Rear Admiral Joe Callo USN Rtd

Joe retired as a rear admiral from a distinguished career in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1989. Since then he has established himself as a prominent naval historian, writing about Nelson and ‘America’s first sea warrior’ John Paul Jones, for which he won the Samuel Eliot Morison Award.

His career has taken him into TV scriptwriting and producing and he has won numerous awards, including the Peamariner-body Broadcasting Award and a 1998 Telly Award. He divides his time between Kansas City, Missouri, and New York City, where every November he arranges The Pickle Night Dinner at the prestigious New York City Yacht Club. Joe was well-placed to help The 1805 Club commemorate the naval operations during the bicentenaries of the War of 1812 and to extend its influence in the United States.

Dr Agustín Guimerá Ravina

Agustín has become one of Spain’s leading naval historians and has supported The 1805 Club since 1997 when he organised the brilliant bicentenary commemorations of the Nelson attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1797.  He is based at the Instituto de Historia, Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (CSIC) in Madrid.

A popular speaker at naval historical conferences, Agustín has himself organised two significant academic conferences in Spain, notably on the Battle of Trafalgar in Cadiz in 2003 and in Madrid in 2010, The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture. He was a key player in the series of international conferences on Naval Leadership in the Age of Sail (1750–1840). 

Agustín is keen to foster closer links between The 1805 Club and Spain, a country which played such a significant part in Nelson’s career and the final demise of Napoleon.

Randy B Mafit

Randy Mafit served as the Club’s North American Secretary since its earliest days and was also the Editor-Chief of The Kedge Anchor, which he organised from his home in Oregon. His role and personal enthusiasm was vital to the running of the Club for its North American membership.

He first visited Portsmouth and HMS Victory while studying in London in 1969.  Service in the U.S. Navy after college rekindled his interest in Nelson and English naval history of the Georgian era. He began to collect Nelson memorabilia when he and his wife Dana discovered a nice miniature of Nelson on ivory at a local antique market many years ago. Randy was captivated by the Hornblower books as a boy and he continues to read nautical fiction for recreation.

He and Dana make frequent visits to the United Kingdom and attend Club events whenever they can and enjoy meeting others with an interest in Nelson.

Ken Flemming

Ken was a founder member of The 1805 Club and served in the Royal Navy as a marine engineer at the time of conflict in Malaya, Aden and the Gulf States, as well as in more relaxed time.  Considerable service was spent on the Ton class minesweepers which he delighted in.

On leaving the service he became a manager with Tesco supermarkets before being appointed as a manager for a large Tesco distribution centre.

Somewhat missing the camaraderie of a uniformed, disciplined service he joined HM Prison Service becoming a Lifer Officer. Looking after the interest and welfare, at times, of notorious individuals who had received a Life Sentence of indeterminate length. Conflict caught up with him again at the Strangeways prison riot, Manchester. Being one of twelve officers to first re-enter the jail after two hours of it starting. Fighting was sometimes confined and concentrated, facing evil from the rioting inmates before finally helping to bring the insurrection to an end six weeks later. As a specially trained riot officer he took part in other prison disturbances throughout the country. He led a pioneering education program ... Read more...