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The 1805 Club rededicates tombs at Kensal Green Cemetery of two Georgian Naval officers who served under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson at two of his most important battles

Press release: Monday 5th July 2010

The newly conserved tombs of two illustrious Royal Naval officers, Admirals Sir Thomas Capel and Sir Robert Otway will be rededicated by The 1805 Club at Kensal Green Cemetery in north London on Saturday July 10.

The 1805 Club, under its new President, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB, the former First Sea Lord, is the only charitable body in existence which conserves monuments and memorials to Nelson and other Georgian Naval seafarers. The Club will hold special ceremonies to mark the completion of work on the tombs of Sir Thomas Capel and Sir Robert Otway, which will be attended by Club members and guests including the Mayor and Mayoress of Kensington. Conducting the ceremonies will be The Club’s Chaplain, the Rev Peter Wadsworth.

Conservation work on the tomb of Sir Thomas Capel has been undertaken as part of The 1805 Club’s Trafalgar Captains Project which was its major contribution during the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.

For this project, all the tombs of the captains who served with Nelson at the Battle were researched, then photographed and recorded in a book The Trafalgar Captains, which was published that year.

Capel was the commanding officer of the frigate, HMS Phoebe at the Battle of Trafalgar and had previously served under Nelson on board HMS Vanguard at the Battle of the Nile. 

Part of the project also entailed identifying those tombs which required additional conservation work and Capel's was one of seven which were most at risk.

Sir Robert Otway, who was present at the Battle ofthe Glorious First of June in 1794, was captain of HMS London at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 in which Lord Nelson also commanded part of the British fleet.

Peter Warwick, Chairman of The 1805 Club, said of the rededication: “The reason the Club was founded 20 years ago was so these brave men from our maritime history are remembered for their service to the defence of the country, a tradition of service stretching back 200 years which still inspires the ‘fighting spirit’ of today’s Royal Navy.

Britain’s naval past is one of the most fascinating and absorbing strands of our history. It has shaped our culture and national identity and by conserving the graves of our forbears we not only honour them, but also remind ourselves of the continuing importance of the Royal Navy, and the sea generally, to our economy and freedom – a fact that seems to be too easily overlooked these days.”

More than 20 Naval officers are interred in Kensal Green Cemetery, among them Sir William Beatty, Nelson’s surgeon at the Battle of Trafalgar for whom The 1805 Club erected a memorial plaque several years ago.

Others include Sir George Cockburn who in 1815 transported Napoleon from Torbay to his exile in St Helena on board HMS Northumberland and was responsible for burning down the White House during the 1812 war with the United States.

The ceremonies taking place on Saturday July 10 at 2pm by kind permission of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery will be followed by a members’ buffet reception and tours of the cemetery.

For more information about The 1805 Club, please visit the website www.1805Club.org

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