SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: HMSRoyalOak Model 6 The Dartmoor Massacre 9 Political Intrigue Concerning Byng 13 Battle of the Nile Commemoration 14 Sir Philip Durham 16 Randy Ma�it 18 New Members 20 TheOther Clarkson Brother 22 Saumarez– Husband 26 Trafalgar – La Voix Français 30 Sea, Song & Stars inBath 32 Impressment 33 The Diamond RockPoem 40 INSIDE THIS ISSUE THE KEDGE ANCHOR THE MAGAZINE OF THE 1805 CLUB Issue 58 AUTUMN 2022 Chairman’s Address 2 Gillian Knight 3 Events Diary 4 Crossword 5 The 1805 Club Shop 8 AB&OS 8 Book Reviews 29 TTW End-to-End Challenge 32 Everybody Knows… 38 Cover Picture SeePage3
THE KEDGE ANCHOR Issue58 2 I hope all of you and your families have found yourselves returning to some semblance of routine; taking time for a holiday, enjoying the company of family and friends. Now autumn is upon us in the northern hemisphere, and for our members south of the equator, spring has arrived. It is a time of change; more so than just the change in the seasons. I am sure you will agree that change in our lives came rather suddenly when we heard the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. To me, and I am sure to all of you, she was always there; a steady presence for us. I know you feel as I do, that the Queen was a monarch to whom all of us felt a sense of connection. For some of us, the connection was more personal. But, I think we can agree that she de�ined an era of constant and tumultuous change with dignity and grace through the power of her example. We thank you Ma’am. As a Club, we experienced another sad and unexpected change with the loss one of our stalwart members, Randy Ma�it. You will see in the tribute to him what a change he made in The Club. On a personal note, it was Randy who encouraged me to become more active in The Club, by succeeding hm as the North American Secretary. Thank you Randy. We have the watch. As for a happy change, your Club held its �irst in-person AGM since Covid at the Army and Navy Club (The Rag) in London. I am pleased to report it was a success, and this had a great deal to do with the assembled membership’s approval of the changes in how The Club will operate in the coming years. I am most appreciative for leadership shown by our Council members who laid out to the membership how The Club will proceed; hearty BZ to you Geraint Day, Stephen Howarth, Nicholas Ridge, Josephine Birtwhistle and Kathy Brown. I say this, because your chairman and his wife, fellow member Judy Pearson, both had tested positive with Covid the day before. While the AGM went along smoothly, we were sequestered two �loors above, in our room. The AGM event has kicked off a very active series of Club events for 2022/2023 — a positive change indeed. Do check out the Events Diary in this issue. Another happy change can be seen in our Membership Secretary, Dr Sue Carr’s, report. It is indeed gratifying to see so many new members. Her report is complemented by our editor’s section showcasing our new members. I think you will agree with me that our new members comprise a distinguished and diverse group. The Club can say it is truly international in its appeal. Yes, change is inevitable; the only thing that we can say is a constant in our lives. However, I think one can say, after reading through this issue of theKedge Anchor, the quality of this periodical has remained consistently world class. BZ Peter Turner! With us heading towards the end of 2022, I wish all good health, happiness and success in your endeavours. Yoursaye, THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE By John Rodgaard, US Navy (Retd) Chairman, The 1805 Club
THE KEDGE ANCHOR AUTUMN 2022 EDITORIAL 3 I sometimes wonder what I'm going to put in the Editorial column, but this edition was different because this time I wondered what I was going to put in the whole magazine! The fun part of the editorial job is when lots of people are keen to offer copy, togther with usable pictures, and the editor simply needs to tidy them up and sort them out – and then �ind room for them all. Then there is the other part, when fewer people come forward with copy, and the head-scratching starts. That is why I usually wear a hat – too much head-scratching. The other ‘other part’ is when one treats oneself to a lovely new, bigger and faster, computer to make the editing even more fun, and it decides to challenge one’s knowledge of computers just as this edition of The Kedge Anchor was coming to life, leaving one to do the publishing bit on the old, but perfectly satisfactory, computer – wondering why the new one was needed. But, please don’t get me wrong, I love doing this job, and meeting the challenge if I can. And the gremlins will be expunged as soon as I can get a ‘proper man’ in to sort it out, after this KAhasgone toprint. Meanwhile, here it is for you. I realise that the front cover image is a little unconventional, but, as you will see from the article on page 6, it is very impressive. Actually, ‘unconventional’ is what I like, if it is appropriate, so beware of future front covers. Did you know that it has recently been estimated that between 6,000-7,000 Americans were captured during the War of 1812? It was not all one-sided, though, as 2,650 British naval seamen were captured by the Americans. (Crimmin, Exchange of Prisoners. P 148). See Jennifer Newbold’s article for more. AB&OS have managed to get back in, after having been completely forgotten by their creator in the previous edition. And the big Club news, as you will read elsewhere, is that our Shop is now open for business – admittedly with a limited range just now, but that is being worked on even as you read this. Also, you will see that we have been having a spate of new members, some of whom have responded to my request for a few words about themselves. As I say on page 20, I fear having missed a few of you, so please get in touch and let me know about yourselves. Now, enjoy! If you can. Cover Picture: Photograph of the stern of the 1:48 scale model of HMSRoyalOak(74) of 1769, featured on page 6 (Photo: Magnus McLeod) GILLIAN KNIGHT – 1 Somewhat late in the day, we are happy to publish this appreciation of our former (but NOT late!) colleague Gillian Knight. Gillian stood down from Council for health reasons in 2021 but is still a staunch member of the Club. Gillian’s interest in the Georgianera Royal Navy was sparked in the 1990s by the works of Patrick O’Brian. She joined The 1805 Club in 2010 and became a member of Council in 2012, initially without portfolio, but understudying Dianne Smith, head of the Admiral Lord Nelson School in Portsmouth. When Dianne stood down as Education Of�icer in 2015, Gillian was the ideal successor. She was a history graduate (BA in Ancient History and Archaeology from Birmingham University, Masters in Classical Studies from the Open University, and a Diploma in Maritime Studies from the University of Hull) and had vast experience of practical education as a retired primary school teacher who had reached senior level. As a teacher during the ‘Great Bicentenary’ of Trafalgar in 2005, she had organised a week of nautical activities for her school. This tied in with an initiative from our late chairman Peter Warwick, the ‘Wooden Walls’ (also known as ‘Wooden World’) project that sought to bring imaginative understanding of life in a man-of-war to primary schoolchildren. Peter’s co-presenter Jerome Monahan recalls that Gillian was “an intrinsic part of the development and success” of the project, funded by the Club’s LIBOR grant. “She played a signi�icant role in the early stages of the workshop’s design [and] was also the key �igure when it came to promoting the scheme to schools along the Trafalgar Way.” Bill White (Immediate Past Chairman and now Vice President) notes that another part of the LIBOR grant was aimed at “providing naval history lectures for naval people in training at Dartmouth and elsewhere.” This proved highly frustrating for Gillian: “She put very considerable efforts in, but the continuous turn-over of people in the naval jobs meant it was impossible to maintain continuity and we had to wrap up the programme with the President’s agreement.” Gillian also contributed to Peter Hore’s book ‘Nelson’s Band of Brothers’ and was active in the organisation of events in 2019 in Milford-on-Sea commemorating Admiral Sir William Cornwallis. (Continued on page 4) ▻ REQUEST FOR HELP If you are a member of The 1805 Club who is familiar with, and active upon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social medium, we would welcome some help with keeping the Club in the public eye using these methods. Please contact: Kathy Brown – kathy.1805club@gmail.com Please note the next edition is due in Spring 2023. The deadline for copy will be 21 March 2023. Please submit your ideas to the Editor as soon as you can,and actual contributions before the copy deadline whenever possible.
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