Colin Saunders White (28 August 1951 – 25 December 2008) was a British military historian, director of the

Royal Naval Museum The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, formerly known as the Royal Naval Museum, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. T ...

from 2006 until his death and one of Britain's leading experts on Admiral

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

and the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

Personal life

The elder of two boys born to a chartered electrical engineer and a former

Wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

, he moved with his family from South London to

Frinton-on-Sea Frinton-on-Sea is a seaside town and (as just Frinton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837. History The place-name 'Fri ...

, Essex, at a young age. Educated at Culford School,

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: . P ...

, he attended

Southampton University The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United K ...

, where he took his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in history in 1974, and

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, where he took an M.A. in

war studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

in 1975. Despite being profoundly deaf and asthmatic, White was a long-standing member of the Southsea Shakespeare Actors and a popular after-dinner speaker. He was a server at

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. Since 1935 the historic church has been the cathedral of the Dioc ...

, and a keen theatre and cinema goer. In August 2006, White underwent an operation to remove a kidney, following a diagnosis of cancer. The cancer returned, however, and he died on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

2008. As a mark of respect, all the ships in

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

, including , lowered their ensigns to half-mast.

Museum career

Colin White first became a staff member of the

in September 1975 as a research assistant, rising to become Chief Curator in 1982, then Deputy Director and Head of Museum Services in 1996, with special responsibility for the Museum's ambitious Development Plan. In 2000, he was appointed Chairman of the Official Nelson Celebrations Committee, with responsibility for co-ordinating The Trafalgar 200 Festival, a national and international series of events to mark the bicentenary of Trafalgar in 2005. He was Chairman, Official Nelson Commemorations Committee, 2001-2006. In 2006 he was appointed Director of the

and was holding that position at the time of his death from cancer. A well-known figure on the lecture circuit, he lectured on cruise ships, in the US, and in the UK. He regularly appeared in the British radio, TV and print media, especially during the bicentenary, when he presented his own Radio 4 series: "Nelson: the latest." Colin White was a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

, the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

, and a Vice President of the

Navy Records Society The Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly text publication society to publish historical documents relating to the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key lea ...

and of The 1805 Club.

Awards and honours

* Honorary D.Litt. degree,

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

, 2004. * Honorary MA degree, University of Chichester, 2005. * Desmond Wettern Media Award 2006, "For being the most visible spokesman of Britain's maritime interests in 2005". * Distinguished book Prize,

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

, 2006. * Longman-History Today Awards, 2006. * Honorary

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

, 2006.

Published works

* ''Victoria's navy: the end of the sailing navy.'' Havant, 1981. * ''The Royal Navy in peace and war''. Pitkin Pictorials, 1989. * ''Victoria's navy: the heyday of steam.'' Emsworth, 1983. * ''HMS Victory''. Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1994. * ''Nelson's last walk''. Nelson Society, 1996. * ''The Nelson companion''. Stroud: Sutton, 1995; Stroud: Royal Naval Museum Publications n association withSutton, 2005. * ''The battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797''. Shelton: The 1805 Club, 1997. * ''1797: Nelson's year of destiny: Cape St. Vincent and Santa Cruz de Tenerife''. Stroud: Sutton, 1998; Paperback edition, Stroud: Sutton Pub., 2006. * ''The Nelson Encyclopaedia''. London: Chatham in association with the Royal Naval Museum, 2002. * ''Nelson''. Pitkin Biographical Guide. Hampshire: Jarrold Publishing, 2003. * ''Nelson: the New Letters''. Woodbridge: Boydell Press in association with the National Maritime Museum, 2005. * ''Nelson: the Admiral''. Stroud: Sutton, 2005. * ''The Trafalgar Captains: Their Lives and Memorials''. Colin White and the 1805 Club. London: Chatham, 2005.

Notes

External links

University of Portsmouth

*
Comment by Rear-Admiral Roy Clare on ''The Times'' Obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Colin 1951 births 2008 deaths English naval historians People educated at Culford School Horatio Nelson Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of King's College London People associated with the University of Portsmouth Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British maritime historians Royal Naval Reserve personnel