THE KEDGE ANCHOR Issue 60 2 Greetings Fellow 1805ers! One might say, that with this autumn edition of The Kedge Anchor (KA), together with the forthcoming edition of The Trafalgar Chronicle, that another year is about to pass for the Club. The year so far has certainly been a busy one. Our publications show that your Club’s activities have returned to pre-Covid levels. First and foremost is that your Club has, for all practical purposes, transitioned into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This brought a restructuring of The Club as to its organisation, which includes IT management, accounting and Club secretarial (Clerk) positions. All receive a modest sum. These changes were necessary for two interrelated reasons. First, shortly after the Club reached its 30th year in 2020, Council members concluded it was necessary to decide what The Club wants as its modus operandi for the next 30 years. Certainly, it was to build on the three aspects of achievements of the first 30 years; 1) preservation of memorials and graves, 2) broaden the public’s understanding of the Royal Navy of the Georgian era, to include telling Nelson’s story and those who served with him, and 3) developing and maintaining records on the men and events of the period, making them available to researchers. Additionally, to remain relevant, members of Council felt it was necessary to open the aperture, by including the sailing navies of the Georgian era and to demonstrate the influence these navies have on the navies that followed, to include those of the twentyfirst century. The mission is for the Club to be the ‘goto’ non-profit naval history organisation of the Georgian era; one possessing a global reach. To facilitate this transition (it takes money after all), it was necessary to change the Club’s charity status and become a CIO under UK Charity Commission requirements. As a CIO, the Club can raise its profile, and it is easier for the Club to apply for grants. However, applying for grants to major fund providers requires the Club to demonstrate that the membership financially supports its mission, and that is why we have introduced the new fundraising programme, the Flagship Fund. See page 4 for a few details. A more descriptive explanation will be circulated to all of you soon. With that said, I think this edition of the KA reflects the course the Club has taken. Besides highlighting the Club’s activities since the previous edition of the KA and TD, our honourable editor has provided for our enjoyment a potpourri of articles that many will leave you with an, ‘I didn’t know that’ feeling. I for one didn’t realise that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution will be 200 years old this year. On a personal note, I always drop a few coins into the RNLI’s little lifeboats when I see one. I hope you enjoy fellow member, Captain Christer Hägg’s RSwN (Ret) short autobiography, which tells us why he became a marine artist. I am sure you will agree that Christer is a highly accomplished marine artist. The next Trafalgar Chronicle will have on its cover one of Christer’s works, which I think one could frame. You will note in KA’s New Members section, that we have experienced a significant uptick in new members over the summer months. As you will see, our membership is increasingly international; members from the US, such as Key West, and those from Bermuda, Canada, France, Italy and Germany! Finally, I am most appreciative of fellow member, Professor John Hattendorf’s article ‘The Historiography of Naval Life At Sea’. I think you will understand, after reading his article, why the Georgian era of sail has become so popular in the twenty-first century. Of course, there is Bridgerton, for those of you in the USA. Depending on whether you are north of south of the equator, I wish all a pleasant autumn or spring. Yours aye, THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE By Captain John Rodgaard, USN (Ret) Chairman, The 1805 Club In September I spent a week in the company of John Rodgaard and Judy Pearson (aka Mrs Rodgaard) at the McMullen Naval History Symposium in the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, USA, and elsewhere, and want to tell you all that I was very impressed by their enthusiasm, commitment, contacts and enjoyment of the whole shebang, together with the respect in which they are both evidently held amongst the world’s top naval enthusiasts, practitioners and servicemen and women. EDITOR’S FOOTNOTE
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