SCOUNDREL GOVERNORS!

Gibraltar's second and third British Governors were unmitigated'scoundrels who should probably have been prosecuted as common thieves but were not, while the first — chosen by Prince George soon after Admiral Sir George Rooke's forces captured the Rock — was killed by a stray cannon ball within a month of taking office. The second Governor, Brigadier General John Shrimpton,"took" ten brass cannon from the garrison and sold them to Portugal, while the third "perfected a profitable sideline in extortion whereby virtually all the house rents, port duties fines and fees went into his own pocket."

Shrimpton, involved in a costly lawsuit relating to his wife's dubi ous acquisition of two large coun try estates, "took" the cannon to solve what has been de scribed as his "financial in convenience". His Governor ship did not last long; but when he left the Rock it was not because of his "blatant and un punished act of theft, but to pur sue a more excit ing army career and the promise of promotion."

On the other hand, Elliott — of whom it was said that "he would sell his grandmother for ready money" — was ordered home to Brit ain when the extent of his avarice came to the notice of the new Tory Ministers in 1710. In his pursuit of cash Elliott had pulled rank and bullied staff, and — while the au thorities in London may not have been concerned about the fate of his grandmother — they "feared he might be tempted to sell the for tress."

These little-known historical vi gnettes have been unearthed by Peter Bond, whose new coffee-ta ble book "300 Years of British Gi braltar - 1704-2004" is published this month (December) as part of the Government's celebration of next year's tercentenary. Between them,the Government,the Tourist Board and the Gibraltar Office in London have ordered almost 3,000 copies of the book —"the only way to make this sort of publication fi nancially viable," Bond explains.

The publication of "300 Years of British Gibraltar" has been cleverly timed to catch the Christmas gift market and contains a pleasing bal ance of old prints and photographs with present day images taken by former model-turned camerawoman Gry Iverslein who is a regu lar visitor to the Rock.

Between them Bond and (verslein have done a splendid job of gathering the illustrative mate rial which forms the bulk of the book.But it is Bonds exploration of the more arcane byways of the Rock's chequered history that will grip the reader — particularly the sections dealing with early British occupation and the events of World War 11.

And,given Spain's current claim to sovereignty of the Rock though political events and Gibral tar's dogged resistance have pushed these onto the back burner... at least for the time being — it is fascinating to reflect on the irony(as Bond does in his opening chapter)that Rooke's capture of the rocky outcrop and fortress was ac tually meant to spearhead an Anglo-Dutch invasion of the Ibe rian peninsula on behalf of King Charles 111 of Spain!

By the beginning of the 18th cen tury "the wars of religion had given way to the wars of dynasties in which men now fought to prevent any single family dominating Eu rope," Bond writes.And by willing his throne to his great nephew (PhilipV of Spain, who was a grandson of the French "Sun King" Louis XIV,Charles 11 had "upsetthe apple-cart."

A Franco-Spanish alliance threatened Anglo-Dutch security and trading prospects making the War of Spanish Succession in evitable. "When (in 1702) the French troops had the impertinence to march into the Spanish Netherlands, threatening Holland's independence, (Britain's) Queen Anne de clared war on France'to pre serve libert}' and balance in Europe.' But she was really thinking of her bankroll," Bond points out.

Until the capture of Gibral tar — which was pretty much an afterthought! — the AngloDutch expedition to the Iberian Peninsula was not a military success. Plans to take Cadiz and use it as a foothold to advance inland and establish Charles as Spanish king failed because the port was too well fortified, and an attack on Barcelona the following year suffered a similar fate.

"Here was this tloating expedi tion of over 2000 troops and sailors and their leaders at an embarrass ing loss as to how to put them to good use," Bond writes."Naturally they were reluctant to return home with such a poor war record, so they decided in some desperation to have a shot at capturing Gibral tar... Ahead of the invasion Rooke had delivered to the Spanish Gov ernor of Gibraltar the official proc lamation stating he was not invad ing Spain on behalf ofQueen Anne but merely seeking to deliver them from the French to their rightful King Charles HI.

But the Spanish Governor de clined to surrender and "after a naval bombardment had reduced the town to rubble, the marines landed almost unopposed."

The rest, as they say, is history... and what a fascinating history Bond has made it.