Speaker Evening - The Last Naval Hero

Start Date: 17 Oct 2019 20:00

End Date: 17 Oct 2019 22:30

Venue: Berkswell & Balsall Common Sports and Community Association

blessed with the ‘Nelson  touch’,

                matinee-idol  image

                    … and something of a bounder !   

The extraordinary story of  David, 1st Earl Beatty, who, armed with a ruthless and  charismatic personality rose with meteoric speed from humble Cadet to First Sea Lord,  Statesman,  and renowned  public hero of the Great War.  Roy Smart tells the tale of his astonishing rise to fame and fortune, his life with the opulent, hedonistic American socialite, Ethel, Countess Beatty, his central and controversial part in the greatest battle and later, the greatest surrender, in maritime history  and his  Downton Abbey  life-style of immense riches,  marital strife  and  scandal !

Profile of the Speaker

Roy Smart was a Naval Officer, Fleet Air Arm pilot and air director of many great national memorial events including the televised  D Day, VE and VJ Day  commemorations attended by the Queen and fifty heads of state, together with  flying displays and aviation pageants. With an interest in history and art, he recently contributed to the BBC Radio centenary commemorations of the Battle of Jutland.