Queen Victoria, then aged 82, had decided to honour four of the bravest soldiers from the colonies serving in the war by presenting them with khaki wool scarves that she had designed and crocheted herself. It has been suggested that the bitterly cold nights in South Africa may have inspired the Queen to produce the scarves to keep at least some of her soldiers warm. The scarves all had a very small royal monogram, VRI, sewn in white thread in the corner.
Richard Rowland Thompson was born into a prominent confectionery manufacturing family in Cork in 1877. After leaving UCC (then Queen’s College Cork) in 1897 Thompson emigrated to Canada and volunteered as a medical assistant in the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. He went to South Africa in 1900 where he showed considerable courage in assisting wounded comrades on the battle front while under fire.
After Thompson’s death, the Queen’s scarf passed to his older brother, William, in Cork. In 1965, Thompson’s grandson Samuel F Thompson brought it to Canada for presentation to the people of Canada in a special ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The scarf is now in the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.
As a reciprocal gesture, the President of UCC, Dr Michael Murphy, will give Queen Elizabeth a gift of a contemporary lace scarf, designed by Cork artist, Carmel Creaner to acknowledge the role of Queen Victoria in the foundation of the college. The scarf is crafted in Cork lace against a silk backdrop and incorporates elements of Boolean algebra. George Boole was the first Professor of Maths at Queen’s College Cork and his algebra forms the basis of modern computer science.
The scarf for Queen Elizabeth combines hand printed white scripts on white silk muslin, with hand and machine embroidery embellishments reflecting contemporary lacework. It also has references to Irish textile history – that of Irish crochet lace which uses the symbols of the shamrock (Ireland), rose (England) and thistle (Scotland).
Carmel Creaner, the artist, says: “I chose to use the mathematical notation found in Boole’s notes as inspiration for the scarf. Some of the elements of the notation such as the three dots for “therefore” inspire random cross stitches and french knots which in turn become zeros! Binary notation is also included in the scarf, most specifically, the binary notation for 1849 – the year Queen Victoria came to Cork and 2011 the year of Queen Elizabeth’s visit. George Boole’s signature - Prof Boole Queen’s College Cork- is also printed on the scarf referring to the original name of the University. The coat of arms of the University and UCC 2011 are also featured.”
Carmel Creaner is a textile artist based in Cobh. Her work combines contemporary embroidery and print.
Picture shows Dr Michael Murphy, President UCC with artist Carmel Creaner and the gift for the Queen.
Photo John Sheehan Photography
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