The 1805 Dispatches #20.04 December 2020 1 of 4 EDITORIAL One of the hopes attached to this newsletter is that it will also attract the attention of people who are not already members of The 1805 Club. Membership of The 1805 Club is open to everyone, everywhere, who supports the purposes of the Club and shares its interests. Its historical and social events are marked by their genuinely friendly atmosphere. Consequently, it is further hoped that this newsletter will appear in various new online venues, so we encourage its dissemination and only ask that you clear it with the editor before doing so. ka.editor@1805club.org THE 1805 DISPATCHES Issue 20.04 December 2020 THE VIEW FROM MENORCA, by Lorraine Ure Written at the Invitation of The Chairman, Bill White Having met many Club members both here in my home territory of Menorca, and at other Club events, I was delighted to be invited to write again about the Isla del Rey, site of the firstever purpose-built Royal Naval Hospital. We hope to organise another enjoyable and educational visit some time in 2021, once the COVID crisis has settled and freedom of travel is again facilitated. The photo here shows the whole hospital structure as seen today. Built in 1711 by the Royal Navy to service their substantial Mediterranean fleet, it latterly reverted to operating as a Spanish military hospital after the British left finally in 1802, and it remained in service until 1964, when it was abandoned and fell into ruin. A group of dedicated volunteers, mainly Spanish and British, started to restore the building and reclaim its contents and surrounds in 2004, and have done a remarkable job with very limited funds but huge commitment under the leadership of General Luis Alejandre OBE. The 1805 Club decision to share a significant part of its Libor grant with us was hugely appreciated, and enabled the creation of a magnificent “Church Hall or Vestry” adjacent to the Anglican chapel (restored 2011, our 300th anniversary). These buildings are directly under the main tower in the photo. Club members have yet to see this new development, and there is much more! The first floor of the main building is being turned into a Centre of Interpretation for the history of Menorca, and we already have English and French rooms in place, plus another showing the development of the Port of Mahon, from its return to Christianity in 1287 to present day. More rooms are under construction. Another really exciting innovation opening in 2021 will be in the long, low Admiral Langara Building sited in front of the main hospital. The worldrenowned modern art promoters, Hauser & Wirth, are opening their FIRST gallery in the Mediterranean to showcase a rolling collection of leading international artists and sculptors in a fabulous location (items not for sale so no pressure!). They will afford us a warm VIP welcome. This will greatly uplift the profile of Menorca, much as the Guggenheim has proved in Bilbao. (More details about the Club visit will appear in future issues once the travel situation clarifies.) Sadly, we hear that Derek Hayes, the well-respected Life President of the Nelson Society, died of old age on 28 March 2020, 116 days after Mary, his wife of 65 years. Derek enjoyed working with members of The 1805 Club researching aspects of Nelson’s life. Isla del Rey (King’s Island), Menorca Image provided by Lorraine Ure, courtesy of Isla del Rey Foundation THE NEWSLETTER OF THE 1805 CLUB www.1805club.org
The 1805 Dispatches #20.04 December 2020 2 of 4 SHIP’S WORD WHEEL Take a ten-minute break and find as many words as possible, using the letters in the wheel. Each must use the hub letter and at least 3 others, used only once. No plurals (if only made with by adding an ‘s’ or ‘es’), no foreign words not in common usage in English, nor proper nouns. There is at least one nine-letter word to be found. Answers on page 4 2020 Trafalgar Day Wreath-Laying at St Paul’s... Genevieve St George writes: It was only two weeks before the event that I discovered a service would take place, limited this year to only five attendees, because of C-19. For the same reason there would be no Sea Cadets, who normally send three attendees. Admiral Lord West, former First Sea Lord, gallantly attended at very short notice to lay the Wreath at Nelson’s Tomb. He also read the General Order and laid the Wreath at Collingwood’s tomb (which was done last year by the Collingwood sisters). I asked him very late on the Monday, and he confirmed late on Tuesday. It was wonderful to have such a senior officer present at such short notice. Many, many thanks to him – BZ as they say! Never forget that there is a whole treasure trove of interesting stuff frequently updated on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/The1805Club/ ANYONE INTERESTED IN NAVAL HISTORY Adam Preston, one of our ‘Lt Lapenotieres’, is seeking support for an epic television drama mini-series that he hopes to get produced, but has first to demonstrate an audience for. You can help by visiting www.trafalgar.tv ...and at Greenwich 1805 Club member Charles Medhurst provided this photo of the Wreaths and other memorials laid by the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the Royal Navy Association, and others. Genevieve St George adds: There could not be the usual large service at Pleasaunce Park, but they were not forgotten. There is a very good exhibition called ‘Black Greenwich Pensioners’, exploring the hidden histories of Black RN personnel and running until 21 February 2021 at the ORNC Visitor Centre. Captain John Quilliam Sixty-nine gallant Manxmen served at the Battle of Trafalgar, their names now listed on a memorial stone overlooking the harbour of the Isle of Man’s capital, Douglas. The first name listed is that of John Quilliam, who was First Lieutenant in HMS Victory at the battle. At Trafalgar, Quilliam helped steer Victory into battle from the gun room, her wheel having been shot away. Lt Quilliam became a full Captain on Christmas Eve 1805, barely two months after Trafalgar. The next edition of the Kedge Anchor will contain a feature on him. (Picture by David Charles Romans shows Captain Jack Ronan,MN, having just unveiled the statue.)
The 1805 Dispatches #20.04 December 2020 3 of 4 ‘The Masque of Alfred’ Never forget to keep an eye on The Trafalgar Way at www.thetrafalgarway.org Saving Lives At Sea On 13 October the esteemed topsail schooner, HMS Pickle appeared as the unwitting star of BBCTV’s series ‘Saving Lives At Sea’ (Series 5, Episode 4). Pickle had set sail from Dover en route to Harwich at first light on 19th August 2019. She faced rough conditions and her engine room began to take on water. The crew alerted the coastguard and Frinton and Walton Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) (see the article on the right), assisted by Harwich RNLI, responded. Dale Steggles (31) who has been one of the F&W crew for ten years, said, “There was a lot of wind that day, not the roughest I’ve ever seen but the conditions were unusual for that time of year; we were called pretty far out to sea, this wasn’t just off the beach, it took about 45 minutes to get there.” It turned out that a ruptured pipe from the engine room pump was letting in more water than it was expelling – fixable. Thanks to the RNLI, Pickle continues to serve. The episode can still be seen on BBC iPlayer at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000nghc/saving-lives-at-seaseries-5-episode-4 Left: HMS Pickle, (Historic Motor & Sail) Right: Frinton & Walton Lifeboat, the Tamar Class Irene Muriel Rees (East Anglian Daily Press) A message came from member John Gwyther: “Idle hands during a health crisis turn to the trivial. Hence, a London auction house catalogue caught my eye with a section of Nelsonia and in particular an item for sale of His Lordship’s coat of arms shown in colour. This was photocopied, framed and given to the manager of the Lord Nelson pub, Pasquale Pirina, in Porto Cervo marina, Costa Smeralda, in Northern Sardinia, a familiar summer retreat. This was to add to the pub’s replica mementoes, as Pasquale already has a copy of a Nelson’s portrait painted in oil by myself. In normal times, the pub is a thriving venue for yachties when the seasonal calendar is full of world class regattas. Nelson would have enjoyed their company as he had shared the same local waters during his eight visits there. Let’s hope this popular venue soon gets back to normal.” (John has since been persuaded to enlarge uopn this – see The Kedge Anchor in the spring) Our Chairman is keen to organise/facilitate a performance of The Masque of Alfred (Britons never shall be slaves and all that). He’s not the only one excited by the prospect, as this message from member Jenny Hutchinson testifies: “You really have brought back some memories! I trained as a professional oboist, and in my student days, was engaged to play principal oboe in an outdoor performance of this masque, in the Verulamium parks in St Albans. It was a lovely setting, even with the crickets which kept hopping on us, and the ad lib accompaniment of the ducks on the nearby lakes! It was all part of a music festival and we wore period dress. Naturally, the women in the orchestra had to wear male dress to be more authentic for the times.” Anyone who would like to see the vocal score, go to: https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Masque_of_Alfred_(Arne,_Thomas_Augustine) The copy deadline for the next Kedge Anchor is 21 March 2021 For overseas readers, the RNLI is an entirely voluntary organisation in which volunteer lifeboat crews provide a 24-hour rescue service in the UK and Ireland, and whose seasonal lifeguards look after people on busy beaches. Their Flood Rescue Team helps those affected by flooding. RNLI crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives since 1824 but they are more than a rescue service. They influence, supervise and educate people too. Their Community Safety teams explain the risks and share safety knowledge with anyone going out to sea or to the coast. And their international teams work with like-minded organisations to help tackle drowning in communities at risk all around the world. https://rnli.org
The 1805 Dispatches #20.04 December 2020 4 of 4 THE 1805 CLUB The 1805 Club was founded in 1990 and broadly: • Promotes and engages in the preservation of monuments and memorials relating to the Royal Navy and seafaring people of the later sailing-navy era; and • Promotes research into and education about the Royal Navy, merchant maritime service and other state navies of the same era; and • Organises relevant cultural, historical and social events. The Club is charity No. 1071871, registered in England and Wales. Contact details: John Curtis, Hon. Club Secretary, The 1805 Club 9 Brittains Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2JN,UK Email: secretary@1805club.org Telephone: 01732 453176. For a membership application details please contact: Barry Scrutton, Hon. Membership Secretary, The 1805 Club 1 Cambus Road, London, E16 4AY, UK Email: membership.secretary@1805club.org Telephone: 020 7476 1215. Or: Capt. John A. Rodgaard (USN Ret.), Hon. North American Secretary, The 1805 Club 6089 Guildhall Court, Burke, Virginia 22015 USA Email: john_Rodgaard@yahoo.com; Telephone: 1-321-591-6123. Or: Mark Billings, Hon Canadian Secretary, The 1805 Club 4000 Marlowe Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3M2 Canada Email: mark@marengomgt.com Telephone: 1-514-296-1641 Visit our website: www.1805club.org Or see us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Or to join go to: Join The 1805 Club The Newsletter for Anyone Interested in The 1805 Club PURPOSE. The purpose of this newsletter is to support and advance the Club’s objectives. The newsletter provides anyone who is interested with brief items of news about the Club and its activities, in the hope that the it can help the club attract wider interest in naval history and new members. Much of the content will be a précis of articles that will appear in The Kedge Anchor, the six-monthly Club magazine. EDITORIAL POLICY. The editor has full editorial responsibility for the newsletter. Views expressed in the newsletter are those of individual authors, unless claimed by the editor. Articles which appear do not express the official position of The 1805 Club on any subject unless specifically noted as such. Content of contributions to the newsletter may be edited for grammar, space allocation, or to better serve the purpose of the newsletter. Contributors wishing to be alerted to editorial decisions should notify the editor at the time that their contribution is submitted. Otherwise the submission will be published within the scope of the editorial policy. ISSUE AND COPY DATES The proposed issue dates for The 1805 Despatches are: February, April, June, August, October and December. Anyone wishing to contribute an article or news item to the editor for inclusion in the newsletter should do so by the beginning of the month preceding the issue in which it is to be inserted. Any articles that are not time-specific can be submitted at any time, with a note advising him of that fact. All copy is welcome, but not all copy may be used! NAVAL TERMS THAT HAVE ‘COME ASHORE’ Swinging the lead – Seamen’s slang (Jackspeak) for feigning sickness or not pulling one’s weight, from the actions of a lazy leadsman, who would stand and swing the lead, which was the easy bit, before casting it and then having to haul it back. CELESTIAL, acts, caste, castle, celesta, cellist, celt, cist, cite, clast, cleat, east, eats, eclat, elastic, elate, elect, elects, elite, etic, ictal, illest, islet, laciest, last, late, lati, least, leat, leet, lest, lilt, list, lite, sallet, salt, sate, scat, seat, sect, select, seta, setae, setal, silt, site, sitella, slat, slate, sleet, slit, stale, stall, steal, steel, stela, stelae, stellia, stile, still, tael, tail, taille, talc, tale, tali, tallies, teal, tease, teasel, tees, tell, tells, tesla, tali, ties, tile, tiles, till. 40=Good, 65 = Excellent, 80 = Amazing SHIP’S WORD WHEEL ANSWERS We are fast approaching that time when members need to confirm their membership, by paying their membership subscription and, without naming names, this seems to be a conundrum to some. The concept is not difficult to most. NEWS SNIPPETS Leading Cadet Shaun of GDR Sea Cadet Unit has been made The First Sea Lord’s Cadet for The London Area in 2021. This is a first for GDR Sea Cadets and well timed. 2020 was their Centenary year, but almost everything had to be postponed to 2021. The GDR Unit are very good for parading at Greenwich events for us like The Immortal Memory. Sadly, National Sea Cadets Christmas Carols here in The ORNC Chapel cannot take place this December. They are normally a wonderful start to Christmas. ––––––– An amusing follow-up from member Andrew Welch, to our article on FitzRoy in the current Kedge Anchor: when Andrew served onHMS Beagle in the early 1970s, on the Seychelles survey, the ship’s two survey boats were known as Darwin and FitzRoy. ––––––– The Government have given Highways England approval for The proposed Stonehenge Tunnel, on the A303, near The Nile Clumps. We were assured by Highways England, on our last visit to The Nile Clumps in August 1st 2018, that The Eastern Portal of the tunnel will not impact on L’Orient. Since confirmed in writing. ––––––– The Chaplaincy Council has agreed to the proposal for a commemorative plaque to Admiral Sir William Cornwallis to be installed in St Ann’s church, within HM Naval Base Portsmouth. Rev Adam Gray, incumbent vicar, will now present this decision to the Archdeacon, who has the final say, which we hope to hear soon.
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