THE KEDGE ANCHOR NEWSLETTER OF THE 1805 CLUB Issue No. 26 November 2009 T HE DEATH OF ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD will almost certainly be the last great naval bicentenary of the Napoleonic period. After the death of Nelson he was ‘England’s prime and sole minister acting upon the sea’ and The 1805 Club has spent the last two years laying the foundations for a major celebration of his life so that his work after Trafalgar does not pass unrecognised. Chairman Peter Warwick writes: Working closely with the Royal Navy, Trinity House Newcastle, Newcastle City Council, Tyneside & Wear Council and other local bodies the Club has initiated a two-day programme of events for the weekend of 6-7 March 2010. Collingwood died on 7 March 1810. COLLINGWOOD 2010 includes major public events and some private events arranged exclusively for members of The 1805 Club. The Club is preparing a special members’ package, including reserved places at the official ceremonies and receptions, hotel accommodation and event transfers. The Royal Navy will be represented by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope KCB OBE ADC, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, who will join the Club’s private events as well as the official public events. This is a considerable honour for the Club. Moreover, subject to service requirements at the time, the Royal Navy has scheduled an official visit by HMS Northumberland, ratings from HMS Collingwood and HMS Calliope and a Band of HM Majesty’s Royal Marines. The Sea Cadet Corps will be represented by their unit at Jarrow. Many of Collingwood’s descendents will also be present. The official public events comprise a Civic Banquet in Newcastle City Hall on the evening of Saturday, 6 March, and on the Sunday, a Thanksgiving Service at Newcastle Cathedral and a Memorial Service at the Collingwood Monument at Tynemouth, with HMS Northumberland offshore firing the salute. On Saturday Trinity House Newcastle is hosting a reception for The 1805 Club, which includes a lecture by Collingwood biographer Max Adams. The Trinity House complex has developed and expanded over more than five hundred years, presenting a wonderful chronological architectural history. To then enter and walk through the buildings is to further discover a unique and fascinating private collection of paintings, ship models, books, furniture, nautical instruments and artefacts from around the world and down through the centuries. Members will be given a guided tour. -continued on page 3- EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS PLANNED FOR COLLINGWOOD BICENTENARY The Collingwood Monument erected in 1845 on the North headland of the mouth of the River Tyne. Photo: Matt Prince 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 +1 541-3431894, email: randym1805@aol.com, or the UK editors: Paul and Penny Dalton at Woodlands, Hankham, Pevensey, East Sussex BN24 5BE, phone +44 (0)1323 764212, email: pd@pdpictorial.freeserve.co.uk. Chairman’s Dispatch 2 From the Quarterdeck 4 Nile & Copenhagen Captains’ Project Update 5 250th Anniversary of Victory’s Keel Laying 6 John Jervis Weekend 8 Trafalgar Events 10 Forthcoming Events 13 News from the Regional Groups 14 Victory’s 64-Gun Broadside 15 US Naval Academy Museum reopens 17 Sheerness Dockyard Endangered 18 Plans for new Saumarez Guernsey Memorial 20 The Ditty Bag 21 Victory Wood 22 Book Notes 23 Collectors’ Corner Adm Sir Sydney Smith & the Knights Liberators of the White Slaves in Africa medal 25 In the Auction Rooms Cannon, Spartiate flag, etc 27 Notes & Queries 32 John George Mount 21 INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
2 THE CHAIRMAN’S DISPATCH The Boast of Old Northumberland When Nelson sailed for Trafalgar With all his country’s best, He held them dear as brothers are, But one beyond the rest. For when the fleet with heroes manned To clear the decks began, The boast of old Northumberland He sent to lead the Van. Himself by Victory’s bulwarks stood And cheered to see the sight; “That noble fellow Collingwood, How bold he goes to fight!” [ From Northumberland, “The Old and Bold” By Sir Henry Newbolt ] A lmost two hundred years to the date of this issue of The Kedge Anchor a very weary sailor who had suffered serious strains to both his health and happiness wrote in a letter to his sister: You will be sorry to hear my poor dog Bounce is dead. I am afraid he fell overboard in the night. He is a great loss to me. I have few comforts, but he was one, for he loved me. Everybody sorrows for him. He was wiser than (many) who hold their heads higher and was grateful (to those) who were kind to him. That 62 year-old sailor was Vice-Admiral Lord Cuthbert Collingwood. Referred to by biographer Max Adams as ‘Nelson’s own hero’, Collingwood has recently emerged from under the shadow cast by his great friend. His five years in command of the prestigious Mediterranean Fleet after Trafalgar are now seen as a culmination of an active and successful career, which revealed his mastery of strategy and diplomacy and instinctive judgement when dealing with foreign powers and affairs. This deftness is revealed in a letter to one of his captains, to whom he writes, ‘We must take care that those nations whose hearts are really with us, and who on the first happy change would be openly on our side, may not, by any intemperate act of ours, be thrown into the hands of the enemy.’ British ministers and the Admiralty held him in such high esteem they kept him on station and even refused his requests for leave. Given virtually a free hand by the Admiralty and the poor communications with his political masters, Collingwood’s strategic vision and understanding of the region, including the importance of North Africa, became the very essence of British government policy. His overtures to the Turks, his support for the Spanish, Portuguese and British involved in the fight against the French in the Iberian Peninsula, his blockade of Toulon, and his initiative in seizing the Ionian Islands from the French are fine examples of his actions. He may not have been involved in any spectacular naval engagements after Trafalgar, but then who was? But his renown for seamanship and gunnery was more than a match for anything the French could deploy as is seen from the way in the last few months of his life he intercepted and destroyed a French convoy running supplies into the garrison of Barcelona. As historian Piers Macksey wrote, ‘The scale (of the Mediterranean theatre) was heroic, and over the vast canvas towers the figure of Collingwood.’ If Collingwood had one weakness it was his inability to delegate and relax. The stress of the workload weighed heavily until towards the end of 1809 his health began to deteriorate. By February of the following year he could hardly walk. He was ‘so weak that application to business is impossible’. At last the Admiralty allowed him to come home but two days into the voyage from Port Mahon he died. Collingwood never saw his wife or precious daughters again, nor did he listen to the blackbirds in his beloved Northumbrian garden. He was laid to rest next to Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral. Every year wreaths are laid at Nelson’s tomb on 21st October and last year for the first time, members of the Collingwood family paid homage to their ancestor at the same time as well. We hope this will become a regular tradition.
3 The 1805 Club is proud to have initiated and helped re-design the St Paul’s Cathedral Trafalgar Day ceremony, at the heart of which is the wreath laying by the First Sea Lord. The Dean of the Cathedral leads the ceremony and this year over sixty people, more than half of whom were Club members, attended and then gathered for refreshments in the crypt afterwards. Concurrently, Linda Ebrey represented the Club at the traditional and moving ceremony aboard HMS Victory. Moreover, a few days earlier at the Seafarers’ Service at Portsmouth’s Anglican Cathedral, Alison Henderson laid the wreath for The 1805 Club and The Nelson Society. However, it will be Collingwood who dominates next year and again the Club can take pride in the fact that its ideas and exertions have created a major event in Newcastle in his honour. In the same way as The Homage to all Heroes of Copenhagen and Nelson 250 we began by making overtures to local people. The authorities and institutions in Newcastle, Gateshead, Tyneside and Morpeth have risen to the occasion and with the Royal Navy in full support a stunning event is planned for 6 and 7 March 2010. It includes a special package of ‘extras’ for Club members. I believe it is fair to say that the death of Collingwood will be seen as the last great naval bicentenary of the Napoleonic period. Be there if you can! The Club’s AGM in May will not be far behind and our superb Membership Secretary, Linda Ebrey has kindly given plenty of notice that she will not be seeking re-election. Linda has written a piece for this issue of the Kedge Anchor (page 4) and I would urge you all to read it while at the same time considering whether you might like to take over her role. It is a vital job for the Club and Linda is the best person with whom to discuss the opportunity. I know that she would be thrilled to hear from you if you felt you could succeed her. We are also losing our marvellous UK editors of The Kedge Anchor so, again, if any of you feel this is something you would enjoy doing, please get in touch with me. While it is always sad to lose people it is also good to welcome new faces and I am very pleased to announce that we have two new Vice-Presidents, subject only to formality of the members’ ratification at next year’s AGM. They are Rear Admiral Joe Callo USNR (Ret.) and Dr Agustín Guimerá. Joe lives in New York City and following a distinguished naval career has emerged as a prominent naval historian, writing about Nelson and ‘America’s first sea warrior’ John Paul Jones. He is well-placed to help the Club commemorate the naval operations during the bicentenaries of the War of 1812. Agustín, has become one of Spain’s leading naval historian’s and has supported the Club for the past decade. He is based at the Instituto de Historia, Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales in Madrid. He is keen to foster closer links between the Club and Spain, a country which played such a significant part in Nelson’s career and the final demise of Napoleon. By the time you read this dispatch we shall know whether the Union flag from the Spartiate was saved for the nation. The 1805 Club was part of the consortium bidding to achieve this. We shall also have our heads buried in this year’s terrific issue of the Trafalgar Chronicle! Congratulations to editors Anthony Cross and Huw Lewis-Jones. And of course congratulations to Randy and Dana Mafit and Paul and Penny Dalton for yet another fine issue of the Kedge Anchor. With kind regards to you all and very best wishes for Christmas, the New Year and COLLINGWOOD 2010! Peter Warwick Hon Chairman COLLINGWOOD BICENTENARY -continued from front page- The day also features an historical walk in Newcastle highlighting such sites as Collingwood’s birthplace and other activities are being considered in order to maximise the pleasure and significance of the occasion, including an optional third day which will take in Morpeth, where Collingwood lived. In view of the expected popularity of this event and the limited number of places available, Susan Amos, the Club’s Events Officer recommends that you reserve your places for this exceptional event as soon as possible by forwarding her a £20.00 per person refundable deposit. The Club will do everything it can to minimise the cost per person by, for instance, providing a range of accommodation options. For further details see Forthcoming Events on page 13.
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