Newsletter-1

INTRODUCTION, BY YOUR VIRTUAL CHAIRMAN

Dear all,

Welcome to this Newsletter-1, this is indeed not a Bulletin, Bulletin-11 has to wait for some time. As I foresaw, during the Summer months just a few new Members have been presented, not enough for a substantial Bulletin. But I still expect to write it, ultimate this year.

Yesterday was the last day of the Centennial Year. Today exactly a year ago one thousand relatives and others gathered at Chatham for a great Remembrance Service. I am quite aware a lot of you often cherish your memories of that event, and reread my Special Bulletins, and are happy with them.

Up to me is the answer to the question: ‘And what now?’. I keep on writing the Bulletins, but no doubt sometime there will be an end to it. And there is the website; websites are not to last forever. Our website is a static one. It proved and proves still very helpful, for descendants and historians to find our Society. But once you have discovered it, and read what is on, you have seen it all. And there is the matter of my dossiers. I will gladly hand over them in due time to the Medway Archives, to be taken good care of. But after that they are just useful to some lucky people who live nearby.

The only way to preserve what I accumulated over the years to the benefit of all interested, is make a worthwhile selection of it, add all what is on the website, and complete it with documents and photo’s that are interesting for many people.

And that means: I consider composing a Remembrance Book, ‘The Live Bait Squadron Remembrance Book’.

If you all wish for.

More about it further on in this Newsletter.

In this Newsletter-1 I welcome six new Members, I’ll write about them in the next Bulletin-11.

And I have a proposal and a question. The proposal is: ‘to have me compose a Remembrance Book’ and the question is: ‘If so, do you intend to pre-order it?’ So I can decide if it is financially safe for me to do.

My best wishes to you all. As always I look forward to your reactions.

Henk H.M. van der Linden
Chairman

THE NEW MEMBERS

We welcome:

Mr Frank Hayes HMS Aboukir

Mr Henry William King HMS Aboukir

Mr James George Watson HMS Aboukir

Mr Archibald David Kerr HMS Aboukir

Mr George Bunn HMS Cressy

Mr James Smellie HMS Cressy

A REMEMBRANCE BOOK

The idea

My idea is a ‘Coffee table book’, a hardcover big size book, about 400 pages, nice white paper, full colour, a book that endures the years, maybe lasts forever, and stays in the Families for generations.

The contents

1. Forewords

I intend to invite The Duke of Kent, The First Sea Lord, The Lord Lieutenant to the Queen of Kent, The Chatham Historic Dockyard, The Mayor of Medway, The Mayor of The Hague to write a Foreword..

2. Introduction

By me.

3. Full Survey of the Remembrance Services September 2014

– Sunday 21 September 2014, Chatham St. Georges

– Monday 22 September 2014, Chatham Historic Dockyard

– Wednesday 24 September 2014, Den Haag, including the speeches by Dr Jane Harrold and Dr Richard Porter (BRNC) and Mrs Tessa Towner (FOMA)

4. The Men on the Cruisers

All stories about the men in the Bulletins and on our website. And: all stories sent to The Chatham Historic Dockyard, on occasion of the Centennial. I work in close co-operation with Alex Patterson (CHDT). So: all texts, all photo’s, all documents. In three parts:

– HMS Aboukir

– HMS Cressy

– HMS Hogue

5. The Monuments/Memorials

In this part all Monuments/Memorials that have been published in the Bulletins. But too: the results of hard work of Mrs Hazel Gilmore who sent me photo’s and descriptions of all monuments all over the country that have one or more names of Cruiser men. Just one thing to do for me: obtain permission to publish from every photographer.

6. Stories regarding the Cruisers

– ‘The College at War’, from: Dr Jane Harrold and Dr Richard Porter: Britannia Royal Naval College 1905-2005’.

– ‘Major Stubbs war time diary papers’, father of Duncan Stubbs, cadet, of HMS Aboukir, Mrs Alice Barrigan.

– ‘John Duncan Stubbs, 1899-1914’, Mrs Alice Barrigan.

– The Speech of Prof. Dr Eric Grove, St George’s Chatham, 22 September 2012 (transcript by Mrs Alice Barrigan).

– The Speech of Mr Peter Dawson. St George’s Chatham, 22 September 2012 (transcript by Mrs Alice Barrigan).

– A number of not yet published stories in my files.

7. The Minutes and Conclusions of the Board of Enquiry of the British Navy, 1914.

With the book (in sleeves) are:

– The DVD ‘The Live Bait Squadron’, by filmmaker Klaudie Bartelink.

– The DVD (new!!) ‘The Commemoration 22 September 2014’ by filmmaker Klaudie Bartelink.

About the costs

My publisher is willing to publish this book, under the same conditions as my book in Dutch and the translation in English. That means that I have to guarantee the selling of a certain number of books, as I did before. I paid myself for my book in Dutch and English, to have them published.
My publisher indicates that a book this size and quality will be priced GBP 40. That is including the booksellers fee, the costs of the two dvd’s and the making of the Commemoration-dvd by Klaudie Bartelink (I have to pay her for that, of course). The book will be available in UK bookshops and can be ordered there.
I intend to investigate if sending by me by post to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA etc is a possibility, I suppose postal rates are more or less equal to the booksellers fee. Which falls fee if I do it by myself.
I realise a lot of you already have the documentary-dvd. For practical reasons it is not possible not to have it in the book. As all costs of this documentary have been covered over the last years, this dvd is just GBP 0,60 in the price of the book. It is more costly to remove it.

My time table

October 2015: my investigation if the making of this book is a real possibility. Ultimate October: my decision.

November – December 2015: further research, obtaining permissions to publish, organise the project. Klaudie’s job: the dvd of the Remembrance Service

January – March 2016: The making of the book and the dvd.

April 2016: The styling of the book.

May 2016: Presentation.

What now?

Now it is your turn. If you wish for this book to be published, let me know that, including the number of copies.
And too: spread the word!! Tell it your friends, your family, your local Library, the school Library. And have them order as well.
As soon as I know how many books are being pre-ordered, I will let you know the outcome. Ultimate October I hope to be able to start the negotiation with my publisher.
At this moment all you need to do is just fill in the Subscription Form attached to this Newsletter. You do not have to pay anything at this moment.
But maybe you can assist me in this: perhaps some support by funding is possible, or by donations. Any suggestions?

Henk

You may send the Subscription Form to my email address h.van.der.linden@tip.nl or to my home address:
H.H.M. van der Linden
Het Molenijser 4
5211 WV ‘s-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands