The Lemon Valley Wall

St. Helena Island, South Atlantic
The Lemon Valley wall and gun emplacements.

This is a bit info about Lemon Valley : A squadron of ships, led by Jacob de Gens, set sail from the Cape and arrived off the Island about 20th December. Soldiers began to make several unsuccessful attempts to secure a landing on the rocky coast. Despite a lack of troops and poor fortifications, the English were initially able to use the natural fortress to their advantage, and resist the Dutch. On New Year's Eve, a party of soldiers had been observed landing at Lemon Valley, but were repulsed by the islanders, who rolled rocks and boulders down the steep cliffs. The Dutch retired to their ships to think again.

Returning after dark, a light was seen near another landing place, Bennetts Point, close to Swanley Valley. The story then tells that a traitor named W. Coxe, accompanied by his slave, had lit a fire and was waiting to guide the Dutch invasion force.

Five hundred men came ashore and were led up the precipitous cliffs by Coxe and his slave, who was then murdered to keep the treacherous story secret. The troops moved across the Island, routed a small English force at High Peak, and appeared high above the defenders of James Fort at Ladder Hill.

The small group in the fort were trapped, with the Dutch above them and also attacking them from the sea. Governor Beale, realizing that great loss of life would accompany any further opposition, retired with his people and their valuables to the ship, Humphrey and Elizabeth anchored in the bay.

The Dutch found that Beale had spiked the guns and spoiled the gunpowder before leaving, and the only prize was a ship with slaves and some ivory. Thinking that the English had been routed, they repaired the fort, and with a reduced garrison, sat back to enjoy and make use of their new possession.

Governor Beale reached Brazil and at once set out in a sloop to warn English shipping away from the Island, and had the good fortune to meet up with a fleet from England, under Captain Richard Munden. This expeditionary force had set sail before news of the capture of St. Helena had reached England, but Munden determined to recapture the Island immediately, without waiting for specific orders. Source.


The package was postmarked on 22nd June 2010. Reached Malaysia in 22 days.

James Bay

James Bay, St. Helena, South Atlantic

Masked Booby

Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra
George Island, St. Helena, South Atlantic

This is from Wikipedia : The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby (Pitman & Jehl 1998, Friesen et al. 2002).

A conspicuous and distinct gannet-like species, it was proposed for separation in a monotypic subgenus Pseudosula, but the Nazca Booby and as it seems also the Brown Booby (S. leucogaster) is a quite close relative.

St. Helena Olive

St. Helena Olive, Nesiota elliptica, St. Helena, South Atlantic

This is from Wikipedia : The Saint Helena Olive (Nesiota elliptica) is a recently extinct plant from the monotypic genus of flowering plants Nesiota within the family Rhamnaceae.

It was an island endemic native to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. Despite its name, it is unrelated to the true olive (Olea europaea). The last remaining tree in the wild died in 1994, and the last remaining individual in cultivation died in December 2003, despite conservation efforts. It is thus a prime example of recent species and genus extinction (see also the List of extinct plants).

Christmas On St. Helena (3)

Boxing Day Sports organised by the "Standard".

Captain Hurst's Carved Boxes

Boxes carved for Captain A. R. Hurst of the Royal Sussex Regiment by Boer prisoners on St. Helena, 1902.

St. Helena Ebony

St. Helena Ebony, Trochetiopsis ebenus, St. Helena, South Atlantic.

This is from Wikipedia : Saint Helena ebony (Trochetiopsis ebenus) is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is not related to the ebony of commerce (Diospyros spp.), but is instead a member of the mallow family, Malvaceae. Saint Helena ebony is now critically endangered in the wild, being reduced to two wild individuals on a cliff, but old roots are sometimes found washed out of eroding slopes (relicts of its former abundance). These are collected on the island a used for inlay work, an important craft on Saint Helena. A related species, the dwarf ebony (Trochetiopsis melanoxylon) is now completely extinct.

It is quite easy to propagate from cuttings and many island gardens now boast a fine ebony bush. It is related to the Saint Helena redwood (Trochetiopsis erythroxylon) and a hybrid between them (Trochetiopsis x benjamini) is also now often planted.

Christmas On St. Helena (2)

Children Society Annual March on Holy Innocent's Day.

Christmas On St. Helena (1)

Jamestown in festive mood

This is from Wikipedia : Jamestown is the capital of the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Located on the island's north-western coast, it is the island's port, with facilities for unloading goods delivered to the island, and the centre of the island's road and communications network. It has a population of 714 (2008 figures).

Jamestown was founded in 1659 by the East India Company and named after James, Duke of York, the future King James II of England. It is built on igneous rock in a small enclave, sandwiched between steep cliffs that are unsuitable for building. The town is therefore rather long, thin and densely populated, with tightly knit, long and winding streets. Shrubs and trees decorate some of the street corners. The surrounding terrain is rough and steep. The town's population has been shrinking, in line with the shrinking island population as a whole but also as a result of the growth of Jamestown's "suburb", Half Tree Hollow.

The town has some examples of British Georgian-era colonial architecture and is proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many buildings are built out of local volcanic rock. St James' church dates from 1774 and is the oldest Anglican church in the Southern Hemisphere. Another of the town's prominent features is Jacob's Ladder, a staircase of 699 steps, built in 1829 to connect Jamestown to the former fort on Ladder Hill. The ladder is very popular with tourists, is lit at night and a timed run takes place there every year, with people coming from all over the world to take part.