Glasgow Should Find a Way to Celebrate Courage of This Heroine of Matagorda

Summary

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The story of Eileen Nearne's heroism during the Second World War, and the well-deserved, if belated, recognition she has received reminds me of a similarly scandalous story of neglect here in Glasgow.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the remarkable bravery of Glasgow's Agnes Harkness, called in her lifetime the Heroine of Matagorda. Hardly anyone now has heard of her, but she deserves to be better known: our schools should teach the next generation about Agnes Harkness, Glasgow should be proud of her, and visitors to the city should be reminded of her. This neglect is probably because Agnes was the wrong gender, the wrong class, and the wrong nationality, as a result of which she has been crossed out of our history.

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Extract

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Glasgow Should Find a Way to Celebrate Courage of This Heroine of Matagorda

Agnes Harkness was the wife of James Reston, a sergeant in the 94th Regiment, and accompanied him when the regiment set off for Spain during the Peninsular Wars, with their four-year-old son. They ended up in the small fort of Matagorda close to Cadiz, whi...

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