THE CHAIRMAN’S DISPATCH! Working together to achieve the task “Leadership is understanding people and involving them to help you do a job” Admiral Arleigh A. Burke (USN) I hope you look forward to receiving the Kedge Anchor as much as I do. This issue is as ever packed full of fascinating material and interesting stories. The article about the discovery of Lieutenant Hicks uniform is no exception, since it records one of those rare moments when a fantasy comes true. The 1805 Club’s charitable objects may lead us, quite understandably, to focus on graves, monuments and memorials, but we are also concerned about artifacts from the Georgian age of sail. Therefore to not only discover a unique item but also initiate its conservation is a wonderful landmark for the Club. The minute my eyes rested on this wonderful uniform is a minute that I shall forever remember. Lieutenant William Hicks is typical of so many of the young officers who fought in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and The War of 1812 whose bicentenary is just around the corner. Their experiences and vivid accounts highlight the realities of life at sea and the fury of battle. They also reveal the effectiveness of command, the vital importance that can be attributed to the skill and professionalism of sailors and officers alike, the way they worked as a team and ultimately to the nature and practice of leadership itself. These themes inspire two of the Club’s latest initiatives described in this issue. The Top Men Scheme and the Leadership in the Age of Sail conference series. Both highlight the role and importance of involving others to do a job. The Top Men scheme seeks to recruit Club members to support our conservation activity over a five year period by pledging £100 per annum payable annually. Such teamwork by just 50 members prepared to pledge £100 per year for the next five years will, with the benefit of Gift Aid, will give the Club an annual fighting fund of over £6,000. In return, Top Men (and Women) will receive a certificate signed by our President, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB DL, and an entry in The 1805 Club 'Roll of Honour', which will be displayed at Club events and kept electronically in the Members’ area of the Club’s website. Top Men will, therefore, be associated with the conservation of memorials to Georgian naval heroes for evermore. Teamwork of another kind is seen in the organization of Leadership in the Age of Sail which brings together six organizations to create a landmark international series of conferences that also create the opportunity to memorialise Dr Colin White. Colin, a Vice President and former Chairman of The 1805 Club was, before his untimely death, paying increasing attention to the subject of naval leadership; his study of Nelson having highlighted the achievements of other commanders. Nelson is widely regarded as an exceptional leader. However, we know that he could not have achieved his victories without the quality of leadership found in his captains, officers, and also in his men. This factor is not exclusive to the Royal Navy. The effectiveness of leadership in the French and Spanish navies, and the fledgling US Navy, is an area ripe for comparative study. The 1805 Club is also involving itself in conservation projects that are being led by other organization's but who nevertheless welcome our support. Therefore, while The Nile and Copenhagen Captains Memorial project is at the heart of our current conservation activity, we have been able this year to give small donations to four other relevant and high profile conservation projects. They are the Nelson Gates at Duncombe Park, The Collingwood Monument at St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the statue of Admiral Sir Pultney Malcolm at Langholm, Scotland and The Naval Temple at the Kymin, Monmouthshire. The imposing Grade II Listed Nelson Gates and railings at Duncombe Park, Helmsley are made of sandstone ashlar and are subject to a major conservation by North York Moors National Park Authority. Above the arch facing the road is the inscription: ‘To the memory of Lord Viscount Nelson and the unparalleled gallant achievements of the British Navy. 1806’. On the reverse of the arch the inscription reads: ‘Lamented Hero, O price, his conquering Country grieves of pay! O dear brought Glories of
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