Trafalgar's Day’. The Collingwood Monument, dedicated to ‘the hero of the Tyne’ and close friend of Lord Nelson, Admiral Lord Collingwood, is being cleaned by St Nicholas Cathedral Trust as part of a major development project at this Cathedral church. Our donation will go towards the cleaning. In the Library Gardens at Langholm, Scotland there is a statue to Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm (1768– 1838). He entered the navy in 1778, during the American Revolutionary War and took part in the Great Chase—the celebrated pursuit of the French fleet to the West Indies in May 1805. He was with the fleet when Nelson took command on 28 September 1805. He was ordered to Gibraltar and just missed the Battle of Trafalgar. Nevertheless, he was off Cadiz on 24 October and assisted in saving lives and ships following the Great Storm. He subsequently towed the Spanish prize Bahama to Gibraltar. Sir Pultney went on to become an Admiral of the Blue. His statue is known locally as the ‘Marble Man’ and the Club’s gift is for essential repairs supervised by Dumfries and Galloway Council. Horatio Nelson visited the Naval Temple at The Kymin with Sir William and Lady Hamilton in 1800 to admire the monument erected to celebrate Britain’s latest naval victories, including his own! The temple, owned by the National Trust, is being conserved and as part of these works the sculpture of Britannia that sits atop the structure is to be renewed. Having reassured ourselves that this replacement can be regarded as appropriate, we felt it was an obvious project for us to support. At the same time we hope it will strengthen our dialogue with the National Trust, which looks after other monuments to naval heroes, not least the Sir Thomas Hardy monument in Dorset, which is currently in need of urgent repair. We shall report on these conservation projects again, but I believe our contribution demonstrates the value of being involved with other conservations and conservation bodies, and also helps to further the reach and reputation of The 1805 Club. We shall never be short of graves, monuments and memorials to conserve. While they may not always bring the attention associated with Lieutenant Hicks’ uniform, they are still a vital part of the tapestry of Britain’s remarkable naval heritage. By working together we shall achieve the task. With best wishes to you all, Peter Warwick NEWS FROM COUNCIL Since the last Kedge Anchor, Council has held two meetings on 2 April and 28 May. The first of these meetings discussed the arrangements for the Members’ Day, but as that is now in the past, I will refer members to the reports elsewhere in this issue. The main news that I can now let members know is that the Club has a new Conservation Officer, who will manage our conservation projects. His name is Paul Ellis and he has much experience in this area. More information about him will have to await a future issue, as I am now writing this quickly to meet the editor’s deadline, and I do not have relevant data to hand, but I wanted members to know the good news now. Paul has seen the Club’s conservation guidelines which he says are similar to those he has followed for many years. He will work closely with the Club’s Architect and Surveyor, John Kerr, on all future projects, and he will also get involved in the after-care needs of graves and monuments following their conservation. Council has also agreed that the main conservation project for 2011 will be work on the graves of Capt Richard Retalick, and his brother and sister, at Padstow in Cornwall. These three graves are side by side and are in quite bad condition. Captain Retalick was the commander of HMS Defiance, the flagship of Admiral Sir Thomas Graves at the Battle of Copenhagen, 1801. Council also agreed to appoint Matthew Prince as photographer for the Nile and Copenhagen Captains’ Memorial Project. As he did in 2004 for the Trafalgar Captains, Matthew will travel round the country (including Ireland) in order to photograph the graves and memorials of all the Nile and Copenhagen Captains. Dianne Smith made a presentation to Council of her plans for a revision of the Club’s educational strategy. She also summarised the replies of members to the recent questionnaire on this subject. An approach will be made to two pilot schools to develop new teaching resources and also the Club will work with the University of Portsmouth to provide insider expertise developing games for training on RN ships. The Club will also fund a prize award for the best student. I hope that members find these summaries useful and interesting. If this is so, I should be glad to receive your feedback. My contact details can be found at the back of this issue. John Curtis Hon Secretary
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