2 THE CHAIRMAN’S DISPATCH “None of my reputation has been diminished in the late Glorious Action” Nelson wrote these words in a letter to his friend the Duke of Clarence, dated 22 February 1797, a few days after the Battle of Cape St Vincent, hoping that he would circulate it to other influential people and even the press. He was conscious of the importance of his popular image to his career. Since my last Dispatch, the role and legacy of things maritime, and the Royal Navy, has been highlighted by among other things, the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War, the fire in the Cutty Sark, the hostage-taking in the Gulf, the launch of HMS Astute, and the sad death of one of our Vice Presidents, Tom Pocock. At first sight these events may seem unrelated, but there is an important thread joining them all; a thread that also connects them to the work of The 1805 Club. It is summed up in one word: reputation. The regrettable media shambles that followed the hostage taking of the ‘Cornwall 15’, in the disputed waters of the Shatt-al-Arab Waterway, will not diminish the true long-term reputation of the Royal Navy. Its significant role today in Afghanistan, which is not reported by the media in the same high-profile way, and its remarkable and stunning action twenty-five years ago in the inhospitable South Atlantic, continue a trend of distinction that goes right back to the Georgian sailing navy. In 1805 the Royal Navy had gained a supremacy over the world’s oceans, which it no longer has today. Yet the public still adheres to ‘England expects’ and the ‘habit of victory’. This expectation puts the reputation of the navy into a difficult position. It is also much harder to measure and agree on the recent past. Nevertheless, while the technology may have changed since Trafalgar, the ethos of the service and the dedication of its people has not. Their enthusiastic ‘can-do’ attitude will weather the short-term knock to its reputation, provided the service is given the resources to fulfil the global, versatile role expected of it. The launch of HMS Astute, the Royal Navy’s most powerful attack submarine for blue water operations, goes some way to underpinning its resource strength but leaves no room for complacency. And so it is with The 1805 Club, albeit on a much smaller canvas. While we have not taken knocks to our reputation, the Council, supported by many enthusiastic members, displays a similar ‘can-do’ approach to the management and activities of the Club, and the fulfilment of its key objects. The Club’s reputation is gaining ground all the time, yet there is, happily, no sense of complacency. The activity of the recently formed local groups in the south west and south east is a case in point. They are important assets to our members and their popularity is such that a local group is also being established in the north east – Collingwood country! Close by is Hartlepool, County Durham, home to the Trincomalee. Those looking after her and other historic ships around the country, highlighted in the interview with Martyn Heighton on page 18, including HMS Victor, HMS Warrior and SS Great Britain, will have been shocked at the disaster to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. In fact, while not of the Georgian sailing era, the fire damage to the Cutty Sark will have upset us all. All three decks have been lost, so she has suffered a significant amount of damage. One thing that saved her was her construction, because she was composite built, with iron frames and wooden planking. If she had been a wooden ship she would have been lost entirely. Moreover, a substantial part of her was removed beforehand as part of the restoration: the masts, the wheel, the coach-housing, the jolly boats and all the artefacts that were on board. Cutty Sark’s reputation will be a key factor in filling the funding gap that has now risen, as a result of the fire, to £17m. The outlook is bright and she should open to the public again in 2010. While the amount involved dwarfs the sums required by the Club for conservation of monuments and memorials, the relevance of reputation to successful fundraising for heritage issues is the same. As with the restoration of the Cutty Sark, the Club has much it wants to achieve in terms of conservation. This is why at this year’s Annual General Meeting at The Old Royal Naval College on 21 April, I was delighted to pay tribute to the untiring work of all of the Club’s Council members. They have been and remain a tremendous team: creative in their ideas, skilled in their actions and enthusiastic to a fault. In the words of the title of Justin Reay’s Cecil Isaacson Memorial Lecture they strive ‘to render an effectual service.’ If one seeks the source of the Club’s reputation this is where you will find it. May I take this opportunity to welcome three new members to Council: Barry Coombs who takes over events from Lynda Sebbage; Linda Ebrey who takes the reins from Sally Birkbeck as membership secretary; and Dianne Smith who is developing the educational activities of the Club, particularly to reach younger people. Both Sally and Lynda
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTYyMzU=