I strongly believe that it shouldn't just be people of Polish heritage lauding Strzelecki. After all it was hundreds of thousands of Irish children he helped save from starvation. It should be people of Irish heritage educating the public of his great humanitarian deeds, but they aren't doing it. Sadly at the 2012 International Commemoration of the Irish Famine held at Boston during early May, 2012 the humanitarian work of Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki didn't rate a word of mention. And, as far as I know, there is no monument to Strzelecki in Ireland. I attended the opening speeches, lectures and ceremonies at Boston, but not a word about Strzelecki. The benevolence of Bostonians and New Englanders such as Asenath Nicholson, the Quakers and Captain R B Forbes and other members of the Forbes family were discussed and applauded, but not a word about Strzelecki.

Ardsley NY

Boston

Boston

Boston

I can understand the strength of local heroes and the power of local interest but surely the scale of Strzelecki's humanitarianism deserves some acknowledgement in an International Commemoration. I know Strzelecki was not an Irishman nor was he a New Englander or Bostonian, he was a foreigner with a strange and unpronounceable name, but this shouldn't matter if a true history of benevolence during the hunger is being aspired to.

The wording on the Irish Memorial in Philadelphia also made me very sad and disappointed because Sir Paul’s humanitarian work was unacknowledged there too. It was doubly disappointing because the sculptor, Glenna Goodacre created powerful images in the monument, but the words on the surrounding ‘explanatory tables’ hit me hard. The words that hurt were:

“. . . . The main voluntary attempts to deal with the crisis, especially in the west of Ireland were undertaken by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) whose organizers included William E Forster and James Tuke. Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker, headed the Relief Committee and also contributed to the Friends effort from this country . . . . .”

Bufallo NY

Bufallo

Cambridge MA

Chicago Il.

Again, only locals were being acknowledged. The Quakers did a lot and I don't want to belittle what they did in any way, however the British Relief Association and their driving force Paul Edmund Strzelecki did much, much more (many multiples more), especially in the west of Ireland – County Mayo specifically. Here too I was able to meet some of the organisers and was amazed that they also had never heard of Strzelecki. I asked some of them if they had read certain book titles, including a recent work by Christine Kinealy. I was stunned to hear that they had, since in Kinealy's book she states clearly that the British Relief Association and Strzelecki provided the MAIN voluntary efforts. For example in 'This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845 – 52, 1995', Christine Kinealy writes that:

“the British Relief Association, which, although it never achieved as high a profile as the Quakers , raised approximately £470,000 - over double the amount provided by the Society of Friends" (P 162)

Irish Hill MI.

Jersey City NJ

New York

Keansburg NJ

She goes on to say:

“Within the distressed unions special provision was made for school children. They could obtain relief paid for by the British Relief Association from their local schools. This scheme was introduced by Count Strzelecki, the agent of the Association in Ireland. He had already introduced a pilot scheme in the Westport Union which proved to be both popular and successful. . . . . . A grant from the funds was given to each union according to the number and size of local schools. It was then distributed to the children with the assistance of the local clergy, the school inspectors, or the school masters. It was recommended that each child should receive a daily ration of rye bread and warm broth, which was considered to be more nourishing than Indian meal. ” (Pp 207 – 208)

I guess having the book on the shelves of the library of the Irish Centre’s Commodore Barry Club in Philadelphia serves only an ornamental purpose!

I can understand why people in North America may not be familiar with Australian publications that cover Strzelecki’s activities in Ireland such as Lech Paszkowski’s meticulously researched monograph, 'Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki', Geoffrey Rawson’s, 'The Count' and there is a good outline in Thomas Kennealy’s, 'The Great Shame'. Notwithstanding this, Sir Paul’s deeds are cited in non-Australian publications besides Christine Kinealy’s and they are readily available to readers in the US and Britain. Here are some pertinent extracts from two older publications.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Providence

Providence

W.P. O'Brien, 'The Great Famine in Ireland', 1896, asserts

“. . . their operations were mainly conducted through their confidential agent in Ireland, the Count P. E. de Strzelecki, a distinguished Polish nobleman, then resident in London, and who, from the first announcement of the Irish famine, had thrown himself with conspicuous devotion and energy into the movement for its relief. . . . During the winter and spring of 1847, and up to the month of September in that year, the Count de Strzelecki made prolonged and repeated personal visits to the most distressed districts, and by this means, as well as by constant communication and correspondence with the various Relief Committees and charitable Associations, as well as with many others throughout the country, he kept himself thoroughly informed as to the actual condition of the several localities, and the extent to which his intervention was called for, or desirable in each particular case. . .” (Pp 188 – 189)

And

“The extent and value of the varied services rendered by Count Strzelecki in the conduct of the several operations entrusted to him were thoroughly appreciated and gratefully acknowledged by all those with whom his mission of charity had brought him into personal communication, and in many of the remotest and most afflicted districts of the west, to which his solicitude had been primarily and chiefly attracted, the name of this benevolent foreigner was then, and for long afterwards, a familiar one, if not a household word, in the homes of the suffering poor.” (P 190)

And

“The scheme, as originally framed, was only intended to apply to the ordinary cases of outdoor relief, but, on an urgent representation of the Count de Strzelecki, addressed to the Committee of the Association on October 24th, 1847, it was materially enlarged by permitting, in addition to this, assistance, in the shape of both food and clothing, to be especially extended to the children attending the schools, of whatever denomination, in the selected unions.

The practical results of the assistance afforded through this channel proved, as I can personally testify, eminently satisfactory and beneficial, and as the adoption of it was altogether due to the foresight and sagacity of the Count de Strzelecki . . .” (Pp 192 – 193)

In 'The Great Irish Famine', 1874, Canon John O’Rourke writes:

But of all the charitable organisations produced by the Famine the most remarkable was the British Relief Association for the Relief of Extreme Distress in Ireland and Scotland. This association received in subscriptions at home and abroad over £600,000. The balance in hands, when they drew up their report, was the very trifling one of £1,400; whilst so many of those immediately connected with this gigantic work laboured gratuitously, the whole expense of management was only £12,000, barely two percent. (Pp 181 – 182, Veritas Publications abridged edition 1989)

And

“A peculiar feature of this relief system, adopted and carried into effect by the advice of Count Strzelecki, was the giving of clothing and daily rations to children attending school. This was done in twenty-seven of the poorest unions, and with the best results.” (P 262 Veritas Publications abridged edition 1989)

Rochester

Rochester

Sydney

Sydney

On Sunday August 25, 2013 the International Commemoration will be held in Sydney, and considering the fact that Sir Paul not only helped save hundreds of thousands of Irish children from starvation, but he also had a significant involvement in the immigration of Irish orphans to Australia, which gave those orphans a wonderful opportunity to better themselves and prosper. Strzelecki deserves to be honoured during the Sydney Commemoration. Actually because Australia is a country that prides itself on giving everyone a fair go, Strzelecki MUST be honoured.

To the credit of Jewish people, soon after the end of World War II some of the survivors of the Nazi holocaust established Yad Vashem. The organisers of Yad Vashem recognised that:

"if one was to build a future in a world where Auschwitz had become a real possibility, it was essential to emphasize that Man was also capable of defending and maintaining human values."

At Yad Vashem, the Righteous Among Nations have their names added to the Wall of Honour in the Garden of the Righteous and since 2002 an Encyclopaedia of the Righteous has been published honouring their deeds.

I strongly believe that the time has come for the organisers of the annual International Commemoration of the Irish Famine and the associated National Commemoration of the Irish Famine in Ireland to assemble an official Honour Roll giving pen portraits of ALL the organisations and individuals who provided extraordinary help to the destitute at the time of the Terrible Famine in Ireland. An Honour Roll:

- puts the focus on the good side of human nature
- honours all who performed humanitarian deeds not just a favoured few locals relevant to where the International Commemoration happens to be celebrated
- can inspire research that could uncover more stories of benevolence that can be added to the Roll
- makes available case studies that ministers, teachers and others can use to provide examples to young people and others, that even at the worst of times, humans have the capacity to perform acts of goodness simply for goodness sake.

Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki would easily qualify as a 'righteous' man. He worked tirelessly, gratuitously and successfully for nearly 2 years in the most distressed regions of Ireland, overcoming the typhoid fever he contracted in late March, 1847 and continued providing a helping hand to those in most need for another 17 months. During this time he was instrumental in saving 200,000 children from starvation and his methods reduced the likelihood of the children and their parents contracting deadly diseases associated with the famine.

Felix Molski