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
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