THE TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE Journal of THE 1805 CLUB No. 23, 2013 TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE Edited by Huw Lewis-Jones
ii Cover Illustration: HMS Victory in her final berth at Portsmouth, from an original drawing by Hanslip Fletcher, 1932. Courtesy Michael A. Nash Archive. Edited by Dr Huw Lewis-Jones. Published by The 1805 Club, 2013. Publication Design by Bumblebee www.bumblebeedesign.co.uk Printed by BD&H, Litho and Screen Printers, Norwich. ISBN: 978-1-902392-23-3 Full-hull model of the Victory, launched in 1737, c.1744. SLR0449: Greenwich Hospital Collection. © National Maritime Museum, London. This model will soon be on display again, alongside many other treasures, in the new 'Nelson, Navy, Nation' gallery.
THE TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE Journal of The 1805 Club. No. 23, 2013 Editorial – Huw Lewis-Jones vi The President’s Dispatch– Admiral Sir Jonathon Band viii The Chairman’s Dispatch– Peter Warwick x The Moutray Memorial – Stephen Howarth 1 Seeking ‘Damnation Alley’: Jack Tar and the Georgian Bawdyhouse – Emily Brand 20 Nelson: ‘Forever in Love’ – Joseph F. Callo 33 From Cadiz to Tenerife: The Account of Captain Ralph W. Miller – Agustín Guimerá Ravina 45 The Riddle of Copenhagen: Nelson and the Danes Revisited– Hans Christian Bjerg 73 Captain Robert Redmill, CB RN: Part I – Mark West 87 Portrait of a Trafalgar Midshipman: John Windham Dalling of HMS Defence – Stephen Wood 103 Napoleon’s Doctor – Peter Hicks 123 The Effectiveness of Not Using Naval Firepower: Admiral Saumarez in the Baltic – Tim Voelcker 145 Nelson Expects – James Taylor 159 The British and Venetian Nautical Schools in the Eighteenth Century – Timothy McEvoy 177 Luke Brokenshaw, Master RN: Part 2 – Nigel Hughes 192 Carnarvon and Coal Consciousness – Steven Gray 213 The Explosive History of Nelson’s Pillar – Andrew O’Brien and Ken Finlay 229 Nelson’s Contemporaries in Warship Figureheads – David Pulvertaft 243 New Approaches to Conserving HMS Victory – Andrew Baines 258 A New Gallery at the National Maritime Museum– Quintin Colville and James Davey 275 The 1805 Club Research Project: Nelson’s Band of Brothers – Peter Hore 286 The Death of an Admiral: The Cecil Isaacson Lecture, 2013 – Michael Crumplin 293 Contributors’ Biographies 302 Notes for Contributors 307 iii
THE 1805 CLUB President Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB DL Past President Mrs Lily McCarthy CBE (1914-2005) Vice-Presidents Rear-Admiral J.F. Callo USNR (Retd), Mr K. Evans*, Mr K. Flemming*, Dr A. Guimerá-Ravina, Mr & Mrs G. Jeffreys, Mrs J. Kislak, Randy & Dana Mafit, Mr M. Nash*, Mrs W.J.F. Tribe OBE JP, Mr T. Vincent* Chairman Peter Warwick 4A Camp View, Wimbledon, London SW19 4UL Vice-Chairman Bill White Secretary John Curtis 9 Brittains Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 2JN Treasurer Lindy Mackie Membership Secretary Barry Scrutton 1 Cambus Road, London E16 4AY North American Secretary Captain John Rodgaard USN (Retd) Editor, The Trafalgar Chronicle Dr Huw Lewis-Jones Editor, The Kedge Anchor Ken Flemming Conservation Officer Paul Ellis Education Officer Dianne Smith iv
Webmaster Josephine Birtwhistle Chaplain to The 1805 Club (Ex-officio) Reverend Peter Wadsworth Members of Council without Portfolio Stephen Howarth, Gillian Knight, Carol Robbins and Stephen Tregidgo *Indicates Founder Member. All posts listed above are honorary. The Club’s Bank Lloyds TSB, 27 High Street, Whitchurch, Shropshire SY13 1AX Account Number: 11193060 Annual Subscription Rates Members: £35 / US$70 Schools: £50 / US$100 Corporate Members: £100 / US$200 Membership of The 1805 Club The 1805 Club is a non-profit-making voluntary association dedicated for the benefit ofthe public to the preservation and maintenance of Nelson-related graves and monuments. The 1805 Club also publishes original Nelson-related research, reprints, rare Nelson-related documents and organizes events of interest to students of the Royal Navy in the age of sail. Membership of The 1805 Club is open to all and is by direct application to, or special invitation from, its governing Council. Subscriptions are due on 1 January each year. All members receive, post-free, the Club’s news magazine The Kedge Anchor, theClub’s journal The Trafalgar Chronicle and the Club’s occasional papers. A charge may be made for other special publications. A prospectus is available on request from the Membership Secretary or the North American Secretary. For economy of administration, members are encouraged to pay their subscriptions by Standing Order. Disclaimer The opinions expressed in The Trafalgar Chronicle are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The 1805 Club as a whole. Registered as a Charity in England and Wales Registered Charity No. 1071871 v
Editorial Huw Lewis-Jones I find that few think as I do – but to obey orders is all perfection! To serve my King and destroy the French, I consider as the great order of all, from which little ones spring; and if one of these little ones militate against it…I go back to obey the great order and object, and down, down with the damned French villains. Nelson writing to Duke of Clarence, HMS Vanguard, November 1799. Nelson was never afraid of going it alone. His approach certainly made some of his superiors at the Admiralty nervous. However, those who fought with him were inspired by his decisiveness. His directness in issuing his own orders, and his style in the toughest of actions, ensured him a devoted following among his young officers. Combat command was his strength. Our Club Vice-President Admiral Joe Callo agrees: ‘Nelson had an uncanny ability to grasp both strategic and tactical situations, and he repeatedly risked his career to do the right thing based on both the situation at hand and his overall mission’. It was fortunate that there were many seniors, like Admiral Earl St Vincent, who supported Nelson without fail, recognising his value as a warrior and leader of men. Nelson’s sense of duty was clear – to his country, though perhaps not to his wife – and he delivered on the promises he made to dear England. Dying amid the cannon’s roar of Trafalgar, with victory assured, he had surpassed everything that was expected of him. Those ‘damned French villains’ never stood a chance. Year on year the contributors to this journal exceed my expectations. As their Editor, mine is the gentle guiding hand, but they never fail to deliver on the promises they make. It has been a real pleasure working on The Trafalgar Chronicle for almost a decade now. My authors – a ‘band of brothers’ indeed, if you’ll excuse the parallel – are a wonderful bunch and this journal is what it is because of their efforts. I’ve always seen it as my duty to serve up a variety of maritime subjects. This golden age of history has a wide horizon and it would be wrong to confine it just to one man, however great he undoubtedly was. Nelson is the main character in this year’s journal, of course, but he is joined by many others. We have brief lives of some of Nelson’s contemporaries, men who vi
spilt blood alongside him; we witness their legacies in private journals, in stone memorials, or carved in ship’s figureheads. We even have an account of Nelson’s nemesis Napoleon, languishing in exile. We have new research on fleet actions, diplomacy and training, surgery and strategy, and on the time well spent by sailors ashore, in both schoolroom and bawdyhouse. We have an explosive history of a Nelson memorial, striking recruitment posters, and even a glimpse into our Hero’s love life. I’m also delighted that we carry contributions from the new Curator of HMS Victory – who gives an account of the very latest preservation activity aboard this illustrious, and still commissioned, warship – and also from the team at the National Maritime Museum, whose new Nelson gallery is soon to open. Clearly, there is still much to be discovered and shared in familiar subjects, so I trust that there is enough in this year’s journal to satisfy a range of tastes. Bon Appétit! Huw Lewis-Jones vii ‘John Bull Taking a Luncheon’, 24 October 1798, a print by James Gillray published just after victory at the Battle of the Nile. Nelson is shown in the forefront of naval heroes, serving up victories to ‘Old GrumbleGizzard’ – the British public – to satisfy the appetite for enemy ships. Courtesy Private Collection.
viii The President’s Dispatch Admiral Sir Jonathon Band Connected as I am to a good number of organisations, charities, societies and clubs, I receive a large number of journals. I am therefore able to compare the quality of editorship, presentation and content of them. So I can tell you that we are amazingly well served by ours. It is, therefore, an honour to be invited to pass on some thoughts from my position as your President. One of our strengths is the range of events and activities in which our members are involved. This reflects initiative, energy, imagination and plain hard work and they are key ingredients for success as we take the Club forward. As our future course is plotted it will be important to continue our strategy of visiting and maintaining the graves of the admirals and captains. This is not just because this activity is our core object but also because it will, if properly promoted, give us regional publicity. This is vital if we are to maintain, and if possible, increase our UK membership. Strong membership is crucial for the long-term viability of the Club and I believe ours should be bigger and not just at home but also abroad. In view of the interest in our period of naval history in both the USA and Canada we should be attracting new members from these countries. Let’s see if you can help. Continuing on the theme of relevance and membership, I am pleased to hear that we are continuing to engage in a strong educational theme. The schools programme is vital in this regard as we must endeavour to sow early the seed of maritime understanding. The continuation of the Colin White Memorial lecture is very good news and I am personally delighted with the lectures initiative at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth. As many of you know, one of my personal crusades, and you might say hardly surprising for a former First Sea Lord, is helping to promote maritime understanding. That is why I am so keen for our Club to play its part, which I must say it does. Indeed, I would say we punch above our weight. This year I have been supporting the Battle of Atlantic 70 commemorations in London and Liverpool. May 1943 was the month when the campaign turned in our favour and so May was chosen as the month to hold events. The main focus was Liverpool, which of course was the key port for the import of food, supplies and war material. It also provided the Naval Headquarters. Surprisingly the weather was on our side and huge crowds
ix developed on the pierhead to see a good selection of Allied Warships and to learn of the extraordinary dedication and bravery of the Royal and Merchant Navy crews. They battled the elements and the U-boats to firstly ensure that our nation did not starve when we stood alone and then to build up the stocks of men and material required to launch D-Day. A history conference, band concerts, parades, Veteran events and finally a huge service at Liverpool Cathedral completed the programme for the weekend. Looking ahead to next year the naval family will become engaged in the start of the centennial commemorations of the First World War. This will be helped by the opening of the ‘Hear My Story’ (HMS) galleries at the NMRN in Portsmouth. Alongside the ‘Nelson’ and ‘Sailing Navy’ galleries, and of course, the Nation’s Flagship Victory, we have the opportunity to connect the centuries. Let us make sure that we do. Admiral Sir Jonathon Band ‘England Expects’, a Trafalgar centenary souvenir from 1905. Courtesy Private Collection.
x ‘A Sailor bringing up his Hammock’, by Gabriel Bray, watercolour, 1775. PAJ1989: Purchased with the assistance of the Society for Nautical Research Macpherson Fund. © National Maritime Museum, London.
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