The 1805 Dispatches #22.03 June 2022 1 of 6 THE REGULAR NEWSLETTER OF THE 1805 CLUB www.1805club.org THE 1805 DISPATCHES THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Observations From The Chairman, Capt. John Rodgaard (USN Retd.) I do hope all have had a good few months since the last edition of The 1805 Dispatches. Your Club has experienced a flurry of activity, something analogous to flowers blooming in one’s spring garden. Sorry to our members south of the equator, who are in the winter months. On Sunday 22 May, 20 local Club members gathered at The Crown, at Bishop’s Waltham, north of Southampton and met with myself, wife Judy Pearson, and our President, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band for an informal greet and meet. Everyone thought it was a great success and they agreed that it stands as an example for future gatherings to be organised throughout the UK. Another reason for us to sail across the Atlantic, was meeting with the professionals at the Borthwick Institute, The University of York (the original York) on the following Wednesday. We met to see the progress in conserving the historic parish register of St John’s Figtree Church from the island of Nevis. As many of you know from previous communications, Borthwick is conserving this historic document that notes the marriage between Captain Nelson and Frances Nesbit. The register also is a special research tool for contemporary families on Nevis. It was very moving to see some names recorded in the register as ‘owned’ or noted as ‘free’. The signature event for us to travel over to ‘Old Blighty’ was The Club’s AGM. It was held on Saturday the 28th at the Army & Navy Club – The Rag. I have been told it was hugely successful, as Judy and I were sequestered in our room two floors above the meeting - we had tested positive for Covid the day before. Ten per cent of the membership, present or by proxy, overwhelmingly approved a change in The Club’s Constitution (making it easier for members to stand for Council), the annual report, the accounts, the slate of Council members, and the new course The Club has charted. I wish to thank our Vice Chairman, Geraint Day; Club Secretary/Chief of Staff, Stephen Howarth; and Council member, Kathy Brown for making the AGM such a success. I know they and the other members of your new Council look forward to the coming year. As our Treasurer, Nicholas Ridge wrote in his yearend report, ‘2021 and 2022 will have been years of revision and planning. 2023 will be the year of action’. Finally, I must recognise two of our Council members, Barry Scrutton and Josephine Birtwhistle, who, at the AGM, formally resigned their positions as Membership Secretary and Webmaster respectively. We as a Club are deeply appreciative of the years they have committed toward the Club’s success – Fair Winds and Following Seas, Barry and Jo. Yours aye, Nicholas Pocock, Nelson’s Flagships at Anchor © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. When one attends an AGM in London, or anywhere, one does not usually expect to: 1. Have a magical sunny day in St James’s Park. 2. Get caught up with The Colonel’s Review of Trooping the Colour (usually incorrectly called a ‘dress rehearsal’) 3. Become a spectator for the London Cycle Marathon. 4. Get the rare chance to see the Sutton Hoo ship-burial treasure (NB Anyone can see this at the British Museum. The ‘rare’ referred to my chance to get there). But I did, plus I met up with many old and new club friends. I am still pinching myself! The 1805 Club is a pleasure that simply keeps on giving. Now, please, go and read the more serious material herein. EDITORIAL If you are not a member, and are concerned at missing out on all the fun, please contact our Membership Secretary, who will be delighted to hear from you at: membership.secretary@1805club.org
The 1805 Dispatches #22.03 June 2022 2 of 6 The 1805 Club made a visit to the ORNC on 18 May. The Nelson Room at the ORNC has been mentioned in the recent editions of both TDand KA, for which we make no apologies, because our contribution towards the wonderful refurbishment of the Nelson Room was an important first step on the road to normality for the Club, following the pandemic. It must be mentioned again that the major funding for this project was provided by the Gosling Foundation - 150 times as much as the Club was able to provide, as we were reminded by Stephen Howarth. This visit was equally important in itself, for thirteen members and two guests were able to gather for this first official get-together since lockdown - there have been one or two privately arranged meetings, but this was the first one thrown open to all Club members - and very pleasant it was. The event, ably organised by Stephen, started with a nice lunch at The Old Brewery, which was followed by an introduction to the Nelson Room by Claire Kirk (Head of Learning, Interpretation and Collections) and an interesting talk about the conservation work by Martin Ashley (Surveyor of the Fabric), who, also, gave an excellent post-AGM talk this year, at The Rag. Tony Hales, CBE, chair of the Trustees of the ORNC, assisted them with additional snippets. Following this fascinating enlightenment, our group was divided into two and we were each given a special tour around the whole site by tour guides, who were equally enlightening. Alas, no group photograph was taken before the division and thereafter impossible. Attendees at lunch were, in alphabetical order: Mary Arthur (VP); George Bandurek; Izzy Bandurek (guest, daughter of George); Beverley Beech; Leile Brown; Simon Brown (no relation); Geraint Day; Stephen Howarth; Dennis Sell; Jacqui Sell (guest, wife of Dennis); Peter Turner; Bill White (VP); Sheila White; Captain John Wills RN Ret; and then Jim Walker and Tony Wozencroft joined the tour. It was a special pleasure to welcome Tony Wozencroft, a Club member since 1996, who conceived the Club’s plaques commemorating Nelson and Collingwood, and saw the project through until completion in 2002. These were the last ever permitted in the upper part of the Painted Hall. Image captions on next page. CLUB VISIT TO THE OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE
The 1805 Dispatches #22.03 June 2022 3 of 6 Images from the ORNC visit reported on the previous page: Top: Memorial plaque commemorating Nelson, in the floor of the Painted Hall. Upper left: A working sketch on display of the bronze relief sculpture, Trafalgar Day at Greenwich: Victory Breaks the Line, by Anthony Dufort, is in preparation and will be installed in Nelson Room this year. Upper middle: Claire Kirk Upper right: Martin Ashley Lower left: An example of the AV display in the Nelson Room. Lower middle: Michelle, one of our guides, enthusing in the Painted Hall. Lower right: Some of the specially manufactured seating designed to complement that in the Painted Hall. Bottom: The Nelson Pediment, only visible from within the inner courtyard of King William Court, hence infrequently seen by the casual visitor. THE 2022 EGM/AGM OF THE 1805 CLUB Our first in-person formal meetings since 2019 took place at the Army & Navy Club (‘The Rag’), Pall Mall, London, on Saturday 28 May 2022. After so long, it was a great pleasure to be able to get together with members old and new, and the mood of the meeting was lively and friendly. There were 38 attendees from the UK and the US. It was a special pleasure to welcome new members (five) and guests (also, coincidentally, five); and in fact, at least six more members had been expected, listed below. Our chairman Captain John Rodgaard USN (Ret) and his wife, our Recorder Dr Judith Pearson, had tested positive for Covid the previous afternoon and were selfisolating. The same had happened to our previous Honorary Secretary (John Curtis and his wife Margaret) andto Captain John Wills RN (Ret), UK project manager of our major conservation project (the Nevis Parish Register recording Nelson’s wedding); and Dr Sue Carr, our Membership Secretary-designate, had been hit by a bout of fibromyalgia. Thus, it fell to our Hon Vice Chairman Geraint Day and Hon Secretary Stephen Howarth to run the show, which went smoothly, with Council members present giving reports in person. All Council members had submitted reports to members beforehand, and the chairman’s PowerPoint headline slides gave the necessary structure to the whole. Votes on the various motions were carried unanimously by all present, with 21 proxy votes also in favour of all motions; one abstention from all; and one, intriguingly, in favour of all except the reforming motion that was the heart of the EGM, and which will make it much easier for members to stand for Council. The AGM voting sections must be chaired by a member who is not standing for Council: an essential duty ably carried out by member Naomi Hill, daughter of our recently deceased member Commander Charles Fremantle RN. Naomi was accompanied by her mother, Caroline, and jointly they also acted as registrars, logging members and guests in on arrival. We had use of two beautiful rooms: the capacious Library for the social aspects of the meetings, and the nearby Drawing Room for the business. Tea, coffee, and biscuits in the Library were available after registration, with a light lunch of excellent sandwiches and various drinks (Club wines, fruit juice, water). Our expert lecture after lunch was given by the distinguished conservation architect Martin Ashley MVO, Surveyor of the Fabric of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich (ORNC); of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle -- and of other buildings with past (or more frequently present) royal connections. Martin is a wonderful speaker for a group such as ours: truly expert in and genuinely passionate about his work, yet very modest. His principal subject was the recently completed conservation of the Nelson Room at the ORNC, to which The 1805 Club contributed financially, and as promised he strayed off the Georgian era into other periods. We were happy for his talk to stretch beyond its allotted time, and several members afterwards said they would have been glad to have listened to him for much longer. We look forward to returning to The Rag for our AGM next year, and indeed for other events before then. The Rag is actively welcoming us as future partners and has made various special offers available to members of The 1805 Club. These may be viewed on the Members section of our website, with the special ‘landing page’ connecting the two organisations. Images from Stephen Howarth showing everything ready in the Rag’s Drawing Room to welcome The 1805 Club members.
The 1805 Dispatches #22.03 June 2022 4 of 6 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 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. 25 = Average; 40 = Good; 50 = Very Good; 60+ = Amazing! Answers on page 4 The Events Committee are discussing additions to this calendar on a monthly basis. Remember that there is a whole treasure trove here https://www.facebook.com/ The1805Club/ BORTHWICK INSTITUTE VISIT Event Date Event Title Event Description Club Lead Autumn 2023 Return of Nelson’s Marriage Certificate Return of the Marriage Certificate and delivery of new Uniform to Nevis JohnWills 16 Jun 23 Unveiling Cornwallis Plaque Ceremony to unveil stone plaque commemorating Cornwallis at St Ann’s Church, HRNB Portsmouth Stephen Tregidgo 22 Oct 22 Trafalgar Night Dinner in HMS Nelson Wardroom Commemorate Battle of Trafalgar Stephen Howarth 10 Sep 22 Visit to Penn House, Buckinghamshire Guided tour by The Earl Howe, showing artworks etc relative to Admiral Lord Howe Stephen Howarth 2 Jun 22 Jubilee Fund Raising Quiz 70 quiz questions sent to those paying to participate Kathy Brown EVENTS DIARY On Wednesday 25 May 2022 members of The 1805 Club visited the Borthwick Institute at York University to assess the institute’s progress in conserving the St John’s Parish Figtree Church register, which contains the handwritten record of the marriage of then Captain Horatio Nelson to Frances Nesbit in 1787. The members in attendance were Chairman John Rodgaard, Dr Judy Pearson, Captain John Wills RN(Ret)(Project Manager), and Stephen Howarth (Secretary and Chief of Staff), accompanied by Prof Dr Marianne Howarth. The project began in 2018 when The 1805 Club negotiated with Pastor Percival of the Figtree Church and ultimately with the Archdiocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba to transfer the register to the Borthwick Institute for conservation. The register, containing birth, death, and marriage entries dating from 1729 to 1826, had been stored in the Figtree Church rectory library. The volume was in deteriorating condition, with several pages crumbling due to insect damage and storage in a humid environment. Borthwick agreed to conserve the document at no charge, make a duplicate for public display, and produce a digital copy for research purposes. Upon arrival, we met Conservation Specialist Alison Fairburn, who showed us the register, now disassembled so that each page can be conserved individually. Ms Fairburn gave us a demonstration of the meticulous, careful methods she uses to conserve each page; the process involves soaking, cleaning, drying, filling holes and coating with a near-transparent fabric. We were surprised to discover that the register had undergone a previous conservation approximately 70 to 80 years ago, in that each page carried the remnants of a silk coating that had to be removed. We also learned that the register contains entries for British citizens as well as enslaved people on the island. Ms Fairburn estimates the project will be complete in Summer 2023. The 1805 Club is in arrangements with the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society to return the conserved register to Nevis in October 2023, with a ceremony to mark the occasion. Photos courtesy of John Rodgaard. The centre image show Alison Fairburn demonstrating her technique to Professor Dr Marianne Howarth and Dr Judy Pearson.
The 1805 Dispatches #22.03 June 2022 5 of 6 THE 1805 CLUB Founded in 1990, the Club: • Promotes research into and education about the Royal Navy, merchant maritime service and other state navies of the ‘long Georgian era’; and • 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 • Organises relevant cultural, historical and social events. The Club is charity No. 1071871, registered in England and Wales. Individuals desiring further information may contact: Stephen Howarth, Hon. Club Secretary, The 1805Club Shelton Great Barn, Shelton, Notts, NG23 5JQ, UK Email: secretary@1805club.org Telephone: 01949 851346. For a membership application form please contact: Dr Sue Carr, Hon. Membership Secretary, The 1805 Club Email: membership.secretary@1805club.org Or: Harold E (Pete) Stark, Hon US Secretary, The 1805 Club 1980 Scotts Crossing Way, No. 002, Annapolis MD 21401 USA Email: the.americas.membership.secretary@1805club.org Telephone: 410-269-9760 (mobile) Or: Mark Billings, Hon Canadian Secretary, The 1805 Club 4000 Marlowe Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3M2 Canada Email: canadian.membership.secretary@1805club.org 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 1805Club 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 inTheKedge 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 of�icial position of The 1805 Club on any subject unless speci�ically 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 Dispatches 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-speci�ic 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’ ClewedUp–Whenthe clews of a sail have been hauled up to its yard by the clewlines it is know as ‘clewed up’. Nothing at all to do with Poirot’s solution at the end of a case. GUNPOWDER, pronged, grouped, pounder, unroped, ponged, groped, podger, purged, Pernod, ponder, pruned, poured, rouped, powder, unrope, podge, pudge, upend, doper, pored, roped, drupe, duper, prude, pound, proud, pengo, unpeg, grope, purge, prone, prune, power, prong, group, dope, oped, dupe, pond, dorp, drop, prod, updo, pego, nope, open, peon, pone, pore, repo, rope, pure, pong, gorp, prog, porn, upon, pour, puro, roup, prow SHIP’S WORD WHEEL ANSWERS The Kedge Anchor now has a ‘New Members’ feature. We would like every new member to make contact with the Editor and say a few words about themselves, for inclusion in the next edition of KA, please. ka.editor@1805club.org NEW MEMBERS [Sent to us by Bill White] Nelson Gardens, just off Morden Road and High Path in South London, was created in the memory of Lord Nelson on land which formed part of his Merton estate. The small park features a memorial stone to Nelson and two ornamental cannons and recent work has included new plants transferred from South Park Gardens in Wimbledon. The remembrance stone between the cannon reads: As a memorial of Lord Nelson and the splendid services which he rendered to his country, this land, (which formed part of his Merton Estate), was given on the first centenary of his death to the Merton Parish Council for a public recreation ground by a great nephew of the late Rear Admiral Isaac Smith of Merton Abbey. Admiral Isaac Smith was the first Englishman to set foot on Australian soil whilst part of Captain Cook's famous voyage on board HMS Endeavour. THE NELSON GARDENS
The 1805 Dispatches #22.03 June 2022 6 of 6 AND FINALLY – A JUBILEE WEEKEND BONUS PICTURE Photo Credit to Scott Lewis, Jet Art Aviation Ltd.
www.1805club.orgRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTYyMzU=