3 Issue 40 – Summer 2014 THE KEDGE ANCHOR he continues, “There was no place for pity or compassion, and I had no idea that the enemy I was ordered to shoot at would be, decades later, the same people I would greet as friends every year at the anniversary of the invasion.” Those Allied troops who braved the murderous machine gun fire as they approached the beaches were in many cases even younger. In fact the Allied planners had deliberately placed 19 and 20 yearolds in the first waves because lacking of combat experience they wouldn’t comprehend the terror they would face when the ramps of their landing craft went down. Lieutenant Edward Thornbrough Parker, Nelson’s favourite and most enigmatic protégé was only 23 when he was killed in action also in in a cross-channel action. Nelson frequently referred to him in intimate terms as his ‘dear son and friend’. Under his patronage ‘little Parker’ was rapidly promoted to commander and accompanied Nelson at the negotiations following the truce at the Battle of Copenhagen. He became close with both Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton even to the point of holidaying with them in England and proudly called himself a ‘Nelsonite’. When Nelson was posted to command the ant-invasion forces in the English Channel Parker joined him and they worked closely together on the operations leading to the failed attack on Boulogne on 5 August 1801. Parker’s thigh was shattered during the attack and he was taken to lodgings in Deal, where his leg was amputated. He suffered terribly and died on 27 September, two days before Nelson’s birthday. Both he and Emma were stricken with grief and Nelson arranged and paid for a full military funeral and erected a monument to Parker’s memory. So close was their friendship that Nelson requested some of Parker’s hair which he preserved for burial in his own grave. The monument and grave were eventually removed, but in 2001 The 1805 Club erected a bronze plaque to Parker, which can be seen today in the top southern corner of the former graveyard. The Club also raised the only memorial plaque to all those who fought at the Battle of Copenhagen, not least to ‘the Brothers of Englishmen the Danes’. Plaques will be a feature of our conversations in future and the survey of past conservations, conducted recently, has identified sites for retrospective plaques. Unlike Parker’s they will not be made of bronze because we have found that stainless steel is much better. We are currently determining our conservation projects for 2014/15 and have begun work on a new scheme which is designed to discover more graves and monuments that require conservation, rather than finding them ad hoc as we do now. In particular we are keen to identify graves of ordinary sailors and Royal Marines. One of the reasons the Club is able to plan like this is due to the growing number of Topmen. We now have 28. Thanks to their generosity we can think more adventurously. Their commitment to pledge £100 per annum for five years provides a predictable annual cash flow for our conservation activities, which allows us to plan ahead with confidence. I should like to reiterate Council’s thanks to our Topmen and highlight how invaluable is their commitment to our work. Our target is 50 Topmen and each receives an attractively designed certificate signed by our President Admiral Sir Jonathon Band. With kind regards and best wishes to you all, Peter Warwick Chairman AMA DataSet Limited are pleased to be associated with both The Kedge Anchor and The 1805 Club. AMA DataSet Limited, 5 School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6QD Telephone 01772 627534 www.ama.uk.com Please note the next edition is due in the autumn. The deadline for copy will therefore be 21 October 2014. We will be pleased to receive your ideas and contributions at an early date. FROM THE EDITOR Conservation and Preservation of monuments is fundamental to the heritage of any country. It has been said of the Club, “you concentrate on graves, that is so sad”. While conservation is one of our core aims it is just one part of our objectives. Individuals involved in this country’s naval heritage and those of other countries remain a primary part of the Clubs objectives, as well as its ongoing research. I am pleased to return three living personalities from past events to the present day all are important and all contributed in different ways to this country’s heritage. Admiral Sir William Cornwallis K.C.B. is a much neglected figure in naval history; his achievements are perhaps greater than those of Nelson. Yet he has no memorial other than an adopted family dedication at his place of burial, and only one biography has been written, that by his great grandson George Cornwallis West in 1927. He was not known to the man in the street and was never stopped and cheered, he avoided public acclaim as much as Nelson delighted in it. Yet he was a great seaman and strategist effectively preventing the French invasion of this country. Andrew Lambert says of him “Cornwallis’s blockade of Breast was a masterpiece of naval operational art in the age of sail. Denying the French access to stores and supplies exhausted the large Franco–Spanish fleet, while effective British victualing arrangement ensured that the only limits on his fleet were seamanship and human endurance, qualities that Cornwallis possessed in abundance. The command wore out even the best officers, and Cornwallis went ashore twice for health reasons”. Perhaps it is now time to return him to his place in history. On the technical side The Kedge Anchor is continuing to develop. In this issue we retain the outside cover weight while moving to lightweight inner pages which should offset increasing postage costs and give the magazine a better feel. The production has also moved to a different printer who is able to achieve a higher definition in the picture quality and importantly deal more effectually with its wider distribution, while the electronic postage system remains, also saving costs. My thanks remain with AMA DataSet for their professional help and direction in its production. Editor
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