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Letters and Diary of Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell, the traveller, diplomat and archaeologist, visited Edward Whittall and other members of the Whittall family in Smyrna in 1902-1914.

Letters and Diary entries from the Gertrude Bell archive at the University of Newcastle.

Diary
Letters
Click on "Transcription" drop-down on each entry.

1902

Gertrude Bell arrives in Smyrna, Wed 26 Feb 1902.
See diary from 26 Feb 1902 to 19 Mar 1902.
She is staying initially with the van Lennep family at Malcajik, near Smyrna.
On 2 Mar 1902 she met "The Van Heemstras and her brother Mr Whittall".
She writes on 3 Mar 1902: "All these people are connected with one another. They have married each other, or married into Smyrna families of Greeks - the Smyrna women are very beautiful you know, ... Everybody in the Levant is cousin to everybody else, quite regardless of nationality. Indeed nationality doesn't exist here."
On 10 Mar 1902 she met "Mr Herbert Whittall with his daughter Helen and his niece Rachel (Edward)".
See her visit to Herbert Whittall at "The Big House", Bornova, on 11 Mar 1902.
On 11 Mar 1902 when at Bornova at Herbert's house, she went to see "Mr Edward Whittall .. and his two daughters Elsie and Rachel".
She is in Bornova again on 17 Mar 1902. She dined with "Helen .. and Kathleen and Herbert".
She says: "After dinner a mass of cousins came in, the Lafontaines who stay with Mr Storr, Ed. Whittalls, Dick Whittall etc".
On 18 Mar 1902: "Up at 5 and off to Ephesus with Mr and Mrs Edward, their four daughters two Maltas girls" (would be relations of Edward's wife or Herbert's wife), also: "Helen and Arthur Whittall and a daughter in law of Mrs Edward". (This must be Edgar Arthur Whittall's wife Hilda Blanche La Fontaine. He was the only son married at this point.)
On 19 Mar 1902 she "travelled to Smyrna with Mr Richard Whittall the head of the firm, father of Mrs Van Heemstra."
She left Smyrna on 19 Mar 1902. "I had a very nice time at the Whittalls; they are pleasant people." "And if I wanted to stay and spend the summer with them I certainly might! But I pine a little for my own society; one is never never alone and when I go travelling, all the station masters come too!"

1907

She arrives at Smyrna on 2 Apr 1907.
See diary 2 Apr 1907 to 8 Apr 1907.
On 2 Apr 1907 she arrives, and "Mr Whittall, a son of Mr Richard W .. came on board for me."
After dinner, they are joined at bridge by "Elsie Whittall, Mr Edward's daughter" and others. "Most queer world this. French or English they are all without any nationality or any mother tongue."
On 3 Apr 1907 she met Elsie and "we went to the Herbert Whittalls whom I was very glad to see again. I found them both aged and looking very sad; their daughter Helen died last September."
She writes on 4 Apr 1907: "I spent yesterday afternoon at Burnabat [Bornova] which is the place where all the English people live, a charming little town of big houses and gardens under the hills. .. and then to call on all my Whittall friends. They all live in big delicious gardens and they have been here for generations. .. they have the bulk of the English trade in their hands, branch offices all down the southern coast, mines and shooting boxes and properties scattered up and down the SW corner of Asia Minor and yachts on the seas. They all have immense quantities of children, the sons young men now in the various Whittall businesses, of a funny sort of colonial type, the daughters very charming, very gay, spending all the summer in picnicking and all the winter dancing and playing bridge. The big gardens touch one another and they walk in and out of one another's houses all day long gossiping and laughing. I should think life presents itself no where under such easy and pleasant conditions." Note [Kalcas, 1983] mis-dates this letter as 1897.
On 7 Apr 1907 she lunches with Edward Whittall who talks of politics: "Mr E.W. said that Turkey was getting poorer and poorer. .. He thinks the end must be near. Possibly the govt. will provoke a movement against the Christians in which case Europe must intervene."
She left on 8 Apr 1907.

1914

On 12 May 1914 she is in Smyrna again just for a day.
She meets Edward Whittall: "He said that things were very bad here. They have an infamous Vali, strong Committee man. Policy of intolerable pinpricks against the Greeks, seemingly in the hope that they will be forced to leave and the Turks step into their place as merchants. .. The Vali and authorities are inciting the Mohammadan population against the Christians and Mr Whittall fears a massacre."
The massacre began the following year (against the Armenians, 1915).
Edward Whittall died in 1917. His worst fears happened to his home town Smyrna in 1922.

Photograph taken by Gertrude Bell in Bournabat (Bornova), 1902.
Possibly members of the Whittall family.
From here.

Photograph taken by Gertrude Bell in Bournabat (Bornova), 1902.
Possibly a member of the Whittall family.
From here.