Peter Warwick

It is with the greatest regret and sadness that I have to advise you of the death of Peter Warwick, early morning of Wednesday the 20th March 2019. I worked closely with Peter over the last 25 years to further the interests and objectives of The 1805 Club and have greatly valued his sound judgement. For the last and greater part of this period, 15 full years, he was the Chairman of the Club.

Details of the funeral arrangements will follow in due course. We must now work to preserve and build on Peter’s legacy. A fuller appreciation of Peter will follow in the next issue of the Kedge Anchor.

With good wishes to you all,

Bill White
Acting Chairman

Peter was our chairman of the Club since 2004 and served on the Council for 20 years. He was also a member of the Official Waterloo Committee, chairman of the Nelson Legacy Conference Series and an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Peter was vice-chairman of the Official Nelson Commemorations Committee and played a key role in the planning, development and organisation of the Trafalgar Festival and SeaBritain 2005. In particular he organised The Emirates Thames Nelson Flotilla, which recreated Lord Nelson’s riverborne funeral procession; co-organised The New Trafalgar Dispatch, pioneered the Nelson Decade Conferences, which revealed vital new insights into the conduct of Nelson’s battles; organised the Monmouth events for The Nelson Tour 2001, celebrating Nelson’s journey with the Hamiltons across southern England to South Wales; contributed to the bicentenary commemoration of the Battle of Copenhagen in Denmark in 2001, and was the British partner in the international events at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1997, marking the 200th anniversary of Nelson’s failed attack on the town.

Peter is also one of the permanent crew for HMS Victory’s Cutter, tender to the flagship of the Second Sea Lord and C-in-C Naval Home Command, and is also a committee member of The Society for Nautical Research, which rescued HMS Victory in 1922.

He has written articles on Nelson and naval history, and his first book, Voices from the Battle of Trafalgar, was published in 2005. He regularly gives lectures about Nelson, his battles, loves and leadership, as well as about the Royal Navy’s role in various theatres, notably the Baltic and the Mediterranean. His interests and lecture topics include polar exploration.

After graduating in Economics from Hull University, Peter spent 20 years working in the City and is a founder member of the Society of Property Researchers. In the early 1990s he became a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and established himself as an independent marketing and communications consultant. He recently assumed the chairmanship of Thames Alive 2012. Peter lives in Lewes.