The 1805 Dispatches #25.04 August 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) In England, July went by in a haze of sweltering hot weather. Very popular with some and equally unpleasant for others. Club activity has been, shall we say, low-key, with the most activity being performed by our social media team. As an Editor who keeps his head down, I have lost track of who does what, but I know Judy Pearson and Shirin Camenisch, and I think, Russ Strick, have done stirling work – for which thanks. Apologies if I’ve missed others. Greetings from sweltering Virginia! It has been a rather quiet time since the last 1805 Dispatches. But that has certainly changed, as I just returned from the annual Battle of the Nile Luncheon led by our US Secretary Pete Stark in old town Alexandria Virginia. It was a super time to see members from the immediate area of Washington, Virginia and Maryland (DMV), together with those coming from New York City and driving down from Delaware to attend. It was the largest turnout of 1805 members since the AGM. Tip of the hat to our US Secretary, Pete Stark for organising the luncheon. We welcomed two new members. John Williams is a retired US State Department Foreign Service Officer and Michael Bosworth a retired USN Engineering Officer and director of the Ship’s Company Chanteymen https://www. shipscompanyhistory.org/chanteymen. He is also an avid war gamer of the age of sail and he demonstrated aspects of the Battle of the Nile with his miniature ships, which he, himself, crafted Welcome aboard John and Michael! Prior to lunch and the presentation about the battle, member and historian, Dr John ‘Jack’ Satterfield gave everyone an update on the Club’s next major project, the conservation of HM Brig-Sloop DeBraak’s bell, which currently resides at the State of Delaware’s Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs warehouse. Peter Pennington then gave a talk about a recent find of his tucked away in an old book he bought earlier this year in England; two documents written by to British agents to the Admiralty. One from Toulon, dated March 1805, and the second from an agent in Cadiz written after Trafalgar. He recited each one. The description and the language was late 18th century. The problem was, that it was all AI generated by him. Talk about sobering! AI is a huge challenge for historians. This luncheon has started off what promises to be a very busy next few months for the Club. I refer to you the events diary found in the following pages. For September, the Club’s participation in the bi-annual US Naval Academy’s McMullen Naval History Symposium is on track 18-19 September. Several Club members will be presenting papers on Georgian era maritime/naval topics. Again, the Club will be sponsoring two of the panels. I anticipate we will see many members attending. Registration is free. See the following website for specifics, to include the symposium’s programme: https://www.usna.edu/History/Symposium/ index.php Our secretary, Stephen Howarth is putting the finishing touches on a project with two associated events that will take place following the McMullen (27-28 September); the unveiling of a historic plaque to honour Private Richard Masters, RM, at St Tudy, Cornwall. Masters was killed at Trafalgar. The following day will have Stephen leading a tour of the 18th century Royal Marine Stonehouse Barracks, Plymouth. What an opportunity for our members living in Cornwall and Devon! October promises to be another exciting month for the Club. Yes, our annual Trafalgar Night Dinner at the HMS Nelson Wardroom, Portsmouth will take place on Saturday 25 October. But, the day before, Friday the 24th, will be the 1805 Club Conference, New Series 1 to be held at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth. As you can see in this Dispatch, Stephen Howarth has gathered several noted naval historians to offer presentations on their latest books. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate The 1805 Club’s 35th anniversary and the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar than these two events. I hope to see you there. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that another Trafalgar Night Dinner is in the offing; member Peter Pennington, who is also the President of the British Officers’ Club of DC, will again be holding a Trafalgar Dinner on Sunday 19 October in Detail from image of HMS Victory undergoing ‘The Big Repair’ https://www.nmrn.org. uk/news/hms-victory
The 1805 Dispatches #25.04 August 2025 2 of 7 MARE NOSTRUM CONFERENCE AT UNIVERSITÉ PAUL-VALÉRY IN MONTPELLIER Fairfax, Virginia. I hope to see many of our members living in Maryland, Virginia and DC there. Finally, I would be terribly adrift if I didn’t mention that October is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States Navy– 13 October 1775. I, along with many of our US members, who are either navyveterans or actively serving, will be attending the many celebrations to be held across the country. https:// www.navy.mil/Navy-250/ Thankfully, we’ll have November to recoup, and just in time for the December holidays. Wishing you all a pleasant next few months until my next View from the Bridge. Yours aye, Earlier this month, Club members Natacha Abriat and Captain Michael Barritt both spoke at the 'Mare Nostrum' conference at Université Paul-Valéry in Montpellier, which explored representations of the Mediterranean in the Englishspeaking worlds of the 17th and 18th centuries. Michael delivered the inaugural lecture, "Charting the Mediterranean Sea - 'at a loss for longitudes and latitudes to dress it by'", while Natacha presented a paper based on her Master's research: "'Here we always keep the Sea': Between wandering and performance, the daily life of Royal Navy officers in the Mediterranean (1793-1805)." They also had the pleasure of meeting Dr Marcandria Peraut, who wrote his PhD thesis on memory in Corsica from the 18th to the 21st century, and specialises in the history and historical anthropology of Corsica. Marcandria presented a fascinating lecture on James Mario Matra (1746-1806) an American Loyalist navigator and explorer who tried to become viceroy of Corsica in place of Sir Gilbert Elliot. He'll soon take up a postdoctoral fellowship at the Maison française d'Oxford, researching connections between the Mediterranean and Caribbean at the end of the 18th century. We're proud to see Club members contributing to new historical research and we hope to welcome Dr Peraut to our Portsmouth conference this October!
The 1805 Dispatches #25.04 August 2025 3 of 7 BOWLINES MARITIME LITERARY FESTIVAL AT EXETER, JUNE 6-8 More than forty readers and writers gathered in the historic city of Exeter to discuss the literature of the sea, including both fiction and non-fiction writing. The organizers offered ten lively sessions covering topics such as 'Writing Nautical Fiction' and 'The State of Maritime History' in the historic Customs House on the riverfront. Renowned naval historian and media personality Sam Willis opened the conference with an inspiring talk on writing maritime history, and other well-known writers such as Alaric Bond and Roy and Leslie Atkins were on hand to provide their insights into the craft. This is only the second such Maritime Literary Festival (the first was in 2016), but buoyed by its success, the organisers are considering making it a regular event, perhaps every three years. The conference was immediately followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Society for Nautical Research (publishers of the journal The Mariner's Mirror), after which N.A.M. Rodger, the dean of British naval historians, gave a talk on the recently-published final volume of his monumental trilogy on the history of the Royal Navy. Captions for photos, clockwise from top left: Historian Sam Willis giving the keynote address; Naval fiction writers Katie Daysh and Alaric Bond; Panel discussion on 'Whither Maritime History' with Jonathan Turner and David Davies; Panel discussion on nautical fiction; from left authors David Davies, Chris Durbin, Katie Daysh, Philip K. Allan, Alaric Bond. Inset centre: The Customs House on the Quays, site of the festival
The 1805 Dispatches #25.04 August 2025 4 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. 50 = Average; 70 = Good; 90 = V Good; 110+ = 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 #25.04 August 2025 5 of 7 NEW SERIES CONFERENCE Inaugural event PRIVATE GUIDED ACCESS to Storehouse Number 10 THREE CLUB EVENTS IN PORTSMOUTH, UK, 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 Photos clockwise from the top: Attendees at Battle of the Nile Luncheon (photo by Mystic Bar and Grill); Mike Bosworth and Catherine Lincoln with Nile wargame (Photo: Pete Stark); The Nile wargame (Photo: Pete Stark); Mike Bosworth’s Little Ships (Photo: Judy Pearson); Peter Pennington give us an AI problem to ponder (Photo: Pete Stark). On 2 August 2025 17 members and guests of The 1805 Club gathered for lunch to commemorate Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson’s victory over the French fleet at Aboukir Bay, Egypt, near the mouth of the Nile. Our luncheon took place at Mystic Bar and Grill Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to our meal, Chairman John Rodgaard gave an update on Club activities. Dr. Jack Satterfield gave an update on the preservation efforts for the ship’s bell of the brig HMS DeBraak, which sank in the Delaware Bay in May 1798. Member Mike Bosworth, who does war-gaming with his little ships, set up an example of a Battle of the Nile game. Following the lunch, Peter Pennington presented an interesting and challenging example of how artificial intelligence may be misused in historical writing and research. It was a very effective discussion, the moral of which was that we all must be very careful in examining the accuracy of our sources for information. We then viewed an animated video of the Nile Battle, which we stopped frequently so that members could add additional commentary. The Battle of the Nile commemorative get together has been an annual event since 2022.
The 1805 Dispatches #25.04 August 2025 6 of 7 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 Weatherly, eyewater, leathery, wheatley, wealthy, weather, whalery, whately, wreathy, trawley, lathery, earthly, eyewear, hartely, hartley, heartly, hearty, healey, hatley, hartly, harley, eyelet, eyalet, elytra, eathly, eatery, earthy, tweely, telary, tawery, realty, raylet, royal, lyrate, leeway, lawyer, lawtey, hyetal, wrathy, wheely, wheaty, watery, warley, twyere, tweely, hayle, hayer, haley, aleye, ethyl, elway, every, early, arley, lythe, lyart, leyte, leery, leear, leary, leare, layer, lathy, heyer, herye, thewy, thawy, teary, rhyta, rewey, relay, rayle, rawly, wetly, welty, weete, weary, warty, walty, waler, waler, tyree, tyler, twyer, yahwe, wyeth, eely, ayre, ayer, awry, awee, aryl, arty, awry, hery, eyre, eyra, eyer, lyte, lyre, lyra, hyte, hyle, hyla, hwyl, ryle, rely, wary, Walt, tyre, tyre, tree, tway, tyre, trey, tray, they, yawl, hate, hare, yale, whet, wile, what, Wray, whey, yell, year, yeah. Can’t make head nor tail of it – This was an expression used by signal lieutenants when they could not make sense of distant signal flags. NAVAL TERMS THAT HAVE ‘COME ASHORE’ SHIP’S WORD WHEEL ANSWERS DATE EVENT TITLE EVENT DESCRIPTION CLUB LEAD Sat 2 Aug Battle of the Nile Luncheon Commemorate the Battle of the Nile at the Mystic Restaurant, Alexandria, Virginia Pete Stark Thu/Fri 18-19 Sept US Naval Academy Symposium Bi-annual McMullen naval symposium at Annapolis, Maryland USA. John Rodgaard, Judy Pearson and Pete Stark Sat 27 Sept Private Richard Masters Royal Marines Plaque Unveiling Plaque Unveiling at St Tudy, Cornwall Stephen Howarth Sun 28 Sept Royal Marines Barracks, Stonehouse Guided Tour of 18C Pattern Barracks Stephen Howarth Wed 15 Oct Trafalgar Way Story Talk by Kathy Brown at the Axminster Heritage Centre, Axminster Devon at 19:30. Tickets from Heritage Centre £5 –see axminsterheritage.org Kathy Brown Sun 19 Oct Trafalgar Night Dinner TND at the Country Club of Fairfax, Virginia, USA The Silver Tones have been booked for music and dancing. Peter Pennington Fri 24 Oct 1805 Club Conference: New Series 1 35th Anniversary of the Club and 220th of Trafalgar. Conference at Portsmouth Stephen Howarth Sat 25 Oct Visit to Storehouse Number 10 (max 12 attendees) Private guided access to the archive collection and workshop of the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust Stephen Howarth Nigel Linger Sat 25 Oct Trafalgar Night Dinner TND at HMS Nelson Wardroom, Guest of Honour Matthew Sheldon, CEO NMRN Stephen Howarth Sun morning 26 Oct Visit to Storehouse number 10 (max 12 attendees) Private guided access to the archives and workshop of the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust Stephen Howarth Nigel Linger Friday 9 May 2026 1805 Club AGM 1805 Club AGM, Army and Navy Club, London Expert speaker to be confirmed Stephen Howarth To be arranged Visit to Haslar RN Hospital and Buckler’s Hard Club visit to these fascinating historical sites Stephen Howarth EVENTS DIARY
The 1805 Dispatches #25.04 August 2025 7 of 7 Dear Dr Carr, I hope you may be able to help me with the following. My late husband John P A Goddard – 1805 Club membership number 385 – died in March 2022. I am now downsizing and would like to find a home for his copies of the following publications, all of which are in excellent condition: • The Kedge: Autumn 2015 – Autumn 2021 • The Trafalgar Chronicle, volumes 2-6 • The Nelson Dispatch: Autumn 2015 – Autumn 2021 but excluding Spring 2016 and Spring 2017; plus copy of the History of The Nelson Society • Journal of the Orders and Medals Research Society: Dec 2015 – March 2022 • Medal News: Feb 2015 – Nov 2021, all in Medal News imprinted black file binders. Additionally I have available the following books: • Medals to the Navy, R. Perkins, 2015 – ‘as new’ condition • British Battles and Medals, Major Lawrence L Gordon 3rd ed. 1962 – very occasional annotations. I wonder whether you might advertise the availability of all of these in the next newsletter of the Society? Please ask those interested to contact me urgently by email at ljotham@btinternet.com. I’d also be very grateful for any additional suggestions you may have as to how I should deal with them, if possible to avoid having them recycled. With thanks and kind regards, Linda Goddard STOP PRESS JUST AS THIS EDITION OF TD WAS ABOUT TO BE ISSUED, THE EMAIL REPRODUCED IN FULL BELOW WAS RECEIVED BY OUR MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY, DR, SUE CARR, THE CONTENT OF WHICH IS SELF-EXPLANATORY, AND IS HOPED TO BE OF INTEREST TO MEMBERS. THE PASSING OF JOHN GODDARD IS DEEPLY REGRETTED.
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