THE KEDGE ANCHOR Issue 62 2 Greetings fellow 1805 Club members, The view from my desk here in Florida is a different one from the Northern Virginia view that I prefaced in the spring edition of the Kedge Anchor. I can see the two lime trees struggling to produce limes for our gin and tonics and not house �inches building their nest. Also, across from my desk in our sitting room is a recent acquisition; a beautiful model of HMS Surprise (38). Glad to have her on my side. The day is 17 September, and the 80th anniversary of the famous World War II airborne operation MARKET GARDEN. This was an airborne operation involving three airborne divisions dropped along a north/ south corridor in the Netherlands; it turned out to be a ‘Bridge too Far’. You are probably wondering what does this have to do with The 1805 Club and the age of sail during the Georgian era? The ‘low countries’ (Belgium and the Netherlands) have been very strategic to Britain throughout history and during the Georgian era this part of Europe was no less important in Britain’s century-long struggle against France. I remember being told in one of my British history classes that whoever held the ‘low countries’ held a dagger straight at Britain’s heart. Or as Napoleon bragged ‘…that his �leet based in the dockyards at Flushing and Antwerp was a pistol at the head of England’1. I thought of the two major naval battles that took place off the low countries during the Georgian era; The Battle of Dogger Bank in 1781 followed by the Battle of Camperdown 16 years later in 1797. Both Royal Navy victories stymied the threat of the dagger or pistol. The former was during the Fourth AngloDutch War, whilst the second was fought against the Dutch who were allies to the French Republic at that time. Then, there were the two failed land campaigns that brought the British Army across; the Flanders Campaign of 1793-94 (The Duke of York had 10,000 men fame) and the medical disaster that was the Walcheren Island Expedition of 1809. The latter was the largest expeditionary force the British had sent up to that time across the North Sea. ‘The military objectives were soon overshadowed by an epidemic of disease that largely destroyed the army’2. The importance of the ‘low countries’ persisted through the world wars of the twentieth-century, culminating with another Walcheren Island operation in November 1944 — Operation INFATUATE.3 The capture of the island was a costly success for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines; they answered the signal to ‘Engage the Enemy More Closely’. Speaking of another island, we visited Nevis in August to attend the annual International Association of Caribbean Archaeology and to meet with the staff of the Nevis Historical and Cultural Society and members of the vestry of St. George and St. John’s Anglican Church. I updated them on the status of the Parish Register’s conservation, and I said it will be completed by the end of year. That includes the digitisation of the register with the production of two hardbound facsimiles by March. All agreed that a formal presentation of the register and the unveiling of the replica of Nelson’s uniform and tricorn hat would occur during the weekend of 8/9 March 2025. The date coincides with Nelson’s wedding day 11 March. With regard to the uniform display case, I am pleased to report it arrived, and all 800 lbs of it is safely stored within its massive shipping case. Many thanks to those members who made a donation to the purchase of the case. Since the last Kedge Anchor, you will see that the Club added several names to its muster book. One is Robin Rowland of British Columbia, Canada. Robin is working on two writing projects that I am sure our members would be very interested in knowing more about. One involves two black Royal Navy sailors who were captured in 1819 by Brazilian slavers and sold into slavery at Bahia, Brazil. They were rescued by Robin’s fourth great, grandfather and his nephew, who were British diplomats to Brazil. Robin’s second writing project is about a contemporary of HMS Pickle — HMS Beagle, and a 14 year old First Class Volunteer named Finlaison. As Robin wrote to me: ‘In 1805, Beagle (not Darwin’s Beagle) was one of Sir John Orde's scout ships and witnessed Villeneuve's �leet passing through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic. Beagle arrived at Cadiz after Orde had retreated and then shadowed the Spanish ships for a day before breaking off to warn Ferrol and then was one of the ships to arrive at Plymouth with the warning. From all my reading it looks like the role of HMS Beagle has been neglected in many of the histories. Robin may produce a book that will complement Captain Peter Hore’s book, HMS Pickle. Two other members who placed their X on our muster book are examples of the international nature of our membership. Paul Bowness, who is originally from Liverpool, lives in North Creake, Norfolk, England and his home is only two miles from Nelson’s Burnham Thorpe. Paul has always had an interest in Continued on page 4 THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Captain John Rodgaard, USN (Ret) Chairman, The 1805 Club
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