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Press release: Wednesday 3rd September 2008
A special ‘pilgrimage’ visit is being made to north Norfolk at the end of September to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.
Eighty members of The 1805 Club and their guests will be spending the weekend of September 26th to 28th in Burnham Thorpe and King’s Lynn to celebrate the anniversary which falls on September 29th.
Nelson was born at Burnham Thorpe in 1758. So began the start of one of the most illustrious careers in Naval history until he was mortally wounded at the height of the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21st 1805 aged 47. He then died knowing victory was his.
This unique weekend will revisit many of the places where Nelson spent his formative years as a boy with Club members having an opportunity first to visit Nelson’s school, Paston College at North Walsham.
Celebrations officially start on the evening of Friday September 26th with a reception at King’s Lynn Museum followed by a Civic Banquet in the Town Hall’s Georgian dining room. In attendance at the banquet will be VIPs including the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, the Mayor of King’s Lynn and Royal Navy representatives.
The following day, Club members will tour historic King’s Lynn and then later will visit Houghton Hall, which is renowned for its associations with the Walpoles and the family of Nelson’s mother. This is by kind permission of Lord Cholmondley, the Hall’s owner.
In the evening, a special Nelson Birthday Concert will take place at All Saints’ Church, Burnham Thorpe where Nelson’s father the Rev Edmund Nelson was Rector. Among the performers are Irish soprano Sylvia O’Brien and the Solstice String Quartet.
Outside, in the churchyard are the Bolton tombs, one of the restoration projects carried out by the Club, which preserves and maintains monuments to Nelson and other seafaring people of the Georgian era.
To round off the weekend, on Sunday September 28th, members and guests will be treated to a private viewing of an exhibition of Nelson paintings, rare books and manuscripts at King’s Lynn Arts Centre.
Then, a Thanksgiving Service for Nelson’s birth will be held at All Saints’ Church, Burnham Thorpe, led by the Dean of Norwich Cathedral. This service, attended by local dignitaries and VIPs, will also include a Sea Cadets’ Parade. All are welcome to attend this event.
Peter Warwick, Chairman of The 1805 Club, said: “We are extremely privileged as a Club to be allowed to spend this incredibly special and symbolic weekend in the place where Nelson was brought up.
There will be many celebrations taking place throughout the United Kingdom to mark this very important anniversary. However, this will be a chance for many 1805 Club to see Nelson’s early home surroundings for the very first time.
We hope this will give them many new and exciting insights into his life and help them appreciate how even more remarkable it was for him to rise to such a high position from such humble beginnings.”
For more information, please contact Peter Warwick, Chairman, The 1805 Club, peterwarwick@compuserve.com, tel: 020 8947 9061 or Alison Glanville, Hon Press and Media Officer, The 1805 Club, alisonscolumn@yahoo.co.uk, tel: 07917 773817.
Peter Warwick is available for interview and you are cordially invited to join The 1805 Club at the weekend’s events. Please contact Alison Glanville for a full programme or to confirm attendance.
– 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 Britain’s naval heritage.
– To do this, the Club assists in the preservation of monuments and memorials relating to Admiral Lord Nelson and seafaring people of the Georgian era.
– So far, the Club has either completed or assisted with over 40 major projects including the first memorial to Emma Hamilton in Calais; Lady Francis Nelson’s tomb in Devon and the Nelson and Collingwood plaques in the Painted Hall, Greenwich and the Battle of Copenhagen memorial plaque, dedicated in 2007.
– Its major project for Trafalgar 200 in 2005 was the Trafalgar Captains’ Project in which memorials and graves of the 38 men who served with Nelson at the battle were researched and recorded. This information was then 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 relating to Lord Nelson.
– It also organises cultural and historical events for the enjoyment of members and the public in general.
– The Club currently enjoys a membership of nearly 500 globally.
– For more information about the work of The 1805 Club, please visit the website www.1805Club.org
1758 September 29th – Horatio Nelson born at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk
1767 December 26th – Nelson mother, Catherine Nelson dies
1771 Nelson joins HMS Raisonnable as a midshipman
1773 Nelson joins Arctic expedition then later sails to East Indies
1775 Nelson invalided from his ship suffering from malaria; returns to England
1777 Passes examination for lieutenant
1778 Appointed first lieutenant of HMS Bristol then command of HMS Badger
1779 Promoted to post captain and command of HMS Hinchinbrooke
1780 Participates in the Nicaraguan expedition, falls ill and returns home
1781 Appointed to command of HMS Albemarle
1782 Joins North American Squadron
1783 War of American Independence ends and he returns home
1784 Appointed to command of HMS Boreas and sails for West Indies
1785 Meets future wife, Frances Nisbet
1786 Appointed Aide-De-Camp to Prince William Henry
1787 March 11th, marries Frances Nisbet at Nevis
1793 French Revolutionary War starts. Appointed to command HMS Agamemnon, sails for Mediterranean and meets Sir William and Lady Hamilton
1794 July 12th, right eye injured at Calvi
1795 March 14th, in Hotham’s Action, HMS Agamemnon in action with Ça Ira
1796 March, appointed Commodore and joins HMS Captain
1797 February 14th, Battle of Cape St Vincent after which he is created Knight of the Bath.
Promoted to Rear Admiral
July 24th, loses right arm after failed attack at Santa Cruz, Tenerife
1798 Hoists flag on HMS Vanguard, joining fleet off Cadiz.
August 1st, destroys French fleet at Aboukir Bay at Battle of the Nile where badly wounded in the head.
Created Baron Nelson of the Nile
September, arrives in Naples then in December, rescues Neapolitan Royal family from advancing French army
1799 January 23rd, French capture Naples and Nelson begins love affair with Lady Hamilton
Transfers flag to HMS Foudroyant and assists in recapture of Naples
Created Duke of Bronté by King of Naples
1800 Recalled home and returns overland with the Hamiltons
November 6th, arrives at Great Yarmouth
1801 Separates from Frances Nisbet
January 1st, promoted to Vice Admiral
January 13th, hoists flag in HMS San Josef
February 5th, Lady Hamilton gives birth to their daughter Horatia
March 12th, sails with Admiral Hyde Parker to the Baltic
April 2nd, flies flag in HMS Elephant at Battle of Copenhagen then created Viscount and succeeds Parker as Commander-in-Chief then returns home.
Commands anti-invasion forces in Channel; attack on Boulogne fails
September, buys Merton Place in Surrey
October 1st, armistice signed between Britain and France
1802 March 25th, Treaty of Amiens which ends the French Revolutionary War
April 26th, Nelson's father the Rev Edmund Nelson dies
1803 April 6th, Sir William Hamilton dies
May 16th, Napoleonic War begins and he is appointed Mediterranean Commander-in-Chief
May 18th, hoists flag in HMS Victory
1804 Blockades French at Toulon
1805 April to July, chases French fleet to West Indies and back
August 18th, arrives back in England and goes to Merton on leave
September 14th, rejoins HMS Victory at Portsmouth
September 28th, takes command of fleet off Cadiz
October 21st, The Battle of Trafalgar at which he is mortally wounded
November 6th, news of Trafalgar arrives in England
December 4th, HMS Victory arrives back in Portsmouth with body of Nelson on board
December 5th, day of thanksgiving for Trafalgar
1806 January 8th, funeral procession on the River Thames
January 9th, funeral service at St Paul’s Cathedral
1814 Launch of the first HMS Nelson, a 120 gun battleship
1842 Nelson in New Zealand founded
1843 Trafalgar Square column and statue completed
1905 Trafalgar centenary celebrations
1922 HMS Victory placed in dry dock in Portsmouth and fund to save her launched
1927 Restoration of HMS Victory completed
1937 National Maritime Museum opened with Nelson relics on display
1972 Lambert McCarthy Gallery opened at Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth, that contains Nelson memorabilia collection belonging to Mrs Lily McCarthy CBE.
1981 The Nelson Society founded
1990 The 1805 Club founded
1994 Monument to Lady Hamilton erected in Calais
2005 Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar
Chronology source: The Nelson Companion edited by Colin White
A Chronology of Nelson:
1758 September 29th, born at Burhham
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