Trafalgar day! (1 Viewer)

[Rob]

Today we remember Nelson's brilliant victory over the French and Spanish fleets on this day in 1805.HMS Victory and the Battle of Trafalgar must have been one of the very first battles I learnt about as kid.As a small child I remember the days when you were allowed to walk around on HMS Victory,and what a ship!.It thrilled,excited and scared me in one go!.The huge cannons,Masts that seemed to go on forever and the sinister Cat'o nine tails.And the decks painted red to hide the blood.

Horatio Nelson was one of a kind,brave,determined, fiecely patriotic,his only desire was to put his ship alongside the French and do battle.His breaking of the enemy line at Trafalgar was a brilliant display of his bravery and determination to get to the enemy,although Victory was exposed to serious gunfire during the action he broke both the enemy line and their will.He was a true military hero,his death at the very moment of his most famous Victory was a huge loss to this country and cemented his fame in the hearts and minds of Britons from that day forth.

I give you Nelson,Victory and Trafalgar!

Rob

 

[aujj65]

Today we remember Nelson's brilliant victory over the French and Spanish fleets on this day in 1805.HMS Victory and the Battle of Trafalgar must have been one of the very first battles I learnt about as kid.As a small child I remember the days when you were allowed to walk around on HMS Victory,and what a ship!.It thrilled,excited and scared me in one go!.The huge cannons,Masts that seemed to go on forever and the sinister Cat'o nine tails.And the decks painted red to hide the blood.

Horatio Nelson was one of a kind,brave,determined, fiecely patriotic,his only desire was to put his ship alongside the French and do battle.His breaking of the enemy line at Trafalgar was a brilliant display of his bravery and determination to get to the enemy,although Victory was exposed to serious gunfire during the action he broke both the enemy line and their will.He was a true military hero,his death at the very moment of his most famous Victory was a huge loss to this country and cemented his fame in the hearts and minds of Britons from that day forth.

I give you Nelson,Victory and Trafalgar!

Rob

Excellent post Rob! I should be able to post a photo of a jigsaw puzzle later tonight entitled "The Hero of Trafalgar".

Jeff

 

[Rob]

Excellent post Rob! I should be able to post a photo of a jigsaw puzzle later tonight entitled "The Hero of Trafalgar".

Jeff

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.Have just been reading again about the carnage Victory wreaked on the Bucentare as she broke the line and passed by her stern windows,pouring shot after shot through the windows the Bucentare was gutted from the inside out ceasing to be an effective fighting vessel.The Horror on her decks can only be imagined as this eyewitness account states;

'The dead thrown back as they fell,lay along the middle of the decks in heaps,and the shot passing through had frightfully mangled the bodies..an extraordinary proportion had lost their heads.One solid shot had ricocheted around killing or wounding forty men'.

Must have been truly horrendous on all those ships,I understand the French sailors and marines hurled hundreds of grenades onto Victory's decks.

Rob

 

[BeaconsAl]

Yes, well remembered. I'm actually sitting next to a scale model of the Victory right now, bought in Vietnam last year. [it took 5 months to get here - but worth it]. I'll have a drink to Nelson later!

Alan

 

[Rob]

I also read somewhere that the Admiralty said after the battle that the French and Spanish fought with more bravery and determination than ever.I think it was the discipline and gun drill of the Royal Navy that won the day at Trafalgar.Its long been known that the British gunners were faster than the French and considerably faster than the Spanish,they were drilled over and over until they were masters of the art.The discipline also instilled a calmness in the men that was so evident as Victory was under fire for thirty minutes before she could reply,it must have taken nerves of steel to stand on her decks taking fire as she headed straight for the enemy ships.

Trafalgar day was always celebrated right up until the First World War when people's view of the glory of War changed forever,however it remains probably the most famous sea battle in History.

Rob

 

[jazzeum]

As a Yank, I had never heard of Trafalgar Day. Is it celebrated as a holiday in England or is it just a day that is remembered like VE Day? Do kids have off from school? I would be interested to hear more about it.

 

[Rob]

As a Yank, I had never heard of Trafalgar Day. Is it celebrated as a holiday in England or is it just a day that is remembered like VE Day? Do kids have off from school? I would be interested to hear more about it.

It used to be celebrated a lot more,until the carnage of WW1 and then celebrating victories fell out of favour.Its not a holiday here but it is still remembered and there are services at Naval bases around the world.I also understand there is a town called Trafalgar in Australia where the battle is remembered.

As the tide turns and people once again have patriotic pride in their History this battle along with Waterloo,Battle of Britain etc are being remembered more and more by the public.So although there is not Holiday as yet (its being talked about-Trafalgar public holiday would be cool)its growing in popularity again,so fingers crossed.

There are suggestions that either Rememberance day,Battle of Britain day,Trafalgar,Waterloo should be a public holiday.Not sure how Ron would take Waterloo day!.Some time back a European politician suggested England change the name of Waterloo station and Trafalgar Square for fear of upsetting the French,the response from the British public was....very Anglo Saxon!!

Rob

 

[aujj65]

Excellent post Rob! I should be able to post a photo of a jigsaw puzzle later tonight entitled "The Hero of Trafalgar".

Jeff

Not a very good photo but you can see the man himself!

Jeff

 

[Rob]

Not a very good photo but you can see the man himself!

Jeff

Very good Jeff!

Rob