29 of us attended an evening designed to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar which was held in October 1805. The venue was the Sea Cadets Hall in Sandgate, which was worth a visit in its own right, and had been decked out by the cadets with flags. No less than 5 guests were welcomed and I am pleased to say we inducted a new member into our ranks.
There was then a brief business section with reports from the committee plus an appeal for the return of any outstanding GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) to the Secretary to forward on to 41 Club National. Any queries re the members statements for 2016 and 2017/18 to last year’s treasurer Steve please. Simon also reminded people that they needed to opt in if they wished to attend the Charity Night – Friday 30thNovember at the Rugby Club.
This was followed by an excellent meal of soup followed by fish-pie, all prepared by our own ‘in-house’ chefs Tom and John who had put a lot of effort into the evening.
Tom then gave us an overview of the battle of Trafalgar emphasising what an extraordinary and decisive victory it had been, with 27 British ships led by Lord Nelson defeating a combined fleet of 33 French and Spanish ships and sinking a good number of them. Sadly Nelson did not live to enjoy his victory, having been shot by a French musketeer.
John built on this by describing the battle from the viewpoint of Admiral Robert Moorsom, who was of particular local interest having been born in Whitby. We even listened in awe to the sound of continuous canon-fire until someone burst the bubble by asking what it had been recorded on in 1805… there’s always one!
Chair Simon ended the evening by calling for a well deserved round of applause for the organisers, followed by a toast to Lord Nelson with 54% proof rum, and then finally RTBI
