The First Service In the late sixties and early seventies, a member of the Exeter Flotilla, Lieutenant Commander Adrian Martin MBE RD RNR wondered why Exeter, the capital of the seafaring County of Devon, did not celebrate the Battle of Trafalgar, especially when Lord Nelson had been made a Freeman of the City in 1801. In 1972...
When I was about 8 years old, I visited Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (see picture, left). We did the usual tour of HMS Victory and I was bought a book on Nelson by my parents. I remember vividly reading it, as well as the Victory guide book in the car on the way home and from then on, that was that... Little did I know, 14 years...
Cape Trafalgar, October, just before midday, 1805. The wind is light and north-north westerly. Standing on the headland, looking out to sea, we see the sails of over fifty ships in the distance. One line is racing back to safety in Cádiz harbour. Two others are bearing down on them from the west. They are sailing directly towar...
Guy Chant, a singer and songwriter from Hampshire, loved the story of Lapenotiere and the News of Trafalgar so much that he wrote a song about it! The lyrics are below. It's very accurately observed!Click to listen to Guy's song, "The Schooner Pickle".Upon the Schooner Pickle new orders I receivedTo make full haste to England fr...
My Father was in the Navy and when ever there was a form to fill in for something unofficial he would sign his name Horatio Nelson. I used to ask him not to and then he would sign it as Admiral Nelson and various different combinations. At school I would have to explain to everyone who Nelson was and exactly why I had his name o...
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