Winter 2005

BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR

The year ended on a high when the Chairman was chosen to lecture to a private group of 35 on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. With a later sun beating down our hardy Chairman stood on the rocks at Cape Trafalgar with waves crashing about and gave a very dramatic one hour explanation of the dramatic events of the Royal Navy battling it out with the Spanish & French war ships. The story of the death of Admiral Nelson on that fateful day brought many a tear from the assembled guests!

GOODBYE UNTIL JANUARY

The Society will be taking a break as from 9th December until the second week of January. We look back at another successful year with many new Members, some more ´Lifers´ and knowing we have brought a lot of pleasure to so many.

NEW THEME TOURS

In 2006 the Society will be offering some new Theme Tours including NO PASARAN! Madrid & the Spanish Civil War. Please check our web site update then in the New Year. May all our members have a peaceful festive period. We shall be back for another year of activity!

Summer 2005

SAVING THE SALAMANCA BATTLEFIELD

Again the Society was called into action when local historians in Salamanca warned us that the authorities were damaging the battlefield (Wellington's victory over the French in 1812) situated 7 km south of the great university city. The dirt track road running from Arapiles to a remote village was being widened and the truck and earth removers were doing untold destruction to this historical place. Our Chairman, as usual, was in the thick of it all! Specifically,

• He was in private meetings with the British Ambassador,

• went as guide to take the Military Attache around the entire battlefield,

• kept in regular contact with the Duke of Wellington,

• had his letters damning the road project published in half a dozen newspapers and

• complained that the French Ambassador never even contacted us!

Our Winter newsletter will keep all up to date on the outcome.

CORPORATE OUTING TO CHINCHON

The Society is often called upon, at short notice, to help corporate groups to enjoy a day's outing after a long congress. It happened in August with the Ebay Group attending their high level meeting in Madrid.  We arranged for lunch and visits to the great wine cellars at the medieval town of Chinchon with two of the biggest ever buses we have seen transporting us there and safely back.  A truly great day was had by all!

No sooner had we achieved this with great credit than we were again called upon to take Coutts the bankers group of 42 (the 1st Duke of Wellington banked with them!) on a walking tour of Old Madrid ending up in the Plaza Oriente for cool beers just as the sun was going down.  

CHAIRMAN'S DAUGHTER'S WEDDING

On a personal note the Chairman has given us the web site to see him in morning suit in Norwich, Norfolk, England for his daughter, Sarah's wedding in August. Go on take a look! web site sarahtom.co.uk 

RADIO INTERVIEW

For Members wishing to receive the CD interview about the Wellington Society (in English) please contact us. TheChairman loved the whole 45 minutes life in the radio

rooms here in Madrid!

Spring 2005

For twenty-five years the Society has been running day and weekend tours to Salamanca and Wellington's most famous victory over Napoleon's forces at the nearby village of Arapiles.  All Napoleonic historians around the world agree
that Arapiles is the most unspoilt Peninsular War battle site remaining in the 21st century. It was with horror that our Spanish historian friends contacted the Chairman
to warn of a road being cut through the very centre of the battlefield where communal graves have been left undisturbed since July, 1812.  The Society contacted the British & French Ambassadors and the Spanish Ministry of defense. Only the French officials refused to contact us. Our Chairman took the British Military Attaché on a personal tour of the entire battlefield. The British
Government, through the Embassy lodged a formal complaint and now the Society is ready for another' SAVE OUR HERITAGE' campaigns. Update in our Summer newsletter.

A 42 strong choir from Simpson College, Iowa, USA, chose our Chairman to arrange for them to sing in some churches around central Spain.  With his amazing contacts our Chairman pulled strings(& bells!) and received permission for the choir to sing at St. George's church, Madrid, the great 16th century Cathedral of Segovia and then, with a master stroke, sought and got permission for them to sing
in El Escorial. Our web site update will feature photos of their one week trip with the Society.

For the new Members who took the 6th April evening tour through Old Madrid were very lucky indeed.  It was the 30th anniversary of Stephen Drake-Jones's arrival in the Spanish capital, never thinking he would still be here thirty years on and carrying the title 'Chairman' of the Wellington Society!  Apparently the evening was quite a blast.