THE KEDGE ANCHOR NEWSLETTER OF THE 1805 CLUB Issue No. 17 November 2006 Special points of interest: Chairman’s Dispatch 2 From the Quarterdeck 3 Forthcoming Events 7 The Ditty Bag 12 Colour Centre Spread 14 Book Notes 20 Collectors’ Corner 24 Research Notes 26 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 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Trafalgar Night Dinner 1 Pickle Night Dinner 3 Conservation Funding 5 Visit to Lloyd’s 6 Buckler’s Hard Visit 6 Nelson ‘Down Under’ 8 The Search for the Bonhomme Richard 9 Joseph Callo Wins Morrison Award 9 Roger Knight Wins Anderson Medal 10 Nelson’s Uniform to HMS Victory 10 Nelson – A ‘New’ Picture for the 21st Century. 11 Re-enacting Trafalgar 12 Gt. Yarmouth Pillar 12 Trafalgar 200 - Anna Tribe’s Year 17 Books on Nelson’s Leadership, Falconer’s Dictionary...(13 titles) 20 Selected Auction Items 24 TNA and RNM Databases 26 THE 1805 CLUB CELEBRATES ITS FOURTEENTH TRAFALGAR NIGHT DINNER AT NEWHOUSE D elivering the Immortal Memory at the Club’s Trafalgar Dinner on Saturday 21 October, The Very Reverend Dr John Moses KCVO, Dean Emeritus St Paul’s Cathedral, described Nelson as ‘a symbol of our nation’s story’. One hundred members and guests were present, including a higher proportion of newer members than usual. Dr Moses reflected on his ten and a half years as Dean of St Paul’s and in particular recalled the highlights of last year’s Trafalgar bicentenary citing The Emirates Thames Nelson Flotilla, which Chairman Peter Warwick had organised, The New Trafalgar Dispatch, the moving commemoration of Nelson’s funeral by the Club and the Trafalgar 200 Service on 23 October, which he described as “a very special occasion”. “These events served to remind us all what Horatio Nelson represents,” he said, singling out examples of his ingenuity “such as the night raid at the Nile that led to the surrender of all but two of the French ships and at Copenhagen where he deliberately ignored a signal and led his own assault. He was always prepared to take a risk and act in unpredictable ways and accomplished what lesser men have never attempted.” He reminded every one that “Nelson had asked to be buried at St Paul’s Cathedral rather than at Westminster Abbey because he had been told that the Abbey was built on marshland which made him fearful that it would one day sink into the ground!” -continued page 3- Above: (from left) Michael Nash, founding member and first Chairman of The 1805 Club and early member, Louis Roeder, with our perennial and gracious hosts, June and George Jeffreys of Newhouse, Wiltshire. Below: Two founding members and Hon. Vice Presidents of the 1805 Club: left to right: Ken Flemming with his wife Cathy, and Keith Evans.
2 THE CHAIRMAN’S DISPATCH The Immortal Memory Frederick Hoffman was a new midshipman in October 1793 when he wrote the following lines after joining his first ship: ‘The wind was blowing strong, and we were more than an hour before we reached the frigate, which was lying at Spithead. My eyes during that time were fixed on twelve sail of the line ready for sea. As I had never seen a line of battleship, I was much struck with their noble and imposing appearance, and I imagined everybody who served on board them must feel pride in belonging to them.’ Twelve years later on 21 October 1805 he was a lieutenant standing on the quarterdeck of the Tonnant fourth ship in line astern of Collingwood in the Royal Sovereign. He certainly felt the ‘pride in belonging’ that morning, and after the battle wrote that the British cheers alone ‘must have shaken the nerve of the enemy’, adding that, ‘We were saved the trouble of taking in our studding sails, as our opponents had the civility to effect it by shot before we got into their line.’ Hoffman reminds us that Trafalgar was not just about Nelson, although as the durable icon for the Royal Navy’s success at sea it is gratifying to see that one year on from the bicentenary of the battle the plaudits for Nelson are as enthusiastic as ever. Yet it is also encouraging to see that the Immortal Memory is now being given more often than not in its earlier form: ‘The immortal memory of Nelson and those who fell with him’. This extended toast was given by Captain John Pasco (he had supervised the hoisting of Nelson’s ‘England expects…’) aboard HMS Victory on Trafalgar Day 1846. It recognises the sacrifice made by so many others at the battle and reflects the spirit of The Trafalgar Festival 2005 which was imbued by the ‘brotherhood of the sea’. Today’s leaders are generally regarded as mediocre by comparison with their forbears and there are those who believe that our current heroes – if indeed we still have any? – are no longer of ‘a noble and imposing appearance’. This may or may not be the case. The world is a very different place from 1805, and yet the nation’s sinews still stiffen with pride when they quicken to the valour and deeds of its armed services. In this respect the inspiration of Nelson remains a potent and living force, which is why we honour him today. He was not only a superb tactician and dauntless fighter, but also a man who loved his fellow creatures, and strove for their betterment. If today there is a longing for heroes, it is brought into focus by his towering example - heroes who can lead us with the same humanity and vision. This yearning reveals the significance of the Immortal Memory since superior leadership is as applicable to the challenges we face from fundamentalism and climate change as it is to the battlefield. On a different scale, the Club faces its own challenges. We need to find new and imaginative ways to raise substantial funds to carry out our conservation work, the raison d’être of the Club. (The next issue of The Kedge Anchor will carry a 4-page supplement on our recent project activity). We look this year to complete the first stage of our website redevelopment, including the first part of a new Memorials Log for the whole of the Georgian era. We seek to find a new President, following the death of Lily Lambert McCarthy, who served us so well. We wish to generate ‘living history’ from our conservation activities that will be particularly attractive to a younger audience. We wish to ensure that our members retain their sense of worth and affection for the Club and continue to enjoy the events that we arrange. We wish to promote the Immortal Memory. All of these challenges are being met with enthusiasm and without diffidence. I am delighted to highlight our progress at raising funds to complete the Trafalgar Captains Memorial, notably the graves of Capel and Bayntun. With the close support of Chris Gray, SLt Kevin Williams RNR, one of our members local to Bath where Bayntun is buried, is pioneering an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Awards for All scheme; and the raffle at this year’s superb Trafalgar Night Dinner also raised more than £600 for Berry’s conservation. Some of you will remember that in 1996 I approached the Royal Naval Museum and offered to organise a conference about the Battle of Cape St Vincent if they would give me their support. They did so, and were soon joined by the Society for Nautical Research, The Nelson Society and The 1805 Club. This led to the establishment of the Nelson Decade Conference Series which concluded in 2005 with a record of six ground-breaking naval historical conferences. The series accumulated sufficient money to pump-prime future events and I am delighted to tell you that by mutual agreement The 1805 Club with its partners has now established The Nelson Legacy Conference Series. These naval history conferences are inspired by Nelson, but they will not be about him. They nevertheless promote his Immortal Memory. The Copenhagen conference raised sufficient additional funds to make a plaque dedicated to all the heroes of the first Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and arrangements by The 1805 Club are now underway for an unveiling ceremony at Great Yarmouth on 31 March 2007. The plaque will be the first memorial in the United Kingdom to commemorate and honour those who took part. These are examples of how The 1805 Club continues to honour Nelson’s immortal memory and all those who fell with him. With good wishes to you all, Peter Warwick
3 TRAFALGAR NIGHT DINNER -continued from page 1 Dr Moses also emphasised Nelson’s humanity and how this endeared him to those he led, concluding with the story of the 48 sailors from Victory, who, during the funeral, instead of neatly folding up the battle-worn ensign that covered his coffin during the committal to the crypt, conspired together, tearing up the flag to keep for themselves as a souvenir. “It was a gesture that was unscripted, loyal, affectionate, vulgar and totally appropriate,” he said. It was therefore welcome and appropriate that he used the revised form of the Immortal Memory re-introduced last year: “To the Immortal Memory of Admiral Lord Nelson and those who fell with him”. Prior to the dinner, the Club’s other guest, Max Adams, whose critically acclaimed biography Admiral Collingwood: Nelson’s Own Hero is now out in paperback, gave an enthralling lecture which moved the focus of the evening to what happened after Trafalgar, when political machinations in the Mediterranean – many of them involving Napoléon Bonaparte – reached new complexities. Max believed that it was Collingwood’s “guile, subtlety and insouciance” which made him so valuable in that theatre and also a favourite. A prime example of this was how following Dos de Mayo in 1808, when Madrid rose against the French occupation, his offer of help to the Spanish at Cadiz witnessed the adulation of 40,000 Spanish all crying Viva Collingwood! They had not forgotten his courtesy and humanity to them during the days immediately after Trafalgar. Max argued that because of his achievements both before and after Trafalgar, Collingwood deserved equal status to Nelson as a naval hero. He also explored the many facets of his character - as a strict disciplinarian who despised flogging; an excellent gunner and seaman; and as an admiral who was very dismissive of the capabilities of his flag captain Edward Rotheram in Royal Sovereign at Trafalgar. Max talked about some of Collingwood’s less well-known relationships, among them with his beloved dog Bounce, his sole companion at sea, and Mary Moutray, wife of the dockyard commissioner in Antigua, who beguiled both Collingwood and Nelson when they were young officers. He also marvelled at Collingwood’s literary ability, which he felt produced dispatches and letters “that at times are positively Churchillian!” Max’s splendid and at times amusing lecture was followed by a champagne reception in the hall and library, and a firework display saluting Nelson’s four great battles. At the dinner, the Rev Lawrence Marsh gave The 1805 Club Grace and Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Godfrey MiltonThompson KBE proposed the Loyal Toast. Dr Colin White, the Club’s newest vice-president, proposed the toast to the Royal Navy, reminding all of those currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr Nick Slope, The Nelson Society’s Chairman, gave the toast to The 1805 Club and amused everyone when he remarked that he was sitting at a table with one who buried heroes (Dr John Moses) and two who dug them up again (himself and Max Adams)! He also paid tribute to Peter Warwick for his friendship to the Nelson Society and endeavours for a close and harmonious relationship. Reviving a tradition from previous years, a raffle was held during the evening in which the star prize was a large piece of timber from Victory, donated by the Royal Naval Museum Trading Company. Over £600 was raised which will go towards conservation of the tomb of Sir Edward Berry at Walcot, Bath, one of the seven tombs identified by the Club’s Trafalgar Captains Memorial Project as being most at risk. Peter extended the Club’s sincere gratitude to George and June Jeffreys for once again allowing the Club to use their historic home for its Trafalgar Dinner and looked forward to returning on 27 October 2007. Contributed by Alison Henderson - 1805 Club Hon. Press Officer photographed at Newhouse - right. For more pictures see page 14 NEW YORK PICKLE NIGHT DINNER New York Yacht Club, 3 November 2006 On Friday evening, 3 November, 81 guests gathered in the Model Room of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) in midtown Manhattan for a formal and most enjoyable dinner to commemorate the 201st anniversary of the arrival of HMS Pickle at Falmouth. Pickle, the smallest British ship at Trafalgar, overcame high winds and seas to carry home the news of the great victory, and the death during the battle of Lord Nelson. The club, home to the America’s Cup, provided a dramatic nautical setting for this fourth in a series of annual dinners. Featured guests were: Dr. Colin White, Commodore Alan Bennett, DSC RN, and Acting British Consul-General Jon Benjamin. • Dr. White earned his MA in War Studies at Kings College, London University, and was awarded an honorary degree as Doctor of Letters in 2004 from the University of Portsmouth in recognition of his Nelson scholarship. He joined the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth in 1975 as a research assistant, rose to the Chief Curator at the Museum in 1986, and became Deputy Director and Head of Museum Service in 1995. He was seconded to the National Maritime Museum to serve as Director of Trafalgar 200 and was guest-curator of its hugely successful Nelson and Napoléon exhibition in 2005. He was appointed Director of the Royal Naval Museum earlier this year. He is the author of The Nelson Companion, 1797: Nelson’s Year of Destiny, The Nelson Encyclopaedia, Nelson: The New Letters, and most recently Nelson the Admiral. • Commodore Bennett has had major commands ashore and at sea, and extensive operational experience in frigates and aviation. He was commanding officer of HMS Alacrity and Combat Airgroup Commander in the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. He earned +Britain’s Distinguished Service Cross during the Falklands War. He has had major staff assignments
www.1805club.orgRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTYyMzU=