The 1805 Dispatches #26.03 June 2026 3 of 8 THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE – 2026 The battle of the Glorious First of June is celebrated by The 1805 Club every year, on 1 June, usually at Langar Hall, Nottinghamshire, formerly the family home of Admiral Lord Howe, where champagne is sprinkled on his tomb. The current Earl and Countess Howe, (the Lord Lieutenant of Nottingham-shire, representing the monarch) often attend, together with other guests. This year was different, because it included the 300th birthday of Admiral Lord Howe. The present Earl Howe and Stephen Howarth decided that something extra special was necessary, and desirable. They came up with the exceptional solution of a presentation upon the life and times of the admiral, presented in the chambers of the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords – a rare treat indeed, for which the Lord Speaker is thanked. A privilege only possible with the sponsorship of a serving lord. In fact, Earl Howe had to seek the aid of Admiral Lord West as sponsor during the period pending Earl Howe's being granted of of a life peerage, next week. The French naval and art historian, Natacha Abriat (creator and curator of our developing virtual museum) accepted the challenge of presenting the story of Admiral Lord Howe from a French perspective. Very well researched and beautifully illustrated, the lecture was both erudite and interesting, and amusing, and will be published in full by the Club. The present Earl Howe particularly enjoyed it and in his vote of thanks said that he was pleased and pleasantly surprised to learn some new things about his ancestor. The title of Natacha's lecture was 'From the American War of Independence to the Glorious First of June: Admiral Richard Howe (1726-1799) A view from the French Quarterdeck' Natacha first apologised to her audience in case they found difficulty with her French accent but reminded us that Admiral Howe himself was difficult to understand because of his taciturn nature and convoluted method of speech. She took us back to meet the young Captain Howe in the War of Austrian Succession and in the the SevenYears War and the War of American Independence. We were told of his early commands, especially mentioning HMS Dunkirk (named after a Fench port), and HMS Magnanime (a captured French ship) as having a particulary appropriate name for Howe, because during this period, and indeed throughout his life, he became known to and admired by the French, who preceived him as a brave and honourable opponent. The Battle of Quiberon Bay was an enormous shock to France, who lost many of their best ships, including the finest, le Soleil Royal. But it was the catalyst for France to rapidly rebuild her fleet – a process inevitably slow, but accelerated by the contributuion of a ship by each of the French provinces, that were able to. And so we came to the American War of Independence, where Admiral Lord Howe commanded the fleet and his brother, Genral William Howe, commanded the land forces. We were given a detailed and amusing tale of Howe's shallow-draughted fleet being anchored securely in New York Harbour, with Comte d'Estaing's very much stronger, but deeply-draughted, fleet unable to get at the British across the bar at Sandy Hook. d'Estaing's ships had turned out to be unsuitable for American East Coastal waters. The French fleet were able to capture many enemy merchant vessels, who were unaware that war had broken out and had assumed the great fleet they encountered must be British. The illusion was reinforced by the French use of false colours and of trepeating the British signals. This sequence of fleet stand-offs terminated in a great storm, prompting Scipion de Castries to comment, "A breath of wind changed the fate of the two empires. The general at sea has nothing to oppose the winds, which he can never master." We were told about Howe's relief of Gibraltar in 1782, achieved against a combined French and Spanish fleet, but without a sea battle, partly by his clever use of tactics, signals, and luck with weather. We were reminded that the flag signals system had been previously developed by the French! And, finally, we got briefly to the Battle of the Glorious First of June, of which Natacha rightly assumed we did not need a lengthy description. The battle was used to describe to us the different attitudes of the British, who celebrated the people taking part, and the French, who came to celebrate the brave sacrifice of the losers. The French Fleet was strong, but poorly officered, as a result of eighty officers of the 'Ancien Regime' having died or emigrated because of the French Revolutuion. If the revolution had not occurred, would the French have prevailed? Regardless of this possibility, Admiral Lord Howe was presented as a very fine fellow, and a respected enemy by the French.
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