The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 1 of 7 THE 1805 DISPATCHES Newsletter of The 1805 Club EDITORIAL THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE From The Chairman, Capt. John Rodgaard USN (Ret) The weather in Britain, lately, has been a strange mixture of hot dry days mixed with cold, just when you think your summer wardrobe is coming into play. Confusing. But the fortunes of the Club are not a cause of confusion, as you will see in this, slightly late, newsletter. Things are looking good. Slightly late in order to bring you news of the visit to Langar Hall, to commemorate the Glorious First of June. Greetings from Dunfermline, Scotland to fellow members of The 1805 Club! During our stay in Scotland, Judy and I travelled to Dundee to visit HMS Unicorn, one of the oldest floating ships of her kind in the world. She represents to naval architecture a transitional design between wood-built hulls and iron hull designs. The use of wrought iron diagonal riders and knees to strengthen her wooden hull allowed Unicorn to be much larger than previous frigates. (See also page 4). I see Unicorn’s transitional design as a metaphor for The 1805 Club. This might be a stretch on my part, but bear with me. The 1805 Club has transitioned in its own right, originating 35 years ago as a ganisation, then in 1998 becoming a public charity, and finally a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This past year has seen this transition come about as explained at this year’s AGM. As part of that transition, the membership was informed that two major projects were completed – the delivery of the replica of Nelson’s captain’s uniform and display cabinet to the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society and the return of the conserved St John’s Figtree Parish Register. During the AGM, it was announced that several projects/conservation efforts were now starting or progressing. Mme Natacha Abriat was officially introduced and recognised as the Club’s ‘virtual’ museum curator. Natacha’s role will be to organise the existing wealth of content found in the Club’s website, incorporating new information into an easy-to-use format for researchers. Other projects/conservation efforts include the restoration of HMS DeBraak’s bell in collaboration with the state of Delaware; the design and installation of a historic marker to honour Richard Masters, a Royal Marine killed at Trafalgar; the completion of the long delayed Forbes Memorial with the installation of an information board and bench at his grave; the Club’s sponsorship of a three-person panel at the bi-annual USN Academy’s McMullen Naval History Symposium; the Club introducing its New Series naval history conference to coincide with this year’s Trafalgar Night Dinner; and the Club will mark its 35th anniversary with the publication next year of our history. From the Club’s governance perspective, Ms Jude Wilson was formally introduced to the membership as the Club’s Clerk. Jude will oversee the Club’s operations and its adherence to its constitution. In another aspect of the Club’s transitioning, the Trustees introduced Russ Strick, Peter Turner and Natacha Abriat as trustee candidates. They and the current trustees (myself, Stephen Howarth, Jo Birtwhistle, Pete Stark and Mark West) were unanimously voted in to the Council of Trustees for 2025/26. On the flip side it was announced that for myself and Stephen Howarth, the 2025/2026 term will be our last as Trustees. Therefore, besides developing a thorough business plan for the Club (as recommended by the membership at the AGM), the Trustees’ most important objective is to find a replacement for myself and Stephen Howarth as trustees. Please contact me with your recommendations. Wishing you all a pleasant next few months until my next View from the Bridge. Yours aye, The flag of The Army and Navy Club Detail of the flag hanging outside the club in St James’s Square (Photo: Dr J Pearson)
The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 2 of 7 THE 1805 CLUB AGM 2025 The Annual General Meeting of The 1805 Club was held on 17 May at The Army and Navy Club, 36 Pall Mall, London. The formal minutes are available to all members – here is a summary of key points: 1. Approximately 40 members attended, representing 10% of the membership (see note 5). 2. Geraint Day was accepted as Chair of the AGM. 3. Last year’s AGM minutes, together with the Annual Report and General Accounts were noted/accepted as appropriate, without exception. 4. The Secretary’s Report gave details of the current Trustee requirements of a CIO (which highlighted that John Rodgaard and Stephen Howarth will this year be serving their last permitted spells as Trustees), followed by information of events during 2024 and conservation projects completed and in hand. 5. The Membership Report showed that the Club has 409 members in 23 countries. An urgent reminder was given that Members must renew their subscriptions by 30 June, and must now pay renewal subscriptions via Stripe on The 1805 Club website. 6. The Communications Report advised that email communications to members receive an 80% engagement rate. 7. The Treasurer’s Report gave a balance at the end of 2024 of £99, 093.00, which is about 12% down from 2023, indicating that the Club is actually doing charitable works requiring expenditure, as it should. 8. Subscription has increased from £45 to £50, and the agreed increase (refer to last year’s AGM) to £60 has been deferred until 2027. 9. A report was given on the current state of, and plans for, the Club’s website. 10. The US Secretary’s Report was given, with details of events and the forthcoming HMS DeBraak Project. 11. Reports were given on The Trafalgar Chronicle, The Kedge Anchor and The 1805 Dispatches – all healthy and continuing without major changes. A brief reminder was given that the Readers’ Dictionary of Sailing Ship Terminology is now accessible of the Club’s website. 12. Member Shirin Camenisch was introduced as administrator of the Club’s Facebook and Instagram pages. 13. Trafalgar Way’s website and social media was reported. 14. The 1805 Trading Company is providing a small but growing income stream. 15. The Flagship Fund (see next page) is providing income for projects. 16. The Way Ahead was reported as including:Virtual Museum – Natacha Abriat will be Curator; DeBraak Bell – Jack Slatterfield will manage; Forbes Memorial – Stephen Howarth is managing; Richard Masters Plaque – Stephen Howarth is managing. 17. Future Events include: McMullen Symposium; The 1805 Club Conference, new Series, 2025; Trafalgar Night Dinner. 18. Future Publications includes A History of The 1805 Club, to mark 35 years since its creation. 19. Governance reminded members that replacement Trustees are needed next year for John Rodgaard and Stephen Howarth. Three new Trustees were introduced, so that the current Council of Trustees, after the vote, is alphabetically: Natacha Abriat, Mark Billings, Jo Birtwhistle, Stephen Howarth, Kate Jamieson, John Rodgaard, Pete Stark, Russ Strick, Peter Turner and Mark West. Jude Wilson was introduced as the Club’s Clerk. Co-oted to Council are: Kathy Brown, Sue Carr and Lynda Sebbage. 20. The next AGM is Saturday 9 May, 2026 at The Army and Navy Club. 21. The Members’ Forum raised valid points which will be acted upon by the Council of Trustees. After lunch the AGM concluded with a fine speech given by Captain Michael Barritt, RN (right) who spoke on his recently published book, Nelson’s Pathfinders, about oceanic charts in the age of sail.
The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 3 of 7 COMMEMORATION OF THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE, LANGAR On Sunday 1 June 2025 the 231st Anniversary Commemoration of The Glorious First of June, 1794 was held at Langar Hall and the Church of oSt Andrew, Langar, Nottinghamshire, UK. A dozen members and friends of The 1805 Club attended, including The Earl Howe (direct descendent of Admiral Lord Howe) and Countess Howe. Our guest of honour was Veronica Pickering MBS HAC, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, officially representing the King. After the introduction by Stephen Howarth, readings were given by Cdr Mark Barton PhD RNR (Club member and Hon Secretary of the Society for Nautical Research), Veronica Pickering and The Earl Howe. After the Naval Prayer and the National Anthem Admiral Lord Howe’s tomb was blessed with laurel and champagne. (For photo captions, see next page.) 6 5 4 3 1 2
The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 4 of 7 COMMEMORATION (Continued) VISIT TO DUNDEE THE TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE The publisher for the Trafalgar Chronicle recently sent to the editors, John Rodgaard and Judy Pearson, the proof image for this year’s cover. The 1878 oil painting by Hendrick Frans Schaefels (Belgium, 1827 – 1904) is entitled “Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar”. However, various details (the officer’s uniform, the littlae red balls atop the gun crews’ caps) say this is a French ship. Nevertheless, the editors still feel it captures the drama of the battle very well. The officer could be Captain Louis-Antoine Cyprien Infernet of the French shipIntrépide. In a recent visit to Dundee, John Rodgaard and Judy Pearson saw the museum ship HMS Unicorn on the River Tay. A Leda Class frigate launched in 1824, she never saw combat service and has a roof instead of masts because she was laid up in ordinary, and is the only vessel in the world that still has such a roof. In her varied career she has been a gunpowder storage ship and then became a drill (training) ship in 1873 for the Royal Navy Reserve. She accepted the surrender of the German U-Boat U-2326 at Dundee on 14 May 1945. She continued in service until the 1960s. Now she is under restoration by the Unicorn Preservation Society. (Photos: Dr J Pearson) 7 Langar Hall Picture Captions 1. L to R: Cdr Mark Barton, Cdr Alexandra Brooks, Countess Howe, The Earl Howe, Lord Lieutenant Veronica Pickering, Marianne Howarth, Stephen Howarth, Peter Marsden, Jenny Ridd, Juliet Bewley and John Bewley. 2. Stephen Howarth. 3. Mark Barton. 4. Veronica Pickering. 5. The Earl Howe. 6. Lord Lieutenant, Nottinghamshire, Veronica Pickering and Countess Howe (who happens to be LL Buckinghamshire). 7. The blessing of the tomb.
The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 5 of 7 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. 30 = Average; 40 = Good; 50 = V Good; 60+ = Amazing! Answers on last page Remember that there is a whole treasure trove here https://www.facebook.com/ The1805Club/ RECRUITMENT OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Founded in 1990, The 1805 Club is an international charitable organisation that commemorates and educates about the history and heritage of the age of sail, during the Georgian era (1714-1837), and the influence this period has played on the maritime world up through the present day. It is registered to the Charity Commission for England and Wales as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), number 1201272. As a CIO the Club has an urgent need for two important honorary positions to be filled. One is for Treasurer and the other is for someone to determine Club policy on marketing, fundraising and advertising. The Treasurer role is predominantly one of advising the Club on essential accountancy and tax matters, and he/she is supported by a very capable assistant. The Club must demonstrate to the Charity Commissioners that its members are contributing to the Club’s charitable projects, and are not simply enjoying the benefits of being a member. This means that fundraising must be even more seriously addressed than hitherto. We therefore invite members with experience of these matters (and some spare time, as well as the wish to actively help!) to put their names forward for possible inclusion in a voluntary committee with the power to reorganise such Club activities. This invitation is open to all members, because under our new Constitution, members and Chairs of such committees do not have to be Trustees of the Club. For further information on the Treasurer position, please contact Nicholas Ridge via email: treasurer@1805club.org for the marketing position please contact Kathy Brown via email: kathy.1805club@gmail.com The 1805 Club is a club, the clue is in the name. But what all of us must remember is that the Club is a charity, originally created to finding memorials to past naval personnel of the long Georgian period and to try our best to ensure that they be properly remembered. To further this end we also encourage and support research into naval history and find ways to improve its education. None of this is cheap if it is to be done well, and ‘done well’ is the only way to do things. In common with all other charities, we can only fully carry out our promises if we can raise enough funds to do so. In future publications you will see a reminder that there are ways to make a donation, whenever you might find a bit of surplus cash, together with ways to purchase merchandise and secondhand books that have been kindly donated to the Club for the very purpose of fundraising. Give at our main website: http://1805club.org/ or use these links: For the Flagship Fund go to http://bit.ly/ 1805ClubFlagshipFund or for The Trafalgar Way go to http://thetrafalgarway.org/ For our shop, try https://www.1805club.org/shop, or click on one of the images opposite . . . Nelson Portrait At His Desk on Victory £100 Used Books £10 each Past copies of Trafalgar Chronicle £15 each The Trafalgar Way Official Storymap £19.99 Club Ties £35 each Nelson Portrait No.2 £100 (Both portraits by Jessica Turgoose) SOLD OUT
The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 6 of 7 On 3 May, in Ottawa, Ontario, John Rodgaard received investiture in the Order of St. Joachim. This international order of chivalry was founded in 1755 to promote religious tolerance in Europe is dedicated to caring for the widows and orphans of war, helping those in poverty, and promoting tolerance. Admiral Lord Nelson also accepted the Grand Cross of the Order in 1802 (as he did all things sparkling). THE ORDER OF SAINT JOACHIM (THE EQUESTRIAN, SECULAR AND CHAPTERIAL ORDER OF SAINT JOACHIM) NEW SERIES CONFERENCE Inaugural event PRIVATE GUIDED ACCESS to Storehouse Number 10 THREE CLUB EVENTS IN PORTSMOUTH, UK, IN TWO DAYS THIS AUTUMN On Friday 24 October we will be running the first of our new series of naval historical conferences, featuring some of the most interesting authors from the past three years. At the time of writing these include Natacha Abriat (the Glorious First of June), Michael Barritt (Nelson's Pathfinders), David Gibbins (A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks), Nick Hewitt (Normandy: the Sailors' Story), Andrew Lambert (his latest, No More Napoleons, to be published in June), Brian Lavery (work in progress on midshipmen), and Colin Partridge (The Channel Islands in Anglo-French Relations, 1689-1918). This all-day event will take place in the Princess Royal Gallery and the Nelson Gallery, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth. During the evening of Saturday 25 October we return to the lovely surroundings of HMS NELSON WARDROOM for this social highlight of the year, with Matthew Sheldon, CEO of the NMRN, as our Guest of Honour. Full details of these events will be promulgated to 1805 Club members shortly. During the morning of Saturday 25 October a small group (maximum 12) will be shown around the archive collection and workshop of the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust, home to tens of thousands of items that would otherwise have been lost to history. The archive collection and workshop are not normally open to the public. (Picture adjacent, of and from PRDHT) TRAFALGAR NIGHT DINNER HMS NELSON WARDROOM
The 1805 Dispatches #25.03 June 2025 7 of 7 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 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 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! 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 same era; and ·Promotes and engages in the preservation of monuments and memorials relating to the Royal Navy and seafaring people of the later sailingnavy era; and ·Organises relevant cultural, historical and social events. The Club is charity No. 1201272, registered in England and Wales. Individuals desiring further information may contact: Stephen Howarth, Hon. Club Secretary, The 1805 Club Shelton, Notts, UK Email: secretary@1805club.org For a membership application form please contact: Dr Sue Carr, Hon. Membership Secretary, The 1805 Club London, UK Email: membership.secretary@1805club.org Or: Harold E (Pete) Stark, Hon US Secretary, The 1805 Club Annapolis, MD, USA Email: the.americas.membership.secretary@1805club.org Telephone: 410-269-9760 (mobile) Or: Mark Billings, Hon Canadian Secretary, The 1805 Club Montreal, Quebec, Canada Email: canadian.membership.secretary@1805club.org Telephone: 1-514-296-1641 Peter Turner, Editor of The Kedge Anchor Aldeburgh, Suffolk, UK Email: ka.editor@1805club.org Telephone: +(44) 7903 251008 Ufford, Suffolk, UK Transport, asport, optant, parrot, parson, parton, pastor, patron, raptor, sanpro, tarpon, aport, apron, arson, panto, pants, parts, porta, pratt, prost, psora, sapor, sopra, spart, sport, sprat, stopt, strap, strop, traps, trapt, apso, atop, naps, opts, pans, pant, parr, part, past, pats, pons, pont, porn, port, post, pots, pott, prao, prat, proa, raps, rapt, rasp, snap, soap, span, spar, spat, spot, stap, stop, taps, tarp, tops, trap. Booby – A seabird of the genus Sula, of the family Pelecanidæ, the same family as Gannets. The name "booby" probably originates from the Spanish word "bobo," meaning silly or foolish, which refers to their apparently dim-witted behaviour. A bird that could too easily be caught, making its sporting value low – hence ‘boobyprize’, or ‘booby’ referring to a stupid person. NAVAL TERMS THAT HAVE ‘COME ASHORE’ SHIP’S WORD WHEEL ANSWERS DATE EVENT TITLE EVENT DESCRIPTION CLUB LEAD 2 Aug 2025 Battle of the Nile Luncheon Commemorate the Battle of the Nile at the Mystic Restaurant, Alexandria, Virginia Pete Stark 18-19 Sept 2025 US Naval Academy Symposium Bi-annual McMullen naval symposium at Annapolis, Maryland USA. John Rodgaard, Judy Pearson and Pete Stark 27 Sept 2025 Private Richard Masters Royal Marines Plaque Unveiling Plaque Unveiling at St Tudy, Cornwall Stephen Howarth 28 Sept 2025 Royal Marines Barracks, Stonehouse Guided Tour of 18C Pattern Barracks Stephen Howarth 15 Oct 2025 Trafalgar Way Story Talk by Kathy Brown at the Axminster Heritage Centre, Axminster Devon at 19:30. Kathy Brown Tickets from Heritage Centre £5 –see axminsterheritage.org 19 Oct 2025 Trafalgar Night Dinner Country Club of Fairfax, Virginia, USA Peter Pennington 24 Oct 2025 1805 Club Conference: New Series 1 35th Anniversary of the Club and 220th of Trafalgar. Conference at Portsmouth Stephen Howarth 25 Oct 2025 Storehouse Number 10 Private guided access to the archive collection and workshop of the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust Nigel Linger 25 Oct 2025 Trafalgar Night Dinner TND at HMS NELSON Wardroom, Guest of Honour Matthew Sheldon, CEO NMRN Stephen Howarth EVENTS DIARY
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