TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY… AND TO THOSE WHO FELL WITH HIM Special points of interest: From the Quarter-Deck 3 Trafalgar Night—The Painted Hall Speech 4 Forthcoming Events 10 Celebrations in Colour 14 Book Notes 16 Collector’s Corner 18 New Trafalgar Dispatch 12 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: THE KEDGE ANCHOR NEWSLETTER OF THE 1805 CLUB Issue No. 14 November 2005 O n 21 October 2005, the course of history was changed at the Painted Hall in Greenwich during the Trafalgar Night Dinner – and unknowingly given Royal approval. In the presence of HRH The Duke of York, President of the Bicentenary Dinner, guest speaker Colin White “restored” the original wording of the traditional toast which he proposed “To The Immortal Memory of Horatio Lord Nelson” adding “and to those who fell with him.” [For the reconstructed text of Colin’s speech see page 4-5.] Admitting in his poignant speech that he was fearful of a one-way trip to the Tower for breaking protocol on such an auspicious occasion, it was confirmed afterwards that HM The Queen dining on board HMS Victory had also added her tribute to all who fell with Nelson. This was just one of many highlights at probably the most extraordinarily moving events ever held in the awesomely beautiful Painted Hall, attended by more than 300 guests. A champagne reception began the evening after which guests gathered outside the Old Naval College to witness the Duke lighting the fourth in a chain of 1000 beacons throughout the United Kingdom to commemorate the bicentenary of the battle. To start the dinner, Anna Tribe, great great great grand-daughter of Nelson read a message he delivered at a banquet held at Monmouth in 1802 as he, Emma and Sir William Hamilton toured South Wales and the Midlands. In it, he acknowledged the good fortune of having such experienced fellow Royal Naval officers and courageous British sailors “and whatever merit might attach itself to me, I must continued on page 3 The KEDGE ANCHOR is the newsletter of The 1805 Club. It is published three times a year (in March, July and November) and is distributed free to members. For information about the newsletter contact the North American editors: Randy and Dana Mafit at 1980 Sunrise Blvd., Eugene, Oregon 97405, USA, phone +1 541-343-1894, email: randym1805@aol.com, or the UK editors Paul and Penny Dalton at Woodlands, Hankham, Pevensey, East Sussex BN24 5BE, UK, phone +44 (0)1323 764212, email: pd@pdpictorial.freeserve.co.uk . UK Edition Chairman’s Dispatch 2 Suffolk & Norfolk Dinner 3 Friendship, Humanity and Heroism — Colin White 4 ‘Trafalgar Captains’ 5 Hatters Tour /Army & Navy Club Dinner 6 Nelson Flotilla 6 Lloyd’s Nelson Exhibit at the Guildhall, London 7 Nelson Mass at St Alban’s 8 Cape Trafalgar 8 Trafalgar Veteran’s Grave 9 Trafalgar Service at St. Paul’s 9 NY Pickle Night 10 Trafalgar Conference 11 New Trafalgar Dispatch & Inauguration of the Trafalgar Way 12 Sotheby’s 5 October 18 Bonham’s 18 October 22 Christie’s 19 October 24 Nelson’s Watch 26 Trafalgar in Mayfield 28 Calling All Members 28 Great Torrington 27
2 THE CHAIRMAN’S DISPATCH The Full Nelson If you read The Times or The Daily Telegraph on 21 October 2005 I hope you saw this In memoriam: NELSON – Vice Admiral Horatio Viscount, ‘The Hero, who in the moment of Victory, fell covered with Immortal glory’ 21st October 1805. The 1805 Club and The Nelson Society. It is probably one of the smallest things commemorating the bicentenary. It’s simplicity makes it powerful. Maybe you missed it? If you did it is hard to imagine how the Trafalgar Festival as a whole could have avoided your attention! It has been a truly astonishing action-packed four months: the International Fleet Review, the Trafalgar son et lumière, the International Festival of the Sea, The New Trafalgar Dispatch, The Trafalgar Way, The Emirates Thames Nelson Flotilla, Nelson’s departure from Merton and Portsmouth, The Trafalgar Heroes Weekend, The Battle of Trafalgar Conference, The Trafalgar Woods Project, the liturgical Nelson Mass at St Saviours Church, St Albans, around the world bell-ringing, a thousand blazing beacons, the Trafalgar Square show for 10,000 people, the National Service at St Paul’s Cathedral, the naval wreathlaying ceremony off Cape Trafalgar, the Queen dining in the Great Cabin for the first time, Trafalgar Dinners and speeches everywhere, 6,000 events on Trafalgar Day alone, Nelson’s Prayer read at church services, exhibitions, not least Nelson & Napoleon, an armada of books, magazine and newspaper articles, memorabilia…..and The Trafalgar Captains Memorial Project! One is tempted to imagine how our descendents will marvel at the way the country rose to the occasion as it was gripped by ‘Nelson fever’ and wonder at the fact that the commemorations sprang from the grass roots of our society rather than coming top down from central government. As a result, when it all came together, it took many by surprise, not least our public service media! I was delighted to meet so many members across the country during the Festival, many for the first time, and as ever was struck by your enthusiasm and belief in what we set out to achieve. Welcome too to our new members, including those who are descended from the Trafalgar captains. I hope the Club brings you many years of pleasure. Meeting so many of you and experiencing your kindness helps to explain how you imbue the Club with that sense that we are a band of brothers and sisters. You may recall that at the beginning of the year I asked you to record your involvement in the bicentenary commemorations. We should like to produce a supplement to the first issue of next year’s Kedge Anchor bringing together the members’ record of the bicentenary. Therefore may I ask you all to send in your photographs and descriptions of your personal experiences of the events you went to and those, no matter how small, you arranged yourselves or with others. The more we receive from you the more meaningful the supplement will be. A great many people, younger people included, are now much more aware of the significance of both Nelson and Trafalgar than they were in January and the Club is benefiting from this interest. We are tantalisingly close to achieving our target of 500 members in 2005. For me personally, just watching how the huge crowds have responded to the declaiming of The New Trafalgar Dispatch, Nelson has been re-established as Britain’s greatest hero. This is a fine legacy for the Club to build on. The legacies of the bicentenary now become the focus of our attention because they will shape the future environment that the Club inhabits. Some of them are already apparent, such as The Trafalgar Way and The Trafalgar Woods, but many others that are less obvious will emerge during the shake-out in the coming months. All will need to be worked on if we are to both maintain continuity and maximise the momentum. The Club will be as energetic as ever in this context. In fact in the last few weeks, just as the Trafalgar Festival reached its climax, the Club has been the catalyst for a matchless event on Monday, 9 January 2006, the 200th anniversary of Lord Nelson’s funeral. St Paul’s Cathedral will hold Evensong based on the original in 1805. Only The 1805 Club and the Royal Navy have been given reserved seating. Moreover, the Club has been honoured with exclusive access to the Nelson Chamber for a ceremony and service of its very own at Nelson’s tomb. The afternoon will start with a private tea for members of the Club and their guests before the rest of the congregation take their seats in the Cathedral for Evensong. Afterwards Colin White will present May the Great God, his lecture on Nelson’s religious faith. This will be followed by the Club’s special service in the crypt, led by our chaplain the Reverend Peter Wadsworth. It will clearly be an occasion steeped in the spirit of both place and time - a unique poignancy. There are only 100 places in the Nelson Chamber for the Club’s private service so please register your interest with Lynda Sebbage as soon as possible for your special invitation based on the 1805 original and an In Memoriam keepsake that will be given to you at the Cathedral. The booking form with full details comes with this copy of the Kedge Anchor. As we look forward to 2006, may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year before leaving you to savour once again Garter Knight at Arms’ unscripted words at the close of Nelson’s funeral service, ‘The Hero, who in the moment of Victory, fell covered with Immortal glory’. Peter Warwick
3 TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE EDITOR INTRODUCES CO-EDITOR The addition of a co-editor for our flagship publication, the Trafalgar Chronicle, provides us with an opportunity to put faces to the names of the editors. We found Anthony Cross and Huw Lewis-Jones ensconced in the Nelson Room of the Warwick Leadlay Gallery. Huw, Anthony’s new co-editor, helped produce the outstanding 2005 issue members received in October. Huw is a graduate of St Johns College, Cambridge and is currently reading for a PhD at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and visiting Fellow at Harvard University. Anthony says, “He is also a nice fellow, but being a poor student can't afford a decent shave.” His research interests include the intellectual history of exploration in an age of empire; imperial exhibitions and maritime hagiography; and the art and literature of the midnineteenth century. His grandfather was base commander at HMS Nelson in Portsmouth, and gave him his first Nelson book: a Southey, but at the time he preferred his Captain Scott Ladybird. Time may yet reveal the error of his way. TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY Continued from page 1 declare that I had only to show them the enemy and Victory Crowned the Standard.” This wonderful uplifting speech truly invoked Nelson’s presence at the six-course dinner skilfully overseen by Master of Ceremonies Malcolm C Godfrey. The dinner included the parade of the Baron of English Beef, the beast apparently called Agamemnon, from the prize herd of pedigree Herefords donated by Clive Richards OBE. HRH The Duke of York then proposed the Loyal Toast after which followed the stately procession of the 21 chocolate ships of the line—one for each table—all with fireworks in their bows, that added even more sparkle and lustre to the dazzling hall and table decorations. Throughout the dinner, entertainment was provided by music from the excellent Royal Artillery Orchestra. The Duke’s introduction to the guest speaker included a tribute to the work of the catering team led by executive head chef Les Woolven for a truly superb dinner. After Colin’s moving and history-changing toast to ‘The Immortal Memory’, the Royal Artillery’s Marching Band offered a splendid selection of nautical airs including Zehle’s “Trafalgar” and Alford’s “By Land and Sea”. Soprano Emma Campbell then led the singing of “Rule Britannia” and guests then sang the “Naval Hymn.” Sea Cadets dressed in Georgian Navy costume concluded the evening’s proceedings with the Sunset Ceremony. As the 21 October 2005 finally passed into history, the feeling was one of total euphoria after having been party to a symbolically significant and truly magnificent evening. SUFFOLK AND NORFOLK TRAFALGAR BICENTENARY DINNER Hintlesham Hall, 23 October 2005 In traditional 1805 Club style, members joined guests at Hintlesham Hall Hotel, near Ipswich, Suffolk, on the last day of the Trafalgar Festival with a dazzling celebration dinner, hosted by Peter Warwick, dressed in his replica of Captain Rotherham’s uniform (see picture left), in Nelson’s home area of East Anglia. The evening was a truly spectacular affair. The Queen’s own piper set the tone with his marvellous playing around the grounds of the hotel and members of TS Dreadnaught Hertford & Ware Sea Cadets, dressed in replica period costumes, piped guests into dinner. The glittering dining room was lit by a myriad of candles and each table decked with a vast array of flowers. Guests included Anna Tribe, Alex Naylor in his legendary role as Nelson and Chairman of The Nelson Society, Nick Slope. Guest speaker, Martyn Downer, author of “Nelson’s Purse”, gave an enlightening talk on his famous discovery of Davison’s collection of Nelson’s artefacts. Speaking at the dinner, Peter said, “This evening is a fitting finale to a year of activities associated with one of Britain’s greatest heroes. We are especially honoured to be in Nelson’s home region of East Anglia and to have this opportunity of remembering the life of our hero, Nelson, who was not only a great commander in time of war but who also possessed great humanitarian qualities which are illustrated through the example he set.” [See photos of the dinner on page 13] 2006 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS DUE Membership subscription renewals for 2006 are due on January 1st. A renewal form was enclosed with the 2005 Trafalgar Chronicle. Your continued membership in THE 1805 CLUB is important. Your participation and subscription support a variety of club activities including monument restoration, the organization and staging of commemorative events, and the publication of the Trafalgar Chronicle, the Kedge Anchor and other publications. At present there are nearly 500 members worldwide and our contingent continues to grow. We encourage you to renew your membership and hope you continue to find it worthwhile. If you haven’t sent in your renewal yet, please do so today.
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