January 2016 - iiNetagostini/Newsletters/38 Nelson Newsletter... · January 2016 Program of Events ... Royal marines which was posted to Malaya during the 1951 ... They played social

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Portrait of Nelson b y

Cuthbert Collingwood

The Nelson Society of Australia Inc.

Newsletter

January 2016

Program of Events

Mon Feb 8th 6pm Picnic at Wireless Hill BYO

Mon Mar 21st 11am AGM Perth Yacht Club, South Perth

Wed May 11th 12pm “Colonel Despard” by David Agostini

Perth Yacht Club , South Perth

VALE November 18th 2015

Our Founder Graham Perkins

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Graham was a very humble man. He planned this funeral himself, working closely with the Rev Pam and with our friend Mike Binns who organised all the beautiful music for him. During their discussions he once told Pam that he couldn't think of many people who would attend as we hadn't lived in Mandurah for very long. I think he would be amazed to see so many old and new friends here and he would certain be honoured that the Standard Bearers have made the journey from Perth. Gentlemen my family are very grateful to you. Graham joined the Royal Marines in 1942, initially as a recruit who after 6 months was awarded a Hostilities Only Commission. In 1945 he took part in the D-day landings in command of LCG1 which gave “close in” gunfire support at Gold Beach throughout the operation. Fifty years later, Graham instigated and led the Committee which took two years to organise a Memorial to be built in Milford Haven in Wales to commemorate the tragic loss of two LCGs shortly before D-day. After the invasion of Europe he was sent to join 45 Commando Royal marines which was posted to Malaya during the 1951 emergency. From there they were moved to Malta and they participated in the Suez crisis. Graham used to tell two stories about being in Malaya, the first was about a jungle exercise where he was leading a patrol and on completion they made their way to a rendezvous point for pick up. Unbelievably, they came out of the jungle and hit the road at the exact pickup point. Graham apparently sat down to try and figure out how they had managed this feat when one of his troop commented -"typical bloody officer, sitting on a milestone with a map in his hands and he still doesn't know where he is!" The other of Graham's stories of Malaya was that in the aftermath of a very good dinner party he and friends were sitting on the veranda mellowing out over large glasses of brandy when he saw a tiger come out of the jungle, cross the bottom of the garden and disappear again. He shook his head, said nothing and decided he'd had enough brandy for one night. However, the next day another of the party goers commented on what a good evening it had been except for the excess of alcohol - which had caused him to imagine seeing a tiger in the garden. It transpired that they had all seen it! A bit like swimming with sharks – too close for comfort! Graham left the Regular Corps in 1958 and returned to his home town of Stratford on Avon to go into business with his father and the family was able to settle down, buy a house and build a home. These were basically our school years and my parents did every thing possible to provide a wonderful family life. We kept horses and a donkey - which Graham managed to get into the back of a combi van one day to take to a fete to give rides to disabled children. I still remember driving through the centre of Stratford on a busy Saturday afternoon with the Donkey's head stuck out the window and hearing the amazed exclamations of the passers by – “ look there’s a donkey in that car!” and Graham in the driver’s seat grinning all over his face shouting back “ yes it's a donkey in a car!” He stopped traffic that day!

Graham loved all animals. He and Joan were given a Labrador pup as a wedding present, extremely inappropriate during wartime and then went on to have two greyhounds who ruled their lives for many years. For the last 60 years we

have always had a German Shepherd dog, all of whom have been absolutely devoted to Graham. We also kept a donkey, chickens, ducks, geese and cats. Once a Marine, always a Marine and when he retired from the regulars he joined the Royal Marine Reserves, where he served for 11 years, firstly in Birmingham from where he organised a massive National Competition for Standard Bearers - the very first of its kind - I believe. Then later, he commanded the unit in Bristol, driving the 70 odd miles from home at least twice a week and frequently at weekends as well. He received his third RM commission so he held the HO, Regular and Reserve commissions during his career and

we believe that he is still the only officer in the Corps to have held all three. Through Graham's drive and hard work, ably assisted by Joan the family business thrived for several years until a severe warehouse fire almost destroyed everything. The company continued trading but my parents looked around for a new direction and Graham sold up and returned to work for the Ministry of Defence. He worked travelling around the country interviewing nominees to provide security checks for the crews of the Polaris submarine force. This was a job he enjoyed, he was always a people person and talking was definitely his forte. (I always used to jokingly complain about his severe speech impediment – ie. that he didn’t have an off switch). However, he suffered a severe back injury in a car crash which prohibited his working for many months and which plagued him with pain for the rest of his life. He eventually decided he had to retire in 1985. My mother will tell you how very grateful she is for the wonderful 30 years they had together after his retirement. They took up golf and played together 2 or 3 times a week. They played social bridge with friends and they were able to travel extensively. They visited me in the United States on four occasions and also my brother while he was working in Kenya. Graham still retained his service interests. He was an active member of the RMA and he formed the Retired Officer's Luncheon Club which is still going 25 years later. He also continued and developed his passion for gardening. During this time he grew sweet peas to local championship level and he continued to build water features in the garden of every house we lived in. These were always great building and engineering feats, they usually took several years to complete because he always had several projects on the go at once. It was a family joke that by the time one was finished it was time to move house again. He was always a sport fanatic and he kept as fit and active as his back allowed. He was a qualified soccer referee and also a boxing referee.

Obituary of Our Founding President Graham Perkins November 2015

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In fact boxing almost derailed his marriage before it even happened. Prior to his second date with Joan he went 3 rounds - almost prior to the knock out, with one of the Corps PTIs. He was beaten up so badly that when he called to collect Joan for their date she didn’t recognise him and had to be persuaded that he was indeed the man she had agreed to go out with. From an early age cricket was his passion and as a very young boy he cycled nearly 45 kms to watch Donald Bradman play at Worcester. He was also a lifelong West Bromwich Albion supporter and a very keen follower of steeplechasing - more for the love of the magnificent horses than for the thrill of the race. In1993 at the age of 70 he and my mother followed my brother and their grandchildren to live in Australia. He quickly grew to love his adopted country and became an Australian citizen at the earliest opportunity. I believe he only ever had two regrets about the move. The first was that he left all his old friends and service connections behind and the second that we didn't travel around Australia before settling down and setting up our home. However, he quickly established connections with ex-service association here including the RNA, the RMA, the Dunkirk vets and the Normandy Vets. . Then he discovered Admiral Lord Nelson. Mum and I considered that he became obsessed with the man who he always referred to as "my hero". He started the Nelson Society of Australia and even after we persuaded him to step down and take a less active role he remained the Society's Honorary Founding President. He and Joan joined Probus and were both active members

until very recently and continued to attend meetings. During this time he researched and wrote several historical presentations about Dunkirk, D Day and of course Nelson and his lady love, Emma Hamilton, and for several years he was a regular speaker on the Probus Club circuit. And then there was the Bridge club and Bridge, a game he truly loved and one that he was able to continue to play until just a couple of months ago. One other abiding passion in his life was his love of music. For many years he and I were regular attendees at the concert hall. We always sat in the Choir stalls - not just because they were the cheap seats but because he loved to watch the conductor's interaction with the orchestra. He chose all the music we will hear today, the Mendelson was his all-time favourite and he chose hymns sung to the tunes he had known and loved from his childhood. In preparing his eulogy I have been constantly reminded how energetic and talented a man our father was and how much he loved life and tried to live every minute of it. I feel how very fortunate we were to have him in our lives for so long. I want to finish by telling you what I believe was his greatest achievement. Admittedly it’s the one that he shared with our mother - but she will understand that today we are crediting his achievements. Marriage is a great institution, but it’s not an easy one for any couple. It takes hard work every single day; it takes courage, loyalty, understanding, patience, humour and above all lots and lots of love. Graham displayed all these qualities continually for 72 years - I have no doubt that he counted his marriage and his family as his life’s greatest work. His daughter, Linda Ford

Vale Graham Perkins

Our Founder, Graham Perkins, died on November 18th 2015 and was

farewelled by a large congregation of family and friends including many

members of the Society, at his funeral service at Christ’s Church in Mandurah

on Friday 27th November. Graham founded the Nelson Appreciation Society in

March 2001 and for the first year of the Society’s existence he combined the

offices of Secretary and Chairman. By virtue of his close connection with his

parish church of St. Michael’s in Mt Pleasant, meetings and most events were held there. Incorporation

of the renamed ‘The Nelson Society of Australia Inc’ took place in June 2003. At the 2005 AGM, at age 83, Graham was

appointed Honorary Life President and was encouraged by his family to take a back seat, but it took several years for that

particular message to sink in! By this time membership of the Society had reached over 60 with interest from Eastern States,

especially The Nelson Hotel at the Rocks in Sydney.

The most tangible item Graham proposed, and which was eventually proceeded with in 2007, was the production by Sheridan’s

of a Nelson Medallion. From the initial order of 50, Graham purchased 12 and a further 30 from the second batch in April 2008.

He took much pleasure in giving inscribed medallions to all those who had assisted him in those early days. A tireless advocate

for the Nelson Society he was always thinking of new ways to promote the Society, giving many talks to Probus Clubs, Rotary

and other organisations on various aspects of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson’s life and achievements – and I suspect that he had

a particularly soft spot for Emma, Lady Hamilton as well. On the 10th anniversary of the Society’s formation a capacity number of

members and supporters attended a formal lunch at which Graham was Guest Speaker. I think it fair to say that without

Graham’s enthusiasm and drive, the Nelson Society of Australia would long since have ceased to exist and we owe it to his

memory to keep the name of Horatio Nelson alive in Australia. In remembrance of Lt. Col. Graham Perkins, Royal Marines

Volunteer Reserve, members are asked to attend at the Capsule site in St Michael’s Church Garden of Remembrance at 11am

on Sunday 10 January 2016. Graham will be sorely missed and our deepest condolences go to Joan and family.

Mike Sargeant

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Admiral Spencer Smythe’s Trafalgar Naval General clasp with Trafalgar Clasp. It was shown by a descendant on the ARS. He

is wearing it in the lithograph with the last of the Officers that were alive at Trafalgar. He was 13 and a midshipman on the

‘Defiance’ in 1805. The clasp was valued at £5,000 at the Roadshow.

A cribbage board

commemorating

Trafalgar with

Lord Nelson

looking

extremely young!

Nelson Finds at the Antique Road Show

A letter written by the Assistant Surgeon present at Nelson’s Death on Victory, describing his death and the Battle.

A real find, a rare picture of

Horatia, daughter of Nelson and

Lady Hamilton at the age of three .

By John Jackson MM

Pencil drawing drawn 1804

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The common ancestor of David and Nelson is Robert Suckling MP whose likeness is shown here in a photo of a painting in Norwich. Robert was born in 1520 during the reign of Henry VIII and survived to see the reigns of Edward VI, Queen Mary, and part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He held the posts of the Mayor of Norwich on two occasions and was a Member of Parliament. An inventory of his property after his death included four bibles and a copy of Calvin’s Institutes. Possession of this last document in those turbulent time of religious persecution could have been extremely dangerous. Non-conformance with the religious dictates of the day was often an existential risk, and it would have been extremely hazardous to have been an advocate of Calvin during the reign of Henry’s daughter, Queen Mary. Possession of this document suggests that Robert was both intellectually curious and courageous. Suckling House, the home that he built in Norwich still stands and is open to visitors. It is located next door to St Andrew’s Church in which there is a substantial memorial to his parents, constructed by Robert’s son John. Robert’s son Charles born 1578, the direct ancestor of Nelson, lived to 1644 and had 10 children, the eldest of which carried his grandfather’s name, Robert. Charles’ sister, Maude, married Sir Peter Gleane a wealthy merchant of Norwich who was knighted by James I, was Mayor of Norwich, was a Member of Parliament, and a major property owner in Norwich. David’s family is descendant from this branch. The elder Robert’s son John was also knighted by King James I and Comptroller of the Royal household. John’s son James was a poet who became involved in the defence of King Charles I against Cromwell, attempting to rescue the King by bringing across French troops to his aid. His plan discovered, he had to flee for his life to France. Robert Suckling, son of Charles, born in 1602, attained the office of High Sheriff of Norfolk and lived to the incredibly advanced age for the time, of 88 years. His eldest son, yet another Robert, Nelson’s Great Grandfather, lived from 1641 to 1707. He married Ann Shelton in 1669 and they went on to have 14 children. Robert also attained the office of High Sheriff of Norfolk and was admitted to Gray’s Inn in 1662. Turning now to Maude Suckling, daughter of Robert Suckling MP and wife of Peter Gleane, we see that he was knighted by James I in 1624 Sir Peter was mayor of Norwich in 1615 and served in Parliament from 1627. Thomas Gleane, the eldest son of Sir Peter and Maude, moved the family seat to Hardwick, a village 13 miles south of Norwich. He built a large house known as “The Hall”, a substantial property surrounded by a moat and accessed via a drawbridge. After his death his eldest son, Peter, inherited the property and subsequently became involved in the civil war in which Oliver

Peter raised an army to support King Charles, was defeated by Cromwell’s forces and was forced to flee. His property, “The Hall”, was demolished by Cromwell’s army following Peter’s exile. The remains of the moat is today a reed filled ditch on a farm. With the return to

England of Charles II and the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the treason charges against Peter were removed and King Charles II conferred a Baronetcy on him in recognition of his service his father, Charles I Peter found himself honoured but in desperate poverty, his wealth dissipated as a result of his participation in the civil war. He wrote to the Earl of Yarmouth “My loyalty has left me but a small estate and contracting a great debt in his majesty’s service. I shall be glad to keep that little I have.” The records show that even this modest ambition was unfulfilled. After their deaths, Sir Peter and Lady Gleane were buried in the churchyard, not in the family

vault, as there was no money to pay for this.

Sir Peter’s son, Sir Thomas Gleane, born in 1660 the year of the restoration, inherited his father’s title as well as his debt which he was unable to discharge. He married and had 3 children, but was put into prison as an undischarged debtor. From there he wrote to Sir William Cooke “I am reduced to nakedness and unparalleled want and again throwne into the ffleet prison where I have been since 6th July last, and many days together bread and water has been ye chiefest support of me, my poor wife and two children. Sir Thomas’s youngest daughter, Frances, had earlier been christened in the church of Saint Martin in the Field, the bells of which, a gift from the city of London to the city of Perth, reside today in the Bell Tower in Perth at Barrack street jetty. She went on to marry William Perfect, the son of William Parfait a Huguenot refugee from the religious wars in France. Frances’ husband, William changed the spelling to anglicize the family name. Their son, also William Perfect became a minister of the church and in 1742 was appointed Vicar of East Malling in Kent. With his wife Sarah, he had a number of children, one of which was William Perfect III. The Rev. William died in 1757 only 2 years after the death of his father, and they were both interred in the same tomb in the churchyard at East Malling. William Perfect III was apprenticed to a surgeon in London and later returned as a doctor to West Malling to establish his same tomb in the churchyard at East Malling. William Perfect III was apprenticed to a surgeon in

London and later returned as a doctor to West Malling to

Robert Suckling’s Descendants — Horatio Nelson and Michael Agostini

A Talk given by David Agostini at The Royal Perth Yacht Club on September 12th 2015.

Robert Sucklng MP

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Robert Suckling’s Family Tree by David Agostini

Charles Suckling(1578-1644) John Suckling Controller to James 1 Maude Suckling m Sir Peter Gleane, (Knighted James 1)

Sir James Suckling

Sir Thomas Gleane m Elizabeth Breuse

Robert Suckling (1602-1690) Sir Peter Gleane (Knighted Charles II) m Penelope Rodney

Robert Suckling (1641 -1707) m Ann Shelton Sir Thomas Gleane(1660-1712) m Frances Chamberline

William Perfect m Frances Glean (1684-1749)

Rev Maurice Suckling (1676-1730) m Mary Ann Turner

Rev William Perfect (1712-1757) m Sarah

Catherine Suckling b 1725 Capt. Maurice Suckling (–1778)

m Rev Edmond Nelson Dr William Perfect III (1732-1808) m 2 Henrietta Johnson 1747-

Thomas Chamberlain Perfect (1777) m Ann Clegg

Clare Perfect 1816 m Dr Manuel Espinosa

Admiral Horatio Nelson ( -1805

) Anna Olivia Espinosa m Jose Manuel Farfan

Isobel Farfan m Athelstan Agostini

Joseph Emmanuel Agostini m Marie Rita Tardieu

David Agostini

Robert Suckling 1520 -1589

Mayor of Norwich

Admiral Nelson’s GGGGGrandfather

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establish his practice. He became known as the ‘Mad Doctor” because of his pioneering work in the treatment of the mentally ill. His first wife died leaving him with 6 surviving children and the need to remarry to provide them with a mother. His second wife, Henrietta Johnson was described as “having a quick tongue and looks that it would be hard to praise”. Nevertheless, they went on to have two children of their own. William established a hospital for the mentally ill in West Malling, a building that survives to this day. He became Grand Master of a Freemason’s lodge in Kent, and also did pioneering work on the science of immunisation. Dr William was the contemporary of both Horatio Nelson and his mother Catherine. We shall turn now to that other arm of the Tree and pick up where we left it with Robert Suckling, father of Maurice Suck-ling. Maurice, the grandfather of Horatio Nelson, was born in 1676, graduated from Cambridge with a BA in 1696 and MA in 1699. From 1701 to 1730 he was rector at Woodton, Norfolk, during which time he earned a Doctorate in 1728. In 1724 he married Mary Ann Turner, daughter of a Baronet from York-shire, and in the following year their daughter Catherine was born. They went on to have three further children, the eldest of whom was Maurice born one year after Catherine, in 1726. The Rev Maurice died in 1730. Their son Maurice went on to have a very successful career in the Royal Navy. He went to sea in 1739 at the outbreak of war, under the patronage of his great uncle Sir Robert Walpole. He commanded the HMS Dreadnought in 1757 in a battle in which the French were defeated. He mentored his nephew Horatio Nelson on his ship HMS Raisonnable in 1771 when Nelson was just 12 years old. Captain Maurice went on to become the MP for Portsmouth, and in 1778 Comptroller of the Navy. Captain Maurice died on 17th July 1778. Catherine Suckling was born on 9th May 1725 at Barsham Her father, the Rev Maurice Suckling died when she was just 5 years old and their mother, Mary Ann, moved with her children to Beccles, Suffolk. Two days after her 24th birthday, Catherine married the Rev. Edmond Nelson. He was later offered the role of Rector at Burnham Thorpe to which they then moved. Catherine went on to have 11 children in just 18 years dying 3 months after the birth of the last one. Having so many children so rapidly may well have contributed to her early demise. Rev Edmond Nelson was left with 8 surviving children to care for and was soon in financial distress. His brother-in-law, Captain Maurice Suckling, stepped in to help with the cost of the children’s education, and undertook to mentor one of the boys. Horatio was selected and subsequently taken to sea by his uncle. The Rev. Edmund Nelson was a scholar of some distinction. Born in Cambridge in 1722, he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the university there. He became curate in his father’s church in Sporle, Norfolk, and was later appointed to Beccles where he met Catherine. After Catherine’s death he became infirm and asthmatic and somewhat of a recluse. When Nelson returned from the West Indies with his new wife Frances, Edmond was reluctant to meet her. He wrote “I am now not anxious to see them. Him for a day or two I shall be glad, but to introduce a stranger to an Infirm and whimsical old man who can neither eat nor drink, nor talk, nor see, is as well let alone”.

When he did eventually meet Frances he warmed to her and,

over time came to act as her guardian during Nelson’s frequent absences on naval duties. They made trips together to Bath from where he wrote “Fanny truly supplies a kind and watchful eye over the infirmities and whimsies of age”. Nelson’s later abandonment of Frances when he became involved with Lady Emma Hamilton, led to considerable tension between himself and his father. When Rev. Edmond lay dying in April 1802 Frances was by his side but Nelson declined to attend. Nelson wrote “I have no hope that he can recover. God’s will be done. Had my father expressed a wish to see me, unwell as I am, I shall have flown to Bath, but I believe it would be too late. However, should it be otherwise and he wishes to see me

no consideration shall delay me for a moment.”

Edmond died that same day, the 26th April 1802 at the age of 80. Nelson paid his funeral expenses but did not attend the funeral in Burnham Thorpe. Turning back to the other arm of the Tree where we last considered the life of Doctor William Perfect, his death occurred a few years after Trafalgar, in 1809. Thomas, his son with his second wife, the reputedly unglamorous Henrietta, was born in 1777, went on to marry Ann Clegg of Maidstone, and had three children, the youngest of whom was Clare. She subsequently met a young man named Manuel Espinosa who was from Trinidad in the West Indies, was from one of the Spanish families that had colonised that island, and was in England studying medicine. They were married and after his graduation, moved to Trinidad where he established his practice in the town of St Joseph, the old Spanish capital of the colony. Trinidad had been a Spanish colony, discovered by Columbus in 1498, and first colonised nearly 100 years later in the late 1500’s with the establishment of a small Spanish settlement. The native peoples known as Caribs were warlike and their relations with the Spanish were tense. Their population was decimated by European diseases against which they had no immunity. The remnants of the tribe were subsequently killed off by the Spanish in retribution for a Carib uprising in which a number of Spanish civilians including women had been killed. After this the small Spanish colonial population were clearly underutilising the available land and this attracted the attention of French settlers on nearby islands on which all of the arable land had already been fully developed leaving limited opportunities for expansion. Negotiations led to a French / Spanish agreement, facilitated by the occupation of both thrones at that time by the Bourbon dynasty, to allow French settlers to develop the agricultural potential of the island. The European population quickly became dominantly French, notwithstanding its continued rule from Madrid. The chaos brought about by the French Revolution resulted in further French settlers arriving on the island. Large scale plantations were established, similar to those in Jamaica and the American colonies and in the same pattern as occurred in those places, slave labour from Africa was imported to work the plantations. In 1797 Sir Ralph Abercromby, later of Battle of Alexandra fame, arrived off the Island with a British fleet and took

possession of the colony.

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Our treasurer John Lyall receiving the Nelson

Medallion in recognition of his good work as

Treasurer from the Secretary Richard Savage.

Congratulation are also in order for John’s award

of the Croix de Guerre for his war time missions

over France.

Trinidad remained a British colony from that date until its independent status in 1962. It was during this period when Trinidad was administered from London, that the European population reorientated their commercial interests and, to some extent cultural alignment, to England. This explains the choice of England as the location for Manuel Espinosa, of Spanish colonial descent, to pursue his medical studies in that country. Clare and Manuel established themselves in St Joseph in Trinidad where they had two daughters, one of whom was Anna Olivia. She married Jose Manuel Farfan, also a descendant of the early Spanish colonists, although his mother was from the French family of Baleine de Creny. Jose was a Civil Engineer and businessman who travelled

extensively on business in Europe.

Their third and youngest child, a daughter he named Isabel was born in 1880. Isabel was sent at the age of 12 to boarding school in Southampton, England, remaining there until her schooling was complete and returning to Trinidad at 18. She married Athelstan Agostini in that same year, he being the grandson of Simon Agostini of Centuri, Corsica, one of the many French settlers who arrived there after the French and Spanish governments estab-lished the basis for French settlement in the mid 1700’s. Isabel’s eldest son Joseph married Marie Rita Tardieu, another descendant of the wave of French emigration in the late 1700’s ` .

This author, David Agostini, is their son.

Trafalgar Day Lunch at the Victoria League

Written by Admiral Nelson from HMS Vanguard off Toulon to Admiral Earl St Vincent, May 1798

Taken from “Nelson Speaks” by Joseph F Callo

“That the accidents which have happened to the Vanguard were a just punishment for my consummate vanity, I must humbly

acknowledge, and kiss the rod which chastised me. I hope it has made me a better Officer, as I believe it has made me a

better man. On the Sunday evening I thought myself in every respect one of the most fortunate of men, to command such a

squadron in such a place, and my pride was too great for man, but I trust my friends will think that I bore my chastisement like

a man; and it has pleased God to assist us with His favour, in our exertions to refit the ‘Vanguard’, and here I am again off to

Toulon”

John & Cynthia Lyall, a guest, Richard Savage, Gillian Mead and John Foster

David Agostini Bob Woollett and Robert O’Connor Richard Savage & fiancé Gillian Mead

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Thrush must have been surprised to receive his copy

of this letter, ordering that Sting should be

renamed Pickle fully knowing there was another Pickle

still in the West Indies. Sting, or rather Pickle as we

must now call her, had come

from the West Indies with a crew

of 40 men and one boy. Pickle’s

next commander was to be John

Richards Lapenotiere who was

baptised at Ilfracombe North

Devon on the 22nd of June 1770

and died at Menheniot near

Liskeard in Cornwall in 1834, only

his unusual name hints at the life of adventure and the

15 minutes of fame which he and the Pickle, enjoyed.

When Pickle arrived in Portsmouth in October 1801

she was in a poor state. The Admiralty had already

sent angry letters to the now-dead Seymour about her

purchase, and whose very existence seemed to rankle

in London. So when it was learned that she had been

coppered without their Lordships permission, another

direct letter was sent, demanding to know under what

authority the Pickle schooner was taken into dock and

coppered. The dockyard officers reported, in a

cringing reply, that much of the copper sheeting had

been missing and the caulking at the waterline was

loose. Pickle’s role under Lapenotiere’s two years

command was as one of the dogsbodies of the British

fleet blockading the French coast. It was an

uncomfortable task for a small ship built for speed in

tropical waters, and life on board was cold and wet.

Jack Nastyface in his Nautical Economy (1836)

recounted that on one occasion his ship went into

Quiberon Bay where the Pickle schooner joined them.

She was caught in a gale, and had the whole of the

watch on deck swept away, by one of those mountain-

ous waves breaking over her.

The story was plausible but untrue. However the

Pickle was not an easy ship in which to keep watch for

weeks off the coast of France and Spain especially in

bad weather and the stress on Lapenotiere and his

crew must have been very great.

Readings taken from ‘The Pickle’ by Peter Hore

Extracts chosen by David Agostini and read by Betty Foster at the Pickle Night Dinner 6th November 2015.

The schooner HMS Pickle acquired enduring fame as the

ship which carried home Lord Collingwood’s

dispatch announcing the British victory at Trafalgar and

the loss of Lord Nelson. The small armed schooners of

the Royal Navy played an essential

role in Britain’s dominance of the

seas. They were the link between

the Admirals and the Admiralty, the

fleets and the bases. Britain’s total

d o m i n a n c e o f m a r i t i m e

communications provided the rapid

movement of naval intelligence.

These little ships provided a pre-modern world wide web

which doomed Napoleon’s plans long before Villeneuve

and Gravina set sail from Cadiz. There is no proof, but

probably the first Pickle (1800 –1804) and Sting, which

became the second Pickle were being built in Bermuda

although at the time the names Sting has suggested to

some writers that she may have been American owned.

In December 1800 and again in January 1801 Admiral

Seymour wrote to the Admiralty about Sting. He already

had a ship call Pickle which was a tender to his flagship

Sans Pareil and which he had sent as a reinforcement to

Curacao. Now he needed a replacement for her at

Jamaica. He went ahead and purchased the Sting and

sought subsequent approval. This was not given and

instead he was reprimanded .

After Admiral Seymour died of yellow fever in the West

Indies Sting with Seymour’s coffin, made a fast

passage of four weeks from Jamaica to Portsmouth under

her commander Thomas Thrush. Seymour’s remains

were brought onshore at Portsmouth on the 16th of

October 1801.

In London the Navy office fussed about a vessel which its

officials regarded as the proper Pickle and on the fourth of

January 1802 wrote to the dockyard officers at

Portsmouth “we do hereby desire and direct you to cause

His Majesty’s tender the Pickle, that you were ordered to

register and establish on the 19th of February 1801, to

be supplied at Portsmouth with proportion of stores for

three months and as much provisions as she can con-

veniently receive without putting her out of her sailing

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Pickle and her commander were dependable. They

were quick and ready to serve, and Cornwallis,

Collingwood and the fleet had come to rely on them.

So it was a disgruntled Cornwallis who complained to

the Admiralty on the 7th Feb 1805, in general, about the

need for more dispatch vessels to carry the orders

between his ships and Plymouth and, in particular at

the redeployment of one of the little work horses of his

fleet.

He grumbled that “the Pickle, armed schooner, which I

had stationed there (off Ferrol), had upon her putting

into Plymouth, been sent away upon some other

service”. Pickle’s other service was to Jamaica.

Pickle’s service in the West Indies was to be brief

because on the 7th March 1805 Rear Admiral James

Richard Dacres gave Lapenotiere orders to return to

England.

Pickle’s new orders were to join Nelson.

Lapenotiere clearly knew that his priority was to join

Nelson, and even if the wind had got up and was now

to his advantage, he had no business prolonging a

fight with any Spanish gunboats. Consequently

he finished his report writing on the 21st 1 p.m. “There

being a breeze from the Eastward I made sail to ‘Lord

Nelson’, when the gunboats proceeded in company

out of the Bay, but not having received any further

annoyance I joined the squadron at Gibraltar on the 22

at 9 in the morning.

At Trafalgar

Nelson attacked from the west in two columns, the lee

column led by Collingwood in the Royal Sovereign

aimed at the enemy’s rear, and himself in Victory

leading the weather column towards the enemy’s

centre.

As Pickle tacked gently between the two fleets, Alma

noted ‘At 8 the enemy bought east distance 4 or 5

leagues, the Commander-in-Chief W.S.W. 2 or 3

leagues. Of Nelson’s famous signal ‘England expects

that every man will do his duty”. Almy laconically

entered in his log, “At 10 the commander-in-chief made

signal to prepare for action with a number of other

signals.” Pickle did not fire her guns in anger at the

Battle of Trafalgar, but as the British fleet sailed slowly

across the gap which separated it from the Combined

Fleet, Lapenotiere and his crew had a grandstand

view.

This is the story of Jeanette.

The French ship in flames was Achille, which had been

fired upon by several British ships and fought stubbornly

until an arms chest blew up; in a few minutes, when this

fiery mess of cordage and sail fell onto the boats and

spars towed on the deck below, the upper deck burst into

flames. As she drifted helplessly out of the battle, her crew

threw themselves into the sea. Lapenotiere saw the

flames and crossed the battlefield from north to south to

help rescue Achilles people, putting out the Pickle boats -

a cutter and a jolly boat into the water.

This was dangerous work Achilles loaded guns cocked off

in the heat and were firing cannon shot at random at

rescuers and survivors alike. Pickle’s muster list shows a

total of 160 prisoners taken on board, though how the tiny

Pickle could have borne so many is a source of

amazement.

Lapenotiere made no contemporary reference to one of

his passengers being a woman, though much later he told

Marshall she had been found “floating on an oar and

perfectly naked. A seamen immediately pulled off his

trousers and gave them to her. When she got on board

the schooner, she immediately began to relate with much

seeming pleasure, the number of men she had sent to the

bottom, who were endeavouring to take the oar from her,

and she appeared as happy and contented as nothing had

happened, although husband had fallen in the battle.”

This story has been embellished over time. One of the

earliest accounts of this lady was written within days of the

battle when Captain Robert Morse of Revenge gave this

version of Jeanette as she is now known: “I must tell you

an anecdote of a Frenchwoman. The ‘Pickle’ schooner

sent to me about 50 people saved from the ‘Achilles’

which was burned and blew up.

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Amongst them was a young Frenchwoman about 5

and 20 and the wife of one of the Main Topmen. When

the ‘Achilles’ was burning she got out of the gun room

port and sat on the rudder chains. Some melted lead

still ran down upon her and forced her to strip and leap

off. She swam to a spar where several men were, but

one of them bit and kicked her till she was obliged to

quit and get to another, which supported her till she

was taken up by the Pickle and sent on board the

‘Revenge’. Amongst the men she was lucky enough to

find her husband – We were not wanting in civility to

the lady; I ordered her two Pussers shirts to make a

petticoat and most of the ship’s officers found

something to clothe her; in a few hours Jeanette was

perfectly happy and hard at work making her petticoat-

In the aftermath of the battle

Collingwood, who had succeeded to Command of the

Fleet after Nelson’s death, transferred this flag from

the damaged Royal Sovereign to Blackwood’s frigate

Euryalus. Next day as dawn broke Lapenotiere saw

Euryalus away to the South South-east flying a signal

for him to come close again. At 10 a.m. Lapenotiere

was once more on the deck of whilst his boats were

removing the remaining prisoners into Revenge

The Race

Collingwood instructed him to take an urgent dispatch

to the Admiralty in London with the news of the victory

and the tragic loss of Nelson. His orders were to not

allow the Pickle to be delayed or detained for any

reason. Battling heavy seas on the way north

Lapenotiere was intercepted by Captain Sykes on the

Nautilus off Cape St Vincent. After explaining his orders

and then continuing north, he saw Sykes in the faster

frigate sail past him with the obvious intent of arriving

ahead of him at the Admiralty, and be the first to

deliver the important news. Unlike Sykes who sailed

into Plymouth where he was delayed somewhat by the

Vice Admiral on station, Lapenotiere chose to land at

Falmouth where he could avoid being delayed by senior

officials. He was able to arrange a post-chaise and

horses and depart for London with minimal delay.

The two captains raced across the south of England,

often having to stop for fresh horses. After 37 hours and

21 changes of horses, Lapenotiere managed to arrive

at the Admiralty a few minutes ahead of Sykes. He

delivered Collingwood’s all important dispatch, and in

so doing, carved a place in history for the proud little

ship Pickle.

The Battle honours in subsequent ships called

Pickle were in the Baltic 1855, Normandy 1944 and

Burma 1945.

A very happy and convivial Christmas meeting was held at the Foster’s home in Dalkeith. On

this occasion your editor decided to unwind the family ‘Paying off Pennant’. The advice given

to us by the experts was that every few years we must do this to check for silverfish etc. It

has been handed down in my husband’s family for over 200 Years - ninety five of those

years in the dry climate of Perth - and it is the only one in private hands in the world. It is

about 29 ft long. Captain Cass Halliday was only my Husband’s G G Grandfather. He was 30

years at sea including ten years in the merchant navy before moving to serve in the Royal

Navy in 1793 as a Master. In 1796 to1802 he was on the HMS ‘Mermaid’ as a master with

Collingwood as his Captain. After Trafalgar - Collingwood, now an Admiral , asked for

Halliday to become his Master, thus becoming Master of the British Fleet. He followed him

into HMS Queen then HMS Ocean and finally HMS Ville De Paris. and was with him when he

died. Halliday retired after the voyage home and died in 1818.

The members had three tables loaded with treasures for

members to peruse, your editor, giving a running commentary on many of the objects such as

his Indentures in 1783 into the Merchant Navy, the Log book ( mostly from HMS Ocean 1807-

1809), his sword, made in 1768 and used at Trafalgar, and his resignation to Lord Mulgrave.

There was also a copy of a letter to the Admiralty asking for all Masters to be made members of

the British Navy as Lieutenants. This happened before he retired but he did not take it up.

The Nelson Society Christmas Meeting at the Fosters

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Biographies of Nelson, in telling the stories of his battles, quote his versions, and add to the concept of his Immortal Memory. Nelson was ahead of his time in his media-savvy approach to public relations. He gave interviews to the Press and leaked his own accounts of battles, competing with his

superiors. Nelson wrote over a thousand letters, made tours in both Naples and England where people flocked to see him and hear his speeches. He had memorabilia made of himself, and he widely distributed copies of his achievements for people to read. Nelson built on a series of heroic exploits to win the hearts of his men, his officers and the people of Britain. He became a household name. At a time of great fear and threat of invasion by Napoleon. Nelson was the man of the moment. His personal ambition was perfectly aligned

with the needs of the country. With only the strength and reputation of the Navy as protection, Britain fought against most of Europe, with Napoleon at the height of his powers. The British needed to focus on a hero to rally their spirits and morale. There were other gallant officers at sea, and officers who had won major fleet actions, but none had Nelson’s personality, commitment, vision, courage and ability to inspire. Nelson is famous for two main reasons: his victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar, and his love affair with Lady Emma Hamilton. Nelson first met Emma briefly in 1793. The couple did not meet again until 1798, soon after Nelson had a glorious victory at the Battle of the Nile. Emma was married to the much older Sir William Hamilton; when they married in 1791, she was 26 and he was 60. He was British Envoy to Naples. Nelson lived with them at Naples where Emma nursed the battle-injured Nelson.. Nelson and Emma were both besotted with each other and the affair developed. Hamilton either did not know what was going on or, as a great admirer of Nelson, knew and turned a blind eye to it. They travelled as a threesome in Europe and England. The affair scandalised England. Emma fell pregnant with Nelson’s child, a girl Horatia. Horatia came to know that Nelson was her father but never knew, or at least always denied, that Emma was her mother. She was treated as an adopted daughter of Nelson. When Hamilton died, Nelson and Emma continued to live together in England. Emma and Nelson had another daughter (named Emma) who died aged four months in April 1804 without Nelson ever seeing her. On 14 September 1805, at Portsmouth, just before he set sail for Trafalgar, Nelson wrote the following prayer-“May the Great God, whom I adore grant me to fulfil (sic) the expectations of my Country, and if it is His good pleasure that I return my thanks will never cease being offered up to the Throne of His Mercy; if it is His good providence to cut short my days on earth I bow with the greatest submission, relying that He will protect those so dear to me that I may

leave behind. His will be done. Amen, Amen. Amen.”

Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 and died in the Battle of Trafalgar aged 47 on 21 October 1805, 210 years ago. He is Britain’s greatest ever naval Admiral who is commemorated in the traditional Naval toast to The Immortal Memory. Nelson was the son of a clergyman. In fact, he had 15 relatives who were clergymen in the Anglican Church, namely both his grandfathers, two of his great-uncles, eight cousins and two of his brothers. He was never defeated in battle and his four greatest victories were at Cape St Vincent 1797, the Nile campaign 1798, the Battle of Copenhagen 1801, and the Battle of Trafalgar 1805. He entered the Royal Navy at age 12 From his early teens, Nelson was commanding boats and cutters with up to 20 oarsmen. From the age of 18, he was in charge of a watch and took command of ships taken as prizes. By 21 he was a captain, responsible for hundreds of men. By his last campaign in 1805, he was ordering the destiny of 40 ships and tens of thousands of men. Through his close network of captains, Nelson was responsible for the men in battle, and responsible for feeding them, keeping up their morale and maintaining their ships in fighting trim for years at a time. From early times, Nelson deliberately strove to be courageous and be a hero. In 1773, at the age of 14, Nelson attacked a seven feet high polar bear in the Arctic by brandishing a rifle, so that he could take home the bear’s skin and impress his father. In 1774, at the age of 16, he was sick with fever from malaria; he recovered from a very low condition and resolved to be a hero in future “and, confiding in Providence, I will brave every danger”. In 1777, at age 19, he volunteered to board and capture an American brig as a prize in a fierce storm of driving rain, gales and heavy seas. Nelson and the American brig disappeared for four days, but then turned up at Port Royal in Jamaica, with Nelson armed with helpful information of French plans of their intended battles against Britain. Nelson lost his right eye at Calvi in 1794 and his right arm at Tenerife in 1797. He was very ambitious and the most frequent criticism of him was that he was vain. He had the great capacity to work together with the other captains in his fleets whom he described as his Band of Brothers. Before battles, he dined with his captains, explained his objectives and then left it to them to exercise their own initiative as to how they fulfilled those objectives Nelson was not satisfied with the extent of recognition accorded to him in the official record as to what happened in the Battle of St Vincent in 1797. The leader in that battle, Sir John Jervis (later Earl St Vincent), in his official version of the battle made no mention of the part played by Nelson, although Nelson initiated the main attack and captured two Spanish ships. Nelson remedied this by writing and distributing his own version, which highlighted his decisive involvement in the victory. Nelson’s writing style was vivid, colourful, racy and breathless,

and peppered with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible.

ADMIRAL HORATIO NELSON AND THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR By Robert O’Connor QC Oct 23 2015 at the St Louis Estate, Claremont

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The Battle of Trafalgar w a s b e t w e e n t h e British on one side and the combined fleet of the French and the Spanish on the other. There were 27 British ships and 33 in the combined French-Spanish fleet. The battle took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the south-west coast of Spain just west of Cape Trafalgar. Nelson also wrote the eighth codicil to his Will when he was “in sight of the combined

fleets of France and Spain, distant about ten miles”. which included the following “Whereas the eminent services of Emma Hamilton… have been of the very greatest service to our King and Country to my knowledge, without her having received any reward from either our King or Country…. Could I have re-warded these services, I would not now call upon my Country, but as that has not been in my power, I leave Emma Hamil-ton therefore a legacy to my King and Country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life.” Nel-son also made a financial request for Horatia, and added: At 11.45 am, with the enemy line about 1½ miles away at most, Nelson had his signals officer in charge hoist flags proclaiming this signal to his fleet: “England expects that every man will do his duty”. Until Trafalgar, the orthodox tactic was for the fleet to sail parallel to the enemy fleet and attack from there. At Trafalgar, Nelson changed that tactic and instead split his fleet into two divisions, one led by himself, the other by Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood and the two columns attacked the target fleet in lines perpendicular to the enemy. Nelson’s new tactic produced decisive results; the French and Spanish lost 22 of their 33 ships and Britain lost none of its 27.The respective tolls were as follows: French 1,425 killed, 2,296 drowned, 1,410 wounded, total 5,133; Spanish 1,033 killed, 1,371 wounded, total 2,404, a combined total of 7,535; the British 458 killed, 1,208 wounded, a total of 1,666 in the battle, Nelson walked around the deck of his ship Victory in his uniform and shining medals and awards, showing leadership by example. He was shot by a French sniper at 1.30 pm and taken below deck. He lingered for three hours , was told that victory had been achieved, to which he replied that at least he had done his duty. He uttered the words “Kiss me Hardy”. He died at 4.30 pm. It was the practice for any man, including senior officers, killed in battle at sea to be thrown overboard, and with no ceremony at all. to be buried at sea. An exception was made in the case of Nelson. Nelson whispered to Captain Thomas Hardy “Don’t throw me overboard, Hardy” to which Hardy replied “Oh, no, certainly not.” On board, there was no lead for a coffin, so a leaguer, the biggest cask on board, was used. The cask was filled with brandy. Brandy’s degree of strength, which governs its antiseptic quality, made it more appropriate than rum.

Nelson was placed in the cask standing on his head.

The Victory took seven days to reach Gibraltar and just over a further month to sail to Portsmouth, arriving on 4 December. On 11 December it sailed for the Nore at the Thames estuary. Nelson’s body had been preserved perfectly. It was found that all Nelson’s offal organs were perfectly healthy and so small that they resembled those of a youth rather than a 47 year old man. The fatal shot had passed through Nelson’s spine and lodged in the muscles of his back. The Victory anchored off Dover for four days. Eventually it anchored off the Nore on 22 December The body had been transferred to a lead coffin and was then placed in a wooden coffin made from a mast. It was transferred to the yacht Chatham which sailed to Greenwich, arriving 23 December. Nelson’s coffin lay in state for three days in the Painted Hall at Greenwich, with 15,000 people filing past the coffin with many more unable to gain admission. On the day before the funeral there was a procession and huge flotilla of barges and boats which, in the strong headwinds, took three hours to make the 21km journey up the Thames to Admiralty House. The funeral took place on 9 January, 80 days after Nelson had died. The funeral vehicle, designed to resemble the Victory, left from Admiralty House. The procession to St Paul’s Cathedral was 2 km long and took 2 hours. There were over 100 carriages in the procession The marchers included over 4,000 Army personnel, numerous Admirals, 100 naval captains, Greenwich pensioners, 49 seamen from the Victory, and Royal Marines. Tens of thousands of spectators watched the street parade. In its grandeur, the procession was indistinguishable from that for Royalty. The huge crowd waiting outside St Paul’s Cathe-dral was admitted into the cathedral at 7 am and waited seven hours for the funeral vehicle to arrive. The funeral service lasted four hours with the coffin being lowered at 5.30 pm into the grave under the cathedral dome.. The service concluded at 6 pm and it was 9 pm before the cathedral was cleared. Parliament did not accede to Nelson’s wish that Emma be provided with a pension. Nelson had made several bequests to Emma in his Will: a life interest in his house, lands and furniture at Merton; a life interest in the income from 70 acres of Nelson’s lands in the parishes at Merton, Wimbledon and Mitcham; an annuity of 1,000 pounds per annum from deposits in bank annuities, with a provision that any shortfall from that source would be made up from income from his lands; his Diamond Star; his silver cup which Emma had presented to him; all the hay on his property at Merton and in the parish at Merton; 500 pounds every six months, and 2,000 pounds. Nelson had already provided well for his wife Fanny when he separated from her Emma died in poverty in Calais in January 1815, aged 49. Horatia married, had ten children, and died in 1881, aged 80. It is 210 years since Nelson died. He will always be held in Immortal Memory. Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar spectacularly confirmed the naval supremacy that Britain had established in the 18th Century and Britain maintained that supremacy on the seas for the following

century. Robert O’Connor QC

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The Nelson Society of Australia Inc

Patron: Commodore David J Orr. RAN (Ret’d )

COMMITTEE 2015-2016 Chairman: Mike Sargeant

Vice Chairman: Bob Woollett Secretary Richard Savage Treasurer/Membership Secretary John Lyall Minutes Secretary Gillian Mead Members: Gwen Phillips John Caskey

OTHER POSITIONS Newsletter: Betty Foster, (editor), Bob Woollett,

(assistant editor) Rob O'Connor, (photos)

Nelson Dispatch Distribution: Gwen Phillips

Any enquiries ring Richard Savage 9310 6365

Pickle Night: John Caskey,

Bob Woollett,

Betty Foster

It was a very happy day for Nelson Society members who

attended the wedding of our Secretary Richard Savage and

our committee member Gilliam Mead.

May they enjoy a long and happy life together.