Nelson & His World

I have been away from the site for a short while, taking part in a visit to Gothenburg for the Saumarez Plaque replacement ceremony, but also spending practically one day, the 19th, sitting in front of the 'box' to view 'the Wedding' - of which I can post more later! To return to Gothenburg, Lotta and I arrived the day before, when the weather looked decidedly unsettled and we experienced som rain. However it brightened up considerably the following day, with bright sunshine interspersed with some light cloud.

The ceremony was at 10.30am on the 15th June at Gustav Adolph's Torg, or Square. The parade was called to order and the guard, composed of an RN detachment from the frigate HMS Kent (in port for the three-day 'Think Britain' festival) and another from the local Swedish Defence Force marched on to the square, each nations contingent, with their colours, approaching from opposite sides. They halted in front of the Stadshuset, in front of which the various dignitaries were lined up. These included the Leader of Gothenburg City Council and the Swedish Ambassador, the British Ambassador to Sweden, The 7th Earl Saumarez, the Governor of Guernsey and other officials from the island and Mr Tim Voelcker, author of the recent book on Sir James Saumarez. The Royal Navy was represented by Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, KCB., OBE,. C-in-C Fleet and Commander Nick Cooke-Priest, Commanding Officer of HMS Kent.

A nineteen gun salute was fired from the Kent during the proceedings, which added immensely to the occasion and which I believe was the idea of Bill White of the 1805 club, who was also present with his wife, and as representative of the Club. I represented the Nelson Society (and, I like to think, NAHW!) There were then speeches from the Leader of Gothenburg City Council, who spoke of the special links between Gothenburg and the UK; Earl Saumarez, on what the ceremony and the link to Sweden through his ancestor, meant to him and his family. (Throughout the day he was clutching the actual £2.000 sword that Bernadotte had presented to Saumarez in recognition of his services to the Swedish nation.) Tim Voelcker then gave some of the historic angle, mentioning in particular the difficulties that Saumarez dealt with in what was a very tense situation, and in keeping both British and Swedish trade in operation right under Bonaparte's nose - and all without a shot being fired! The Plaque was then unveiled and the ceremony came to a dignified close with the guard marching off parade. The ceremony was pleasantly short, especially since by the end the sun was really getting quite hot! Thankfully everyone took shelter in the nearby Stock Exchange for a short reception.

There then followed a splendid luch at the Stena Line Terminal, everyone unexpectedly arriving by red double decker bus, and a tea at 3pm in the Governor's Residence, where the Governor spoke again of the links between the City and the UK. The final events of the day included an evening reception aboard the Kent, in honour of the Queen's official Birthday, and hosted as perhaps only the RN can do (complete with the evening Sunset ceremony, bringing it to a close). The final event was an extremely interesting talk on Saumarez and his period of service in the Baltic, given by Tim Voelcker. This was at the Batchelor's Club, an historic eighteenth century institution in Gothenburg, whose members were (you've guessed it) batchelors, although I believe membership is open to ladies these days! (I also managed to get my copy of Tim's book signed by him – having carried it around for half the day!)

It was a splendid day and a suitable conclusion to the whole plaque replacement saga. Now that it is back in place (although it is not in quite the same position as the original) let's hope that it will be left alone! I have provided a link to the RN website, with details about the ceremony and pictures of the event:

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-ev ... geNav/6568

You'll note that en route to Stockholm, where she was to be Britian's representative warship in harbour for the Royal Wedding, HMS Kent stopped off at Hanö Island which was a British base under Saumarez and where she honoured the British seamen from that time who are buried there. I hope to place a fuller report in the Nelson Dispatch and quite possibly it may also appear in the Kedge Anchor.

I am sure I speak for everyone at N&HW, Kester, in thanking you for that comprehensive and interesting report from Gothenberg. It really seems to have been a spectacular day!

Anna,

You're welcome. It really was a very good day and I shall remember it for a long time.

Here are some pictures of some of HMS Kent's ships' company at the short rememberance service held in the cemetery at Hanö, en route to Stockholm. They are from the local paper, so of course the text is in Swedish. The ship's CO, Commander Nick Cooke-Priest, salutes in front of the cross:

http://wighsnews.se/nyheter.php?nyhet=S ... isid=67579

Apparently the ship stayed for about two hours, before proceeding to Stockholm.

The recent Kedge Anchor, the newsletter of the 1805 Club, devoted a good two page spread plus photo to the unveiling and restoration of the plaque, and I'm pleased to say that the very first sentence acknowledges that it was Kester's article in the Nelson Dispatch a couple of years ago that triggered these events. Kester kept us very well informed on the deveopment of plans for its replacement in the other Saumarez plaque thread, and I would like to add my congratulations to you, Kester, on the vital role you played.

There might also be another article in the Nelson Dispatch!

Kester, I very much enjoyed reading your article in the Nelson Dispatch just arrived - Congratulations again!

Tony,

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I haven't received my copy as yet and I'm naturally curious to see how it turned out. I'll probably have to wait another few days. In passing, it seems as though Nick Slope is getting things back on track with the Dispatch, as I thought he might.