Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles

Patron

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles is a direct descendant of Sir Richard Pearson, Captain of HMS Serapis, who saved the Baltic convoy of 40+ merchant ships laden with vital supplies for the Royal Navy at the Battle of Flamborough Head.

After attending our annual festival in 2024, Sir Sherard was enthused with what Yorkshire Coast 1779 is doing to raise awareness of this famous international battle and the significant role his fourth great-grandfather, Sir Richard Pearson, played during the American War for Independence.

Sir Sherard has had a distinguished career as a British diplomat, including roles as the Ambassador to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. He has also written books about his experiences including, “Cables from Kabul: The Inside Story of the West’s Afghanistan Campaign” and “Ever the Diplomat – Confessions of a Foreign Office Mandarin”.

Chair Margaret Hicks-Clarke stated, “It is exciting not only to have found a direct descendant of one of the key players in this historic event, but to have the support of Sir Sherard is very meaningful. It gives credence to our work in helping to create a sense of pride in our local area.”

Linda Green

Honorary President

Linda is a retired nurse and previous guest house owner who, as Tony’s wife, was herself very involved with research involving the Battle of Flamborough Head. Linda travelled with Tony to the States assisting with their cross-country sojourns, and hosted researchers from near and far who have come to Filey Bay to investigate the final resting place of the Bonhomme Richard.

Not only does Linda bring with her a wealth of knowledge of events that have taken place over the past 30+ years and the contacts she has made, she also keeps Tony’s memory alive as one of our Honorary Presidents.

Margaret Hicks-Clarke

Trustee & Chair; Trustee & Chair YHACS, Trustee & Chair Goole Civic Society, Board Member Goole Town Deal, Trustee Scarborough and District Civic Society, Trustee Castaway Music Theatre, Head of Operations PA Media (retired)

Margaret become the Chair of Yorkshire Coast 1779 in 2024.  She moved to Filey with her husband John in 2021 and loves life on the coast and the occasional dip in the North Sea!

She is passionate about heritage and is Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Association of Civic Societies, Chair of Goole Civic Society and a Trustee of Scarborough and District Civic Society.  

Born and educated in Sheffield, she lived in Leeds for many years, where she was assistant editor of the Yorkshire Post. She moved to Goole, East Yorkshire, in 2003 and was Head of Operations for the Press Association (now PA Media), the UK’s national news agency.

Now retired, she is actively involved with numerous organisations. She sits on the Goole Town Deal Board, is an Age UK volunteer and a trustee of Castaway Goole, a charity providing theatre and arts opportunities to adults and young people with learning and physical disabilities or mental health
difficulties.

Paul Riley

Trustee & Treasurer – Retired Councillor, Scarborough Council, Reighton Resident

In addition to representing the villages that surround Filey Bay at Scarborough Borough Council, Paul is passionate about the Filey Bay communities heritage and culture.

He is actively involved in the Scarborough Civic Society, and was instrumental in helping previous owners of the White Lodge Hotel, James and Kim Hodgson, successfully apply in 2019 for a Blue Plaque in honour of Dame Madge Kendal who owned and resided there for several years before it became a hotel.

Kim Hodgson

Trustee & Secretary

It wasn’t until American-born Kim met and married James that she discovered the significance of the local area in the Battle of Flamborough Head, and that it was “the” battle where legendary John Paul Jones uttered the famous phrase she was taught at school – “Surrender? I have not yet begun to fight!”

She is pleased that 30+ years on, and now a British citizen, she is able to help promote this British-American connection – of how two countries, once in battle almost 250 year ago, are now close allies and friends.

Kim’s background is in marketing and does the lion’s share of typing for the Group!  She also shares James’s love of the Yorkshire Coast.

James Hodgson

Trustee, Co-founder & Legal Advisor

James is a Filey boy who grew up very involved in the local community alongside his parents who were very active in the Filey Lifeboat and Filey Lions.  A Bridlington Grammar School and Scarborough Sixth Form College alumnus, James was on the Filey RNLI Lifeboat crew and crewed with the local fishing boat “Margaret” during his university breaks.

Never losing his passion for Filey and the Yorkshire Coast, James returned home from 30+ years practising law in The City and together with his wife Kim, bought the White Lodge Hotel in 2015. After major refurbishments and five years of being a hotelier, James is now semi-retired and putting his energy into supporting the Yorkshire Coast 1779 initiative – raising awareness of the historic “Battle of Flamborough Head” (who some may argue the British actually “won”!?), and promoting the beauty and history of the Yorkshire Coast!

Bruce Blackburn

Chairman of Merlin Burrows, Harrogate Resident

Bruce joined the Yorkshire Coast 1779 Working Group at the beginning in 2020 when he was working closely with Tony Green to find the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard.

Bruce lives in Harrogate and is CEO of Merlin Burrows – which uses SATSCAN™️ technology integrates satellite imaging with Hi-Tech analysis, enabling Deep-Scan Surveys for both land and sea which is invaluable, saving clients significant amounts of time and money.

Ben Clibbens

Local Business Owner

Local businessman Ben’s curiosity of historic British/American connections sparked his interest in Filey Bay 1779.

Along with his wife, artist Fiona Clibbens, they operate Filey’s Post Office alongside Ga11ery Eleven and are staunch supporters of the Group.

Sam Cross

Councillor, North Yorkshire County Council & Filey Resident

Cllr Cross is currently a Councillor representing Filey on North Yorkshire County Council.  In addition to his role on the Council, Sam is a local businessman and understands how important businesses are to supporting the community.  

John Hodgson

Filey Resident

John is a local tradesman with an interest in local history and helping out where he can.  He supports the group throughout the year with the manual labour needs such as loading and unloading equipment for our pop-up centre and installation of our interpretive panel in Filey.

John Hart

Managing Director, Merlin Burrows

Seadog and Merlin Burrows Managing Director, John Hart, doesn’t shy away from a challenge and together with Bruce Blackburn they are Merlin Burrows – a company that finds anything that has been lost, forgotten or hidden with pin-point accuracy through satellite technology.

John’s main interest is confirming the Merlin Burrows find in Filey Bay – the remains of the Bonhomme Richard.  And with that, he shares his wealth of knowledge about this historic battle with the Group for the benefit of developing a better understanding of its importance amongst the coastal community.

Jane Lowery

General Manager, Scarborough Museum & Galleries Trust and Secretary of Friends of Flamborough Chalk Tower

As a resident of Flamborough and general manager of Scarborough Museums and Galleries Trust, Jane wears two hats in our Group.  She is able to help us gain access to historical information and artefacts as well as work closely with us on shared projects with Friends of Flamborough Chalk Tower. Jane is an invaluable member of Yorkshire Coast 1779!

Chrys Mellor

Chair of Friends of Flamborough Chalk Tower, Flamborough Resident and Retired General Manager, North Yorkshire Libraries

Chrys has been a leading member and now Chair of the Friends of Flamborough Chalk Tower – an organisation we work closely with due to our common history (the Chalk Tower was built in 1654, so needless to say – it was there in 1779!).  With her wealth of knowledge and background working with libraries (not to mention her photography skills!) Chrys is a great resource and adds energy and bubbliness to the group!

Jim Poole

Retired US Naval Commander and former Trustee of John Paul Jones Birthplace Museum, Dumfries

Retired Commander Jim Poole provides the American passion for “all things John Paul Jones”!

Jim’s effervescent style and US naval “can do” attitude keeps the excitement of what is possible for Yorkshire Coast 1779 alive on both sides of the Pond. 

David Thompson

Filey Resident, Filey British Legion, Friends of Filey Museum

Dave Thompson is an active member of the working group, joining David Newton to represent John Paul Jones or Captain Pearson at local events.

Catherine Welch

Filey Resident, Local Historian

You wouldn’t know Catherine is retired with the amount of positive energy she puts in to her knowledge of local history! Catherine helped to create several historical leaflets for the Filey Bay Initiative many years ago and she continues to give talks and walks about a variety of subjects in and around Filey.  Catherine is very low-tech – so don’t try and find her on social media!  And you will need a good old-fashioned pen and paper or give her a ring at home – if you can catch her!  We are pleased to have Catherine on board supporting our work.

Tony Green (1948 – 2021)

Co-founder and Chairman

Tony enjoyed a deep interest in the Battle of Flamborough Head and involvement in the search for the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard for 30+ years. This was the subject of a BBC TV Documentary in 1990 and involved Tony, Linda and local diver John Adams visiting the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Tony made many contacts during his visit to the USA and forged a long and lasting friendship with US Maritime Historian and Author Don Shomette who is a leading expert on the Battle of Flamborough Head and has written many books on the subject.

Thanks to Tony’s efforts, Filey Town Council entered into a formal accord with Calvert County, USA in July 2004 for the purpose of sharing knowledge in history and heritage. Contact was also established more recently with the Trustees of the John Paul Jones Museum in Kirkbean, Scotland where Tony and Linda were guests of honour in July this year for its re-opening following lockdown.

In May 2017, satellite search company Merlin Burrows announced they had located the remains of the Bonhomme Richard close to Speeton Cliffs in Filey Bay, which story attracted considerable national and international media coverage. On the back of this announcement Tony was instrumental in setting up the Filey Bay 1779 Research Group whose objectives are to promote and raise awareness of the Battle of Flamborough Head for the benefit of tourism in the communities of Filey Bay, and to enhance its history, heritage and culture.

Tony was a man of indomitable character and great integrity who had many talents and interests. He will be greatly missed by Linda, her children and his many friends and colleagues.