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. The ...

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

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought ...

and the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval battle, naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–De ...

Personal life

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

Wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonl ...

, 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. In 1931 the parish had a popul ...

, Essex, at a young age. Educated at

Culford School Culford School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for pupils age 1-18 in the village of Culford, miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. The headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Co ...

, Bury St. Edmunds, he attended

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, where he took his

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

in history in 1974, and

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King' ...

, where he took an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

war studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military, diplomatic, philosophical, social, political, psychological or economic dimensions of human conflict. The word ''polemology'' derive ...

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. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat o ...

, 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 feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

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, 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 Histori ...

, the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

, 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 The 1805 Club was founded in 1990 to accomplish three objectives. To assist in the preservation of monuments and memorials relating to Vice- Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and seafarers of the Georgian era. To promote research into the Royal Navy of th ...

Awards and honours

* Honorary

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree,

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

, 2004. * 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 of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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 Ro ...

, 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

. 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