HS Metro 19.12.2000 - British Ambassador visits site of old Finnish-British naval engagement

By Laura Häkli

The newly-appointed British Ambassador to Helsinki, 51-year-old Alyson J. K. Bailes, has much in common with at least a section of the locals: she remarks that she is disappointed since Finland is not half as cold as she would have hoped.

"I like cold, crisp weather", says Bailes. She says she got accustomed to bad weather when she grew up in Manchester and Liverpool, though neither of these are particularly famed for blizzards and minus 30 Celsius, which could, of course, be just around the corner for us.

Bailes and other embassy staff are in a Defence Forces' boat en route to Suomenlinna. Ms Bailes herself is coatless, dressed simply in a jacket and skirt. The temperature is an unseasonably warm 8 degrees Celsius (and that's above freezing), and the weather looks remarkably clear for December in Helsinki.

"You know what

, it would be good if the diplomatic corps could order up snow around their embassies in the same way they can buy tax-free alcohol", she jokes.

Alyson J. K. Bailes took up her ambassadorial duties just over a month ago, and she presented her credentials to President Tarja Halonen at the end of November. Nevertheless, this is by no means Bailes' first contact with Finland: she has been here a dozen or so times before moving into the Ambassador's residence in Helsinki's Kaivopuisto.

Her spoken Finnish is also coming along rather well, although she has only had barely two months of study.

On the fortress island of Suomenlinna

(historically known as Viapori, or Sveaborg in Swedish), she makes a short speech in perfectly understandable Finnish, and announces that the British Embassy will be donating poster and postcard copies of paintings in its collection that depict Suomenlinna and the (unsuccessful) naval bombardment that was delivered by an Anglo-French fleet during the Crimean War - an event that led to the fortress acquiring the nickname "Gibraltar of the North".

"I recognise that it may seem odd to do something that inevitably reminds us of a time when our two countries were at war with one another", says Bailes, and gives flesh to the thoughts probably passing through some listeners' minds.

During the Crimean War in the mid-19th century, Finland - as a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire - was at war with Britain and others. In August 1855, a fleet of English and French vessels sailed up the Gulf of Finland and shelled Suomenlinna heavily from the south.

In the course of a two-day barrage of cannon fire, a total of 55 people died on the fortress and around 200 were wounded. The fleet then weighed anchor and sailed for home.

"But we can now examine the historical events of 145 years ago with detached interest and curiosity, completely confident that our present relations are and will remain the complete opposite of what they were in 1855", says Bailes.

She reminds her audience

that since Finnish entry into the EU in 1995, relations between Finland and Great Britain have become more closely integrated that at any previous time in history.

"Our common links in the defence sector have also markedly improved in recent years", she remarks, and she goes on to mention the way in which collaboration between Finnish and British units in the KFOR forces in Kosovo has gone extremely smoothly.

Suomenlinna once had

more inhabitants than Helsinki itself. Today it is home to around 900 people, 350 or so of whom work on the chain of islands all year round. It is a good deal more than a museum, despite its position as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

During her visit, the ambassador was shown a multimedia presentation of the history of Suomenlinna, she examined the collections in the Ehrensvärd Museum, and she also got to meet the pupils of the elementary school on the island.

Fifth-graders from the school tried to summon up something Christmassy amidst the autumn weather with samples from a traditional Christmas mystery play, and they also sang lustily a few bars about the "Ooland War", a reference to another incident during the Crimean War. In June 1854 the British Navy bombarded a fortress on the Åland Islands and attempted a landing to destroy the port of Halkokari at Kokkola, on Finland's West Coast.

This tiny footnote

in British naval history has an interesting twist, since the locals repelled the assault and managed to grab themselves a British landing craft as spoils of war. It is proudly displayed in the so-called "English Park" in Kokkola. Nine British sailors died in the attack, and they are buried in the town. The Queen apparently sends a small grant each year for the upkeep of the graves.

In any event, Ambassador Bailes listened with a cheery smile to the bright voices of the children's rather bloodthirsty ditty about enemies and blowing up fortifications. It was all a long time ago.

Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 13.12.2000