Club Night - Trafalgar Dinner - Tuesday 20 October 2026
Our Traditional Trafalgar Dinner with Guest of Honour with our Guest of Honour, Captain Chris O'Flaherty RN, MA MSc AFNI (Senior Technical Advisor The Nautical Insitute) to propose the toast to 'The Immortal Memory'
Captain Chris O’Flaherty served for 37 years in the Royal Navy before joining the headquarters staff of The Nautical Institute in 2024. His naval service ranged from Navigating Officer to Command, and on ships ranging from coastal minesweepers to aircraft carriers. He is a specialist in clearance diving and in anti-submarine warfare.
In 2005 he was awarded the Chief of Joint Operations’ Commendation for his achievements in support of counter-piracy off Somalia. In 2013 he was awarded the United States’ Meritorious Service Medal for his work developing stability on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. For his leadership in 2016 and 2017 of a sequence of maritime security operations in the southern Red Sea, the President of the United States awarded him the US Legion of Merit. In 2017 he was elected as Hudson Fellow by St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, researching and publishing his second book: Naval Minewarfare: Politics to Practicalities.
Duty Officer : Leigh Gibson
New Members Officer : Simon Kaye