser HMS Manchester from injuries sustained when his ship was hit by an aerial torpedo dropped by an Italian aircraft on 23 July 1941 while escorting a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta.
These four graves are overseen by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission together with 49 remains in 17 locations in Spain including Glyndwr Michael in Huelva cemetry. Every year in November, a Remembrance ceremony takes place here in honour of the fallen, with a service in St George’s church, which stands in the cemetery, and wreath-laying at the war graves.
Sir George Langworthy, philanthropist to the poor people of Torremolinos, is buried in the cemetery. When he arrived in Torremolinos he was immensely rich. He visited the poor when they were ill and gave them money and in 1918 was granted the unique honour by the Town Hall of Torremolinos of 'Hijo Adoptivo y Predilecto de Torremolinos' - Favourite and Adopted Son of Torremolinos. He died a pauper in 1945 surrounded by his employees and the entire town came to pay respects to his simple coffin.
Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson (1909-2003), Baroness Von Schlippenbach, historian of economics who left her native England in 1951 to settle in Spain with her husband, spent much time studying the history of The English Cemetery. In the mid-fifties she wrote a booklet entitled The English Cemetery at Malaga, the fruit of a year of research. She is one of the few people to have been buried in the cemetery since the 1990s. Her estate in San Julian, near the airport, with its tropical botanical gardens was left by her to Malaga University, one of the many universities to award her honorary degrees.
Gamel Woolsey, the wife of Gerald Brenan, who died on 18th January 1968 the victim of cancer, was buried at the English Cemetery. Both she and Brenan were very fond of Malaga and lived in nearby Churriana. Her husband had the first two verses of a song by Cimbelino inscribed on her gravestone: "No longer need you dread the heat of the sun or the furious rage of winter."
Gerrald BrenanGerald Brenan died in 1987 and left his body to medical science; some say to save the funeral expenses. Untouched for fifteen years because nobody wished to dissect such an eminent body, it was left floating in formaldehyde in Malaga University until 2001 when he was interred alongside his wife. His epitaph reads simply: "Escritor Inglés, Amigo de España."
At Brennan's funeral were his grandchild Stéphane Corre (from Paris), son of Miranda Helen y Corre (his illegitimate daughter born in Granada in 1931) now a French doctor. Stéphane Corre's wife was at his side and Edward Oakden from the Embassy in Madrid. Carmen Calvo, Culture Minister of the Junta de Andalucía, and Francisco de la Torre, the mayor of Malaga, were also present. Ian Gibson, Irish writer and hispanist, made a short speech in which he described the English Cemetery as the most beautiful in the Mediterranean region. Few people disagree with that.
William Mark (1782–1849), William Mark was the British Consul who created the English Cemetery in Malaga. See History. His family tomb is one of the most instantly recognisable mausoleums in the precinct.
Geoffrey Beyts (1908–2000), British Brigadier who informed Elizabeth II she was the Queen on her father's death.
Mary Ann Plews (1868-1911), Known as 'Annie', her grave is marked by the statue of an angel holding a cross and is considered to be the most beautiful in the cemetery.
Joseph Noble (1797-1861), English physician and politician who died in Malaga of cholera. His descendants founded the ‘Hospital Noble’ to the city to help improve its medical facilities. The hospital, built near the port, was intended to care for seafarers and fishermen.
John Goodnow (1868–1907), United States Consul General, Shanghai
Jorge Guillén (1893–1984), Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27
Aarne Haapakoski (1904–1961), Finnish writer of detective and science fiction.
Henry Hamilton Bailey (1894–1961), influential author of surgical textbooks.
Rowland Langmaid (1897-1956), British seaman, engraver, artist and war artist.
 |
| Decorative fountain in the English Cemetary |
