Major Conference Explores Influence and Inspiration of Cuthbert Collingwood on Royal Navy, Post-Trafalgar
The death of
It was Collingwood who was responsible for the carefully worded Trafalgar Dispatch telling of victory at the battle and the death of
But Collingwood's skill as the consummate strategist in the ensuing five years made him the pivotal figure post-Trafalgar in containing the ambitions of
Just how influential a part he played will be the central theme at a major conference The Collingwood Years: Naval Strategy against Napoléon 1806-1810 which is being presented by The 1805 Club on Saturday September 13 and will be followed by a conference dinner.
It is no co-incidence the conference and wardroom dinner are being held at The Maritime Warfare School at HMS Collingwood in Fareham, named after the great admiral.
A distinguished panel of speakers will be exploring the influence and impact of Collingwood during those five years after Trafalgar, when he was acknowledged as "
Thanks to him, the professionalism and dominance of the Royal Navy post-Trafalgar managed to curtail
This blinkered attitude was in stark contract to that of his most famous land opponent, the Duke of Wellington, who said: "If anyone wishes to know the history of this war, I will tell them that it is our maritime superiority that gives me the power of maintaining my army while the enemy are unable to do so."
As a result of his essential presence at the hub of activities in the
More tragic still was the fact he never set foot on English soil again even though in his latter days in 1810, he told the Admiralty he was ill and wanted to return home. Sadly, he died just days into that last voyage.
Among the speakers will be Max Adams, author of the biography Admiral Collingwood: Nelson's Own Hero; Dr Eric Grove, Professor of Naval History at Salford University; Dr Malcolm Llewellyn-Jones of the Naval Historical Branch in Portsmouth; Justin Reay of the Bodleian Library in Oxford and Capitan José Blanco Nunez from Spain's Centro Superior de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional.
"The great victory at Trafalgar and the death of
"This unique conference is part of that process. Moreover, it is the first to focus on the workings of seapower during the years that followed Trafalgar and to contrast them with the strategic, operational and administrative complexities faced by today's Royal Navy."
The fee for the conference is £69 and further information is available from The 1805 Club website,
For more information, please contact:
Alison Henderson, Hon Press and Media Officer, The 1805 Club, alisonscolumn@yahoo.co.uk, tel:
About The 1805 Club:
- The 1805 Club was founded in 1990 to care for the memorials of the Georgian sailing navy, which are a vital yet often neglected part of
- To do this, the Club assists in the preservation of monuments and memorials relating to
- So far, the Club has either completed or assisted with over 40 major projects including the first memorial to
the Painted Hall,
dedicated last year
- Its major project for Trafalgar 200 in 2005 was the Trafalgar Captains' Project in which memorials and graves
published in a book "The Trafalgar Captains, Their Lives and Memorials."
- The Club promotes and publishes research into the Royal Navy of the Georgian period, especially that
- It also organises culture and historical events for the enjoyment of members and the public in general
- The Club currently enjoys a membership of nearly 500 globally.