Colin White

Education

Educated at Culford School, Bury Saint Edmunds, he attended Southampton University where he took his bachelor"s degree in history in 1974, and King"s College, London, where he took an Master of Arts

Career

The eldest of two boys born to a chartered electrical engineer and a former Wren, he moved with his family from South London to Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, at a young age. in War Studies in 1975. He was a server at Portsmouth Cathedral, 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 2008.

As a mark of respect, all the ships in Portsmouth Harbour, including HMS Victory, lowered their ensigns to half-mast. 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 Royal Naval Museum 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 United States, and in the United Kingdom. He regularly appeared in the British radio, television 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 Society of Antiquaries of London, and a Vice President of the Navy Records Society and of The 1805 Club.

Honorary Doctor of Literature degree, University of Portsmouth, 2004.

Achievements

• Honorary Doctor of Literature degree, University of Portsmouth, 2004. Desmond Wettern Media Award 2006, “Foreign being the most visible spokesman of Britain’s maritime interests in 2005”. Distinguished book Prize, Society for Military History, 2006. Longman-History Today Awards, 2006. Honorary Captain, Royal Naval Reserve, 2006.

Membership

Despite being profoundly deaf and asthmatic, White was a long-standing member of the Southsea Shakespeare Actors and a popular after dinner speaker. Colin White first became a staff member of the Royal Naval Museum 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.