A link with our past article from the New York Times dated 3 August 1186 gives an indication of the mood that surrounded Galatea’s arrival in America.
Lieutenant William Henn RN – A link with our past Just occasionally we are reminded of some famous former Club members whose lives formed important parts of world history. Recent enquires led us to review the membership dates of the explorer Ernest Shackleton and Glasgow’s own Lord Kelvin, a world class physicist in his day. Most recently, however, the exploits of Lieutenant William Henn RN, a Club member in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, have come to our attention following an enquiry by his great nephew, Brigadier Francis Henn CBE. Joining the Royal Navy as an officer cadet at the age of 13, Lieutenant Henn’s comparatively short naval career encompassed adventure, naval action and special assignments including anti-slavery patrols and the search for Dr David Livingston. However, it was as a yachtsman, renowned for off shore passage making and most famously for his America’s Cup challenge in Galatea in 1886, that his association with the Club is best known. The following
“Marblehead is ablaze with illuminations tonight from Newtown to Barnegat in celebration of the arrival of Galatea. Great crowds line the headlands and beaches -in the harbour all is activity. The sea is smooth and all sorts of craft are pressed into service to take the curious out to see the English cutter. Huge bonfires are burning on Mason’s Rock, Skinner’s Head, Rock Beach and all along the harbour side of Great Neck. All day long strangers have lined the shore. Lieutenant Henn and is wife have received a royal welcome. The citizens are jubilant over the fact that the Galatea will refit here. Great preparations are being made at the Eastern Yacht Clubhouse for the reception to be given to Lieutenant Henn and his wife. The crew of the yacht gave a concert on board this evening and were applauded by hundreds of people surrounding the yacht in boats.” The enquiry from Brigadier Henn, his great nephew, arose in preparation for a commemorative event in the village of Ballynacally, Co. Clare, which lies at the junction of the estuaries of the rivers Fergus and Shannon. Adjoining it is a beautiful estate, aptly named Paradise, which for some three centuries was the home of the Henn family. In recognition of the close links between the village and the Henn family and the nearby ancestral estate, the people of the village decided to erect a memorial. The unveiling of the hand crafted sculpture, the centrepiece of which is a four-sided column each portraying different scenes and topped with a beautifully engraved mariner’s compass card, took place on 1 August 2009 and was attended by Brigadier Henn and his wife Monica. To mark the occasion Brigadier Henn
presented the Ballynacally community with a framed print of the start of the 1886 America’s Cup featuring Galatea and Mayflower together with a copy of the portrait of Lieutenant Henn, the original of which was donated to the RNCYC some years ago.
The memorial stands in a prominent position on the village’s Fair Green, which also includes a new playground for the local children. Should any RNCYC members ever be passing that way it is certainly worth a visit and will help to keep alive this delightful link with the Club’s distinguished past. Chris Roddis Hon Secretary
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