2016members.iinet.net.au/~agostini/newsletters/39 nelson newsletter april 2016.pdf · 4 this cannon...
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Nelson Society of Australia Inc.
Newsletter
April 2016
Program of Events
Wednesday 11th May 12pm “Colonel Despard” by David Agostini
South Perth Yacht Club, South Perth
Wednesday 13th July 12pm Talk at Rosie O’Grady’s, Fremantle by Richard Savage
on the 2nd series of Nelson’s ships.
Wednesday 14th Sep t 12pm Speaker and venue to be announced later
Sunday 16th Oct. 12pm Trafalgar Memorial Lunch at Victoria League Shenton Park
Friday 4th Nov. 7pm Pickle Night at Wings Room RAAFA Bull Creek
Monday 5th Dec. 7pm End of year event . Details to be announced later
Nelson, Painted by Simon De Kosta
Number 39
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I have pleasure in presenting my report on the Society’s
activities since our last AGM in March last year:
The ensuing twelve months have seen a significant change in
your Society’s activities but all was overshadowed by the death
of our Founder and Honorary Life President,
Graham Perkins, on Wednesday November
18th, at the grand age of 94. Graham not only
founded the Nelson Appreciation Society - as
it was originally styled - in March 2001, but
in addition to running it almost singlehanded
for the first couple of years, was a tireless
supporter of the Nelson Society of Australia
(Inc.) - as it was to become – right up to the
end, and his knowledge of all things Nelson
was only exceeded by his enthusiasm. As I
said in my short Valedictory in the last
newsletter, “…without Graham’s enthusiasm
and drive, the Nelson Society of Australia
would long since have ceased to exist...”
He was farewelled by a large congregation of family and friends,
including many Society members, at his funeral in Mandurah on
Friday 27th November. He will be sadly missed by us all, and
from a personal perspective, I will miss our frequent chats and
his wise counsel .
In May we had the first of our informal lunchtime meetings, on
this occasion at Rosie O’Grady’s in Fremantle, where Rob
O’Connor gave us a very interesting short talk on the court
martial and execution of Admiral Sir John Byng. In an
encouraging start to the new meeting format, Rob’s talk was
well attended with probably the largest gathering of members
and guests - as well as several members of the general public -
that we have seen in years.
Richard Savage followed up in July with the first in a series of
talks about Nelson’s ships, again at Rosie O’Grady’s and then in
September, we held a lunchtime meeting at the South of Perth
Yacht Club, courtesy of David Agostini, who is a member there
and who gave us some interesting insights into his family
connections with Nelson through the Sucklings.
Then in October, we again joined with the Victoria League to
commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar with a lunch at their
Shenton Park headquarters, on Sunday 18th October.
The end of October also witnessed the marriage of two of our
Committee members, Gillian Mead and Richard Savage, on a
lovely sunny Saturday afternoon in South Fremantle.
NSA AGM Chairman Mike Sargeant’s Report– Monday 21st March 2016
Our Pickle Night Supper was held on Friday 6th
November at the RAAFA Estate at Bull Creek and
although numbers seem to be slowly decreasing each
year, yet a good time was had by all who attended
what has now become our longest
running annual event, and our thanks
have to go to Bob Woollett and his
committee – Bob has been the
driving force behind every Pickle Night
since its inception in 2001.
We finished the year with an informal
Christmas get together at the home of
Betty & John Foster, where Betty
showed us their extensive collection of
memorabilia, including “Orion’s” Paying
-Off Pennant, and then started the New
Year with a small gathering at St
Michael’s Church in Mount Pleasant on
Sunday 10th Jan. to commemorate Nelson’s Funeral
and the burial of our Time Capsule, ten years ago.
We completed the year’s activities with our annual
picnic on Monday 8th February, which was as usual,
one of the hottest days of the summer, but
nonetheless enjoyable in the comparatively cool
evening breeze on Wireless Hill. During the year, the
winner of the Sword of Excellence for 2015 was
announced – he was Lieutenant Commander Aditi
Khanna RAN - although we have heard nothing
further about when the Sword is likely to be
presented, or indeed of the presentation to the 2014
winner, Lieutenant Nicholas Graney. Nevertheless it is
pleasing to note that Navy has now caught up with the
backlog; at least the announcement of each annual
award is now being made in the year in which
it occurs and I get the impression that the Sword of
Excellence is regaining some of the importance and
regard in which it was held by RAN in earlier years.
This is particularly gratifying in view of the fact that the
Sword of Excellence Award is probably the most
significant thing that the Nelson Society of Australia
has contributed in its fifteen years of existence.
All Committee members have re-nominated for office
in the coming year for which I am extremely grateful,
but there will be a rotation of some of the positions.
.
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Richard Savage, who has served on Committee for the last ten
years, six of them in what I consider to be the most important role
in the Society - that of Secretary – has decided to relinquish that
office, and I should like to acknowledge Richard’s contribution and
his enthusiasm and industry over the years. As Secretary, he has
been a tower of strength and, incidentally, has been performing a
similar function for the Australia Britain Society for a number of
years as well. He is now retiring to the backbenches so to speak,
as will his new bride, Gillian, who is stepping down as Minutes’
Secretary but both will remain active Committee members.
At the AGM Graham Chapman was
presented with a Nelson Medallion
by Mike Sargeant as a thank you
for his being a standard bearer at so
many of the Nelson Society’s formal
functions over the years.
He was also given a certificate of
recognition for his good work.
Lunch following the AGM
“The Russians seem to be more interested in taking ports in the Mediterranean
than destroying Bonaparte in Egypt”
Nelson December 1798
The securing of Mediterranean ports had been a goal of Russian leaders for centuries, and Nelson recognised that ongoing
reality to his theatre of operations. His brief observations in his report to St Vincent was another piece of evidence proving that his
grasp of strategic issues went beyond his immediate duties.
Comment by Joseph F Callo from his book ‘Nelson Speaks’
My grateful thanks to them both and my thanks also to David
Agostini who has nominated for the position of Secretary.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to all Committee members
for their devotion to Society affairs, because without them
we wouldn’t have a Society, I mentioned earlier, when
paying tribute to out late Founder, that Graham was largely
responsible for the longevity the Nelson Society of
Australia, but I think Richard should also share some of that
responsibility. In closing, I must also give my thanks to our
Patron, David Orr, who despite declining health continues to
support your Society. Mike Sargeant
At the AGM
Nothing much has changed in 200 years
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This cannon ball from HMS ‘Victory’ originally belonged to the Ship’s surgeon, Dr Beatty, and was then passed down through the
family. The mahogany part of the pedestal comes from the Spanish prize and the oak section from the mainmast of the ‘Victory’ .
The silver plaque conveying this information was made from a Spanish dollar.
Another find on The Antique Road Show
This bust-length depiction of Emma Hamilton as Joan of Arc may well be all that remains of Romney’s original whole-length painting of this subject (dimensions unknown) that was begun by Romney in 1791 and never finished. The picture remained in the artist’s possession and was included in his posthumous studio sale in 1807. The work is first mentioned in a letter in the summer of 1791 from Romney to his friend and biographer William Hayley (1745-1820) in which the artist discusses his plans to paint two Joan of Arc subjects, one depicting her with a torch in her hand. Why Romney’s original canvas might have been cut down is unknown but it seems possible that it could have been altered by a dealer, probably sometime in the 19th century, who wanted to make the picture more easily marketable. In the early 20th century, Ward and Roberts described the present painting as unfinished and as depicting Joan in blue and yellow drapery, with her right arm raised over her head; they concluded that it was probably all that remained of Romney’s original. Though clearly not in the same state as it was when Ward and Roberts described it, Alex Kidson points out that this is likely due to the work having undergone different courses of repainting and reworking in its complex history. What remains undisputedly by Romney’s hand is the very fine head, which still displays the artist’s original paint handling. As Kidson points out, “Certainly Emma’s head itself, with its striking expression of heroic idealism, accords with Hayley’s description of it as ‘one of the finest, that he ever painted from the features of his
favourite model.”
Portrait of Emma Hamilton as Joan of Arc
by George Romney.
It sold in January 2016 for $93,750.00 US
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In this unfinished head-and-shoulders portrait of Nelson in profile, he is in Vice–
Admiral’s undress uniform, 1795-1812, and wears the riband of the Order of the
Bath. Done from life, the original sketch is claimed to be one of the portraits that
Nelson thought a close likeness. He is shown with weather-beaten skin, grey hair
fashioned in a queue and he stares fixedly ahead with his sound (grey) left eye. The
loosely sketched background suggests clouds. His initial portrait was probably
made for Lady Hamilton a few days before he sailed for Denmark. This version is
thought to have been made for Nelson’s sister Susannah. The Dutch painter Simon
de Koster was born at Middleburg. He studied at the Academy there and afterwards
became a pupil of Thomas Gael. In 1788 he came to London and became a portrait
painter, remaining there until his death. A posthumous copy of this portrait was
made by the painter John Whichelo, who also produced the last authentic portrait
of Nelson. George Cruikshank was among the artists who engraved this portrait,
and a collection of silhouettes in the British Museum is also based on it and related
drawings, It was also used as the basis for an engraving used for the medallions and brooches manufactured after Trafal-
gar. The painting was acquired from the collection of Frances Girdlestone, the great-great niece of Susannah, Nelson’s
eldest sister. An oil copy of it was also made for Frances in 1935.
This long bust-length portrait of Nelson in Vice-Admiral's undress uniform, painted between 1795-1812, shows him
wearing a hat and has previously mistakenly been stated to relate to Keymer's por-
trait at Great Yarmouth, for which Nelson sat at the Wrestlers Inn between 6 and 11
March 1801, when in the 'St George' as second-in-command to Sir Hyde Parker, before
their departure for the Baltic and the ensuing Battle of Copenhagen. However, that
portrait (now in the Nelson Museum, Great Yarmouth) shows Nelson hatless and in
full dress but facing to the front. Keymer gave this portrait, after Trafalgar, to the
Society of Friends, a private Yarmouth club of which he was a member. It was then
put in the elaborate frame which still holds it and hung in the room used by the club in
a Yarmouth inn. It was subsequently put in a panelled room (called the Nelson Room)
in the old Star Hotel after the club followed the landlord there, but from about 1907 it
was moved to Yarmouth Town Hall. (The panelling of the room itself was sold to
America in about 1913 and remained unused until 1966 when it was acquired and
re-erected in the Metropolitan Museum, New York). The present painting is noted in
the NMM 'Preliminary Catalogue' of 1961 as a study for a more finished version, then
in the collection of Captain D.H.C. Cooper RN at Windlesham. Despite the fact that it shows Nelson as Vice-Admiral (which
he became on1st January 1801) it is possibly based on a sketch Keymer may have done when he saw Nelson on his return
to England at Yarmouth in late 1800, since there is reason to believe from the Society of Friends minute books that he was
briefly in their company at the Wrestlers Inn on 6-8 November while he and the Hamiltons were staying there. Nelson also
left with Keymer one of the versions of the Guzzardi portrait that he brought home in order to make a copy. This was then
very rapidly engraved by John Young and published on 8 December 1800.
It is well recorded that Keymer was not happy with Guzzardi's portrait and, in the following March, while the fleet was
preparing to leave for the Baltic, persuaded Nelson to sit for the one that remains at. Although it is in fact of similar quality
to the Guzzardi and Keymer’s study is at least less stilted and more natural. For some reason not yet clarified, neither it,
nor the finished version already mentioned, is included in Richard Walker's generally comprehensive catalogue of 'Nelson
Portraits'. In 1798 Nelson had been badly wounded at the Battle of the Nile and, when Keymer saw him both in 1800 and
early 1801, was still in relatively poor health and with his marriage in ruins. There was always a conflict for him
between his successes in battle and heady taste of victory on the one side, and sickness and problems in his private life
on the other. He complained frequently of pains and illness, having been severely wounded three times. In the Keymer
portrait a curl of grey hair has been carefully placed close to his sightless right eye.
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Admiral Nelson recreating with his Brave
Tars after the Glorious Battle of the Nile
“The Gallant Nelson bringing home two
uncommon fierce French Crocodiles from
the Nile as a present to the King”
Printed Oct.1798
‘Brave Nelson’s Last Lash or a Present
for the Don’s’ Published Dec 1805
1.“Danny Jack what a Gig what a true British whim
Let the Fiddles strike up on the Main
What Seaman would care for an Eye or a limb
To fight or the Battle again.
(Chorus) Put the Bumpers about and be gay ,
To hear how our Doxies will smile,
Here’s to Nelson for ever Huzza
And King George on the Banks of the Nile.
2. See there tricoloured rage how they’re doft ,
To show that were Lords of the Sea .
While the standard of England is flying aloft
Come my Lads let us cheer it with Three.”
“Why D...n me Jack if this isn’t the ship we had a
brush with once before. It’s recorded the largest in
the world. I hope that we shall get her home that
Poll may see her! (“Santissimo Trinidada”)
“Now my brave Fellows we may make sure of
twenty of them, and here is an Old acquaintance
of ours, that I wish to pay my respects to in
particular, you will Lash us together as fast as
possible. And then Give her a hearty and warmest
Salute as you have ever been famed for.”
“Come along you Hypocritical Dogs. I dare say
you’re Dam’d sorry now for what you have
done. no. no. I shall bring yo to my Master.
Aye, Aye, what Horatio has got un at last. Why
there be the Old Cock Deviler. I thought as how
he would not go so far for Nothing
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This is the bullet which killed Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of
Trafalgar, in 1805. Although Nelson died, the Royal Navy won the
Battle, devastating the French and Spanish fleets.
This ended Napoleon’s hopes of invading Britain and, 10 years later,
a British Army completed the final defeat of France at the Battle of
Waterloo. The item now forms part of the Royal Collection at
Windsor Castle.
A handwritten memo sent by Admiral Lord Nelson, on the eve of the Battle of
Trafalgar, shows that the naval hero had more on his mind than defeating
the enemy. Rather than worrying about battle plans, the 47-year-old naval
tactician was thinking about onions, and how the Pursers of his Fleet were
profiteering by using up free Government supplies of them and keeping the
money for food for themselves. On October 10, 1805, Lord Nelson fired off a
detailed bureaucratic missive, telling the purser of every ship of his Fleet not
to cheat the system.
***********************************
“Victory” off Cadiz Oct. 10 1805
Memorandum
Having frequently known that onions have been purchased on account of
Government when in Port where the purser could and ought to purchase all
vegetables to be put into the Ship’s Company Soup and the onions so
purchased by Government decruiting the health of the Ship’s Company
have been used for the benefit of the Purser by putting those vegetables into
the soup which the Purser should be obliged to purchase when to be
procured. It is therefore my positive direction that the Pursers are obliged to
purchase vegetables for the ship’s soup when it is possible to purchase
them, and that the Government Onions are not used for the Soup if the
Purser has the power of obtaining onions and other vegetables as he is
bound to do.
And it is my further direction that whenever fresh provisions can be procured
on reasonable terms that it is purchased, but that the onions for the
Account of Government are not purchased without my Order. Ships absent for any length of time from me are at liberty to
purchase the gratuitous onions of Government for decruiting the health of the ship’s companies who may be long fed on salt
Provisions.
Nelson Bronte
Bizarre Memo sent by Admiral Nelson on Eve of Trafalgar Reveals his concern after Fleet’s Pursers were found to be cooking the books over onions .
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The Nelson Society of Australia Inc
Patron: Commodore David J Orr. RAN (Ret’d )
COMMITTEE 2016-2017 Chairman: Mike Sargeant
Vice Chairman: Bob Woollett Secretary David Agostini Treasurer/Membership Secretary John Lyall Members: Gwen Phillips John Caskey Richard Savage Gillian Mead Betty foster
OTHER POSITIONS Newsletter: Betty Foster, (editor), Bob Woollett,
(assistant editor) Rob O'Connor, (photos)
Nelson Dispatch Distribution: Gwen Phillips
An annual Trafalgar Day parade is held in London by the Sea Cadet Corps
to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson
on October 21, 1805