Colonel Coulson - The Animals Friend
Excerpt from Newcastle Daily Journal
29th May 1914.
No more fitting memorial of the late Colonel W L Blenkinsop Coulson than that which now stands in the Haymarket, Newcastle and which the Lord Mayor of the city (Mr Johnstone Wallace) will unveil today at half past 12 could be desired. Colonel Coulson was a staunch, fearless friend of animals, as his lifes work testified. All forms of cruelty were in fact abhorrent to him and he never spared himself when able to do anything to mitigate or prevent it. Lack of water is frequently the cause of suffering by animals, and a drinking trough serves a useful purpose.
The memorial takes that form. On the west side water will flow continuously from the head of a lion, in bronze, into a large trough for the use of cattle and horses. Whilst on the other side dogs will in like manner, be provided for. Upon a plain, substantial base, has been place a bronze of the colonel, by an eminent French sculptor, M Arnold Rechberg. There is below an inscription which reads, "William Lisle Blenkinsop Coulson, 1841 – 1911. Erected by public subscription in memory of his efforts to assist the weak and defenceless among mankind and in the animal world".
On the opposite side of the monument has been inscribed
the following quotation, "What is really needed is an all round education of
the higher impulses, true manliness and womanliness, justice and pity. To try
to promote this has been my humble but earnest endeavour and until there are
more generally aroused the Legislature is useless. Nor is it able to make laws".
W.L.B.C.
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HUMANITARIAN LEAGUES TRIBUTE
"To the editor"
Sir,
Will you permit me to express which many humanitarians feel as to the honour
paid to the memory of Colonel Coulson.
He was one of the first men of standing who lent their support to the humanitarian
league. He joined the committee, then took the chair at its first public meeting,
and was always ready with his counsel and practical help. His pamphlet on the
horse had a wide circulation and his lectures were extremely popular. No one
could be surprised at Colonel Coulson’s great success with his audiences, for
there was a sincerity and frankness about him which went straight to the heart,
and his lectures were full of humanity, raciness, and sound judgement. Himself
brought up as a sportsman and country gentleman, he felt very keenly on the
subject of cruelty to animals and after his retirement from the army he devoted
his time largely to his lecturing tours, in which he visited almost every part
of the kingdom, and especially addressed himself to schools. It would be difficult
to over-estimate the good done by him in this respect, for no one was better
fitted to impress the minds of boys as a type of true manliness; and the lectures
he was able to give at some of the great public schools had a very marked effect.
Among the many workers for the better treatment of the lower animals during
the past quarter century, no one has done nobler service in a more unassuming
way than Colonel Coulson. Brave, simple, courteous and considerate to every
living creature, he was loved by all who knew him, by none more than by his
colleagues in the humanitarian cause, and of whom the present writer will always
remember it as a privilege to have been one.
Henry S Salt
The Humanitarian League
This page was found on the Newcastle Community News Internet magazine. They publish articles in text, pictures and sound that reflect the culture and heritage of the North East region of England. To see the site visit http://www.ncn.org.uk/Bcr/statue.htm.