Newsletter 0f

The Nelson Society of Australia Inc. July 2008

Program of Events

All meetings begin at 7pm for a 7.30 start unless otherwise stated. St Michael’s Church Hall, Cnr The Promenade & Gunbower Rd, Mt Pleasant

Please bring a plate for supper. Mon 8 Sept Meeting cancelled - film night re-arranged for 17 Nov (see below) Mon. 29 Sept. 6.30 pm Nelson’s 250th Birthday Anniversary Dinner at RAAF Association, Bull Creek Thurs. 16 Oct. am Nelson Sword Presentation at HMAS Stirling☼ Sun. 19 Oct. 3pm Memorial Service St George’s Cathedral Wed. 29 Oct. 9.30am Nelson Society Stall at Seniors Have a Go Day. Burswood Park Fri. 7 Nov. 7pm Pickle Night at St Michael’s Hall Mon 17 Nov Evening Cygnet Theatre, Como. Film “Australia” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman☼ ☼details and application forms later by email or post

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Nelson’s Coat of Arms

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Popham’s Letter Code as Used at Trafalgar After a number of developments in the 18th century this marine vocabulary, first issued to ship’s of the line in 1805, was the breakthrough to complete freedom of speech by signal.

The Honorary Life President, Graham Perkins, receiving from the Chairman, Mike Sargeant, a special Nelson Medallion for his work in founding the Nelson Society of Australia Inc.

The Reverend Canon Roy Gilbert 1948-2008

It is with deep regret we record the recent death after a lengthy battle with cancer of Roy Gilbert, honorary chaplain and stalwart member of our Society. Taking over from Tim Harrison at the end of 2006, Roy was the Society's main link with St George’s Cathedral in the arrangements for the Memorial Service, a duty he carried out with commendable diligence and quiet efficiency. He will be particularly remembered by members for his moving address at the Service in October last year. Since 1988, until his retirement at the end of Term Two this year, Roy was Chaplain of Guildford Grammar School where the commitment to his role and wide spread involvement in the community made him a well respected and much admired member of staff by both students and fellow colleagues alike. Some 450 people, including eight members of the Society, attended an impressive memorial Service for Roy in the School Chapel on 22nd July.

Nelson’s Coat of Arms

The illustration on the front cover is the final coat of arms Nelson used in his lifetime, produced after the Battle of Copenhagen. Nelson’s use of a seaman as a supporter of his Arms set a precedent. The other supporter, the lion, tearing up the flags of France and Spain, was quite controversial as the original Spanish flag showed the arms of the Spanish Royal family. In the final version neither flag is really recognizable and the Spanish Coat of Arms has gone. The palm tree and frond held by the supporters refer to Nelson’s victory at the Nile. Nelson insisted that the rather gaudy ‘chelengk’, awarded by the Sultan of Turkey and which he often wore as a sort of cap badge in his hat, be included. The coat of arms was changed again after the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson Trafalgar Companion

How many books have been written about Nelson? Many hundreds is the answer, but this depends on how you define the question. A book that contains more than a passing reference to Nelson should perhaps be included, like for example, books about the battles that he was involved in, as should foreign language books and even fiction. There are also members of Nelson's family and his professional contemporaries whose combined stories form the wider picture. And then there is Emma Hamilton: a study of her biographies is a work in its own right. Taking all this into account, the answer seems to come out at around 900 of which there are over 2500 editions. So if you embarked upon a mission to collect every single edition of every book on Nelson you would need several hundred metres of book shelves -and a very deep pocket indeed. 1 The Largest Hardback Without doubt this was the large format Life of Nelson by Rev James Stanier Clarke and John M'Arthur published in 1809. Clarke was the Librarian to George IV and Chaplain to the Royal Household and he had access to important state documents. M' Arthur was at one time the secretary to Lord Hood. Their book was in fact published in two volumes, and in total it measures l40mm thick (across both spines) 300mm in width and 350mm in height. Together they weigh an astonishing eight kilograms! Large editions of books of this period were probably published for people who had problems with their eyesight, but not their biceps. Value today in good leather-bound condition £500 or Aus $l000. 2 The Smallest Hardback This record goes to a more modern book, by James Brown, called The Life and Times of Lord Nelson, published by Parragon in 1996. This bard-back midget measures just 14mm across the spine, 84mm wide and 1O9mm high. It weighs only 28mg and is 72 pages long, but is surprisingly well illustrated in colour despite its size. Value today £3 or Aus$6. 3 Historically, the Most Important Ever Published . Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas' s Letters and Dispatches of Lord Nelson~ published between 1844 and 1846 in seven volumes. Considered by many to be the 'bible' of the Nelson enthusiast and scholar, the set contains many thousands of Nelson's letters, mostly annotated. It was only reprinted in recent years, so for a long time researchers had to hunt down the ever rarer sets of the first edition. First edition value today in a good matching leather-bound condition, easily £1000 or Aus$2000. 4 The Most Important 20th Century Biography The trend has always been that as more archives are discovered and interpreted, generally speaking the better the quality of the biography should be, which means that the most recent should be the best. It also means that some milestone biographies have to be discarded to arrive at the 'most important.' In selecting the most important I am mindful of its place in British history at its time of first printing, and of the time it took to replace it as 'the definitive' biography -a bit like Bob Beamon's long jump record. I am therefore putting aside Warner, Pocock and other worthies and plumping for Carola Oman's Nelson of 1946. Carola Oman crafted a brilliant book based on records she had access to in the Admiralty during the war. It was published in Britain in 1947 (a US edition of 1946 is officially the first edition, as I am often reminded by my American friends!) when nerves were still on edge after the war and people needed a solidly patriotic read. It was published 12 years before Oliver Warner's Portrait of Lord Nelson, which was also an acclaimed biography. Oman's book is still reprinted from time to time -21 editions since 1946. Value of a good condition first edition (US or British) with good dust wrapper today -£200 or Aus$400. 5 The Most Important 21st Century Nelson biography Although we are only eight years into the new century, much was written about Nelson around the time of the bicentenary in 2005, when interest was high. In 2004, John Sugden produced a work called Nelson: A Dream of

Books on Nelson —Some Interesting Facts and Editions

by David Shannon

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Glory. The work: was colossal (over 900 pages) and the 2004 edition was only the first volume, up to 1797. The second volume is expected in 2010, according to the publishers. So far, it looks like it will be the most complete biography yet, incorporating many new insights and recently found archive material. Price of the first volume Aus $80. - 6 The Most Reprinted Biography This is an easy one: Robert Southey's The Life of Nelson, first published in 1813 in two slim volumes. I have documented 149 British editions, 53 US editions, and ten in foreign languages, covering German, Danish, Dutch, and French. I have yet to discover a non-European language edition, but I am sure that it exists. In addition, four separate books have been written about the book! Value today of the first edition in good condition £500 or Aus $l,000 7 The Most Controversial Two lawyers, one also a parliamentary candidate, by the names of George Edinger and E J C Neep, together wrote a Nelson biography called Horatio Nelson, published in 1930. It really should have been consigned to the rubbish bin of failed Nelson biographies (and there have been a few), but it has retained its notoriety because of the outrageous claims that the two legal gentlemen made. Nelson, in 1805 they said, was depressed over the government's lack of recognition of Lady Hamilton's service to the country whilst in Naples, and that, coupled with his apparent lack of personal safety at Trafalgar (in wearing a fully emblazoned uniform) led them to conclude that Nelson had in effect given up and constructively committed suicide! Thankfully, this book has never been reprinted. Value today, £40 or Aus$80. 8 The Rarest Nelson Book A difficult question, because opinions vary. It would probably be any publication that was privately produced of very limited circulation, and therefore of low numbers printed. One that springs to mind was Joseph Allen's Memoir of Sir William Hargood (short title), published in 1841. Hargood commanded Belleisle at Trafalgar and gave a good account of it in his diary. The book was paid for, and hence published by, Hargood' s widow. I have read the copy that is in the UK's National Maritime Museum Library, and I only know of five others. Of these five, two are in private collections, one is in Oxford University, another in the Nelson Museum in Great Yarmouth and the other in the British Library. Value, if one came onto the market, would be high -perhaps £10,000 or Aus$20,000 at auction, if the 'right' cheque books were in the room. 9 The Best Value Books on Nelson Three commonly seen 'reprint' or 'club' editions of well-known books are often found in second-hand bookshops at affordable prices. These books are not first editions, but were cheaper reprints sent to book club subscribers a year or so after first publication and were never offered for sale in retail bookshops at the time. They are: Carola Oman's Nelson reprinted by World Books in 1950; Oliver Warner's A Portrait of Lord Nelson reprinted by The Reprint Society in 1958; and David Howarth's Trafa/gar: The Nelson Touch reprinted by World Books in 1970. Expect to pay around Aus$5 without dust wrapper, and up to Aus$15 with. 10 My Favourite Nelson Book This has to be Trafalgar: The Nelson Touch by the late David Howarth, written in 1969. I first read this book in the same year, while serving in Victory in Portsmouth. From that moment I was hooked! I have dipped into the book often in the intervening years, and this is also a book that has seen a number of reprints -I have noted 15. I should say in passing that I had the pleasure of meeting the author shortly before he died, at a Nelson Society AGM in Burnham Thorpe in the late 1980s. His son, Stephen Howarth, is also a noted naval historian and together they wrote a great Nelson biography in 1988. A good condition first edition of Trafalgar with dust wrapper would today set you back £80 or Aus$l60. 11 Nelson Book Collecting Trends of the Future As general interest in Nelson winds down in the years after the bicentenary, it is perhaps a good time to buy 20th century editions. Always look for the best condition and, if you can, seek out a book with a good dust wrapper. However, the big tip is Southey's Life of Nelson (the actual title can vary slightly), especially those published between 1880 and 1920, as they are sometimes beautifully illustrated on the cover and spine. Values vary greatly, but for, say, Aus$40 you can buy a good looking book which will increase in value over the years. Bear in mind that Southey's Nelson has its bicentenary in 2013, and prices may start edging upward as it 'gets noticed' by collectors.

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NELSON BOOKS ON THE WEB

For an interesting look at a selection of books about Nelson, go to http://lanrryvoyer.com/HoratioNelson/nelson_R.htm

http://larryvoyer.com/HoratioNelson/nelson_southey.htm www.aboutnelson.co.uk/books.htm

For second hand and antiquarian book sales, go to www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchEntry

www.alibris.com/booksearch?S=R For a list of modern books for sale, go to www.nelson.co.uk/page/Nelson_Books.html

For out-of-stock modern books, go to www.amazon.co.uk

http://danny.oz.au/books.amazon.html For researcb on books, go to

http://copac.ac.uk/wzgw

Notes: 1 The values quoted here are very approximate, and an internet search (on Abebooks or Alibris for example) will often turn up cheaper copies, but bear in mind the addition of postage costs. As with all books, you can double its value if it is signed by the author. 2 For new books published in the last few years which are no longer on book store shelves, try Amazon.

You could pick up a bargain. Note that there is no Amazon Australia, so either go to Amazon's associate in Australia (danny.oz) or direct to Amazon UK. Both website addresses are set out below.-

3 The book business has certain terms which should be explained. - Remaindered. A publisher's out of date stock, sold off cheaply into the trade and frequently turning up in a small independent and second hand book shops. Often identified by a mark on the bottom edge. These books should be very much cheaper than the original price but often they’re not. Impression. When a print run that is done in batches over a period of weeks or even months, each batch is called an impression. They are basically the same edition but interrupted. It used to be the case that these impressions would be noted in the book. I have seen one book with over 20 impressions all In the same year. However, this is not common now. On rare occasions an impression might produce a slightly different book. Certainly when the printer notes the impression number on or near the title page it technically makes it different from the last but I have seen changes in cover colour appearing with different impressions. Reprint. A fresh and sometimes revised printing. Occasionally reprinted by a different publisher or an imprint of the original publisher. The text of a reprint should not in theory be different from the last edition, unless it actually says ‘revised.' Edition. A completely new and reset printing, sometimes with revisions by the author. None of these definitions are set in stone and I have seen them being used incorrectly by printers and publishers. Print on demand (POD), or print to order. Modern technology has produced printing machinery capable of storing digital images of thousands of classic books. When you order such a book, you are placed in a queue, which can take weeks, and your book is then freshly printed in a new (and always inappropriate) generic cover - often soft back. Quality is never that good. POD technology produces cheaply made facsimiles of the text which are really only of use to researchers in a hurry. 4 I have already mentioned Abebooks and Alibris, the two biggest book sale websites. I prefer Abebooks because of the simple layout and their bigger size. Frankly if it's not in Abebooks, it's going to be a very rare book indeed. When you go into their site, enter the author and title and all the books with those two words will come up. As an example, if you enter Southey and Nelson, currently 611 books for sale will appear. See appendix 1 for the opening Abebooks page and appendix 2 for an example page of available books. If you want to buy a particular book, press Add to Basket and you will then go to payment and confirmation. You need to enter your credit card details to register. I have been registered for seven years, purchased over 300 books and never had a problem -but you need to keep accurate records should a problem arise.

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USA Memorial Day at Kings Park War Memorial

Perth 26th May 2008

Ron Ingham and Geoff Paice

The Nelson Society Contingent: John Caskey, Glyn Davies, Geoff Paice, Graham Perkins and Richard Savage.

Standard Bearers with old British Flag, Bowman Flag, American flag and the Veterans Flag.

Ron Ingham laying the new Nelson Wreath

Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday in May, is a day to remember and honor those who "gave the last full measure of devotion" in the service of their nation. President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, on 19 November 1863, is considered by many to be the inspiration for Memorial Day. Although periodic local observances in several towns throughout America had taken place since the Civil War, the first documented organised ceremony decorating Veterans' graves with wreaths, crosses, bouquets and flags occurred on 5 May 1866 in Waterloo, New York. All businesses closed on that day and the ceremony became an annual event. One hundred years later, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo as the official birthplace of Memorial Day. In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by the United States Congress.

The Rising Son Emblem

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1758 Nelson born at Burnham Thorpe 1767 26th December. His mother died 1770 Entered as midshipman on the 64 guns Raisionable 1771 Joins the Raisonable 15 May. Transfers to 74 guns Triumph (Thames guard ship) August. Sails for West Indies on merchant ship 1772 Returns to England and rejoins Triumph 1773 June to Sept. Sails with an expedition in bomb vessel 1774 Carcass in search of an Arctic Route to the Pacific 1775 Invalided from his ship with Malaria during American War of

Independence 1776 August. Returns to England 1777 9th April. Passes promotion to Lieutenant 10 April. Appointed to 32-gun frigate Lowestoft 19 July. Arrives Port Royal Jamaica 1778 France allied with American rebels against Britain Commands small schooner Little Lucy as tender to Lowestoft July. Appointed first Lieutenant in the 50-gun Bristol July. Appointed commander of 16 gun armed brig Badger 1779 June. Promoted post Captain, appointed to 32-gun frigate Hinchinbrooke Spain allied with France against Britain 1780 February to April. Takes part in disastrous expedition to Nicaragua (capture of Fort San Juan) August appointed to command 28-gun frigate Albermarle Autumn. Escorts Baltic Convoy 1781 18 October. General Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown 1782 Joins North American Squadron visits Quebec and New York returns to West Indies. 1783 March. Fails to take Turks Island. American War of Independence ends June. Returns home Visits St Omer France. 1784 Appointed to command 28-gun frigate Borcas. Sails for the West Indies 28 July. Arrives in Antigua 1785 Appointed ADC to Prince William Henry 1786 March. Married Frances Nisbet at Nervis 1787 Placed on half pay. Lives at Burnham Thorpe with his wife 1788 French Revolution begins 1793 Start of French Revolutionary Wars Appointed to command 64 guns Agamemnon June. Sails for Mediterranean September. Visits Naples and meets Sir William and Lady (Emma ) Hamilton 22 October. In Action with French Frigates 1794 Jan to Aug. Corscian campaign. Right eye injured at Calvi 1795 14 March. Agamemnon in action against Ca Ira in the battle

in the Gulf of Genoa 1796 March. Appointed Commondore. Hoists his pennant on the

64-gun Diadem September. Transfers in October to the 74-gun Captain January. Temporarily hoists his flag on the 38-gun frigate La Minerve. 1797 14 Feb.Plays key role in the Victory at the Battle of St Vincent on the Captain. promoted Rear-Admiral and appointed Knight of the Bath. Returns home to Bath to recover as passenger on 38-gun frigate Seahorse.

1798 March. Hoists flag on 74-gun Vanguard and joins Lord St

Vincent’s fleet off Cadiz. April. Commands detached squadron in Mediterranean to Egypt. 1 August. Destroys French Fleet at Battle of the Nile (Aboukir Bay) where he is wounded in the head. 22 September. Arrives in Naples 6 November. Created Baron Nelson of the Nile Dec 23 to 26. Rescues Neopolitan Royal family and the Hamiltons from advancing French Army and takes to him to Palermo. 1799 23 January. French take Naples Begins relationship with Lady (Emma) Hamilton 8 June Transfers to Naples and cancels truce with rebels 24 June. Authorizes the execution of Neopolitan Admiral Carracciolo. August to December. Commands in the Mediterranean in the absence of Lord Keith. Created Duke of Bronte and given Sicilian Estate 12 August. Napoleon escaped from Egypt and reaches France 9th October 1800 Captures the Generoux April. Visits Maltese waters with the Hamiltons June. Recalled home 13 July. Strikes his flag in the Mediterranean, Sails for Leghorn on the 74-gun Alexander July - November. Visits European cities on leisurely journey home with the Hamiltons 6th November. Lands at Yarmouth to hero’s welcome and Freedom of Borough November. Meets Lady Nelson in London but spends Christmas with the Hamiltons 1801 January. Promoted Vice Admiral. Deserts his wife 13th January. Hoists flag on the 114-gun San Josef End of January to early February. Emma gives birth to Nelson’s illegitimate daughter Horatio. 12th February. Transfers his flag to 98 gun St George 6th March. Joins Admiral Parker at Yarmouth and six days later sails for the Baltic 2nd April. Battle of Copenhagen Nelson commands the attack with his flag on the 74-gun Elephant 6 May. Assumes command in Baltic June. Returns home on the 16-gun Kite having been created Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Burnhope Thorpe 27th July. Appointed to command anti-invasion forces in Channel Hoists flag on the 36-gun frigate Unite but transfers to gun Medusa. 15 August. Failure of attack on Boulogne September. Buys Merton Place 1 October. Britain and France sign armistice. Joins Hamiltons at Merton 1802 25 March. French Revolutionary Wars end with Treaty of Amiens 26 April. His father, Reverend Edmond Nelson dies July to August. Tours South Wales and the Midlands with the Hamiltons

Timetable for the Life of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson

1803 Sir William Hamilton dies 16 May. The Napoleonic wars begin. Nelson appointed Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean 18th May. Hoists flag on 102-guns Victory but sails to Mediterranean on 32-gun frigate Amphion and joins fleet off Toulon on 6th July August. French prepare to invade England 1804 Blockades Toulon with flag in Victory 1805 January to February. Chases but fails to catch Villeneuve’s fleet in Mediterranean April to July. Chases Villeneuve to West Indies and back but fails to catch him. 22 July. Rear Admiral Calder engages Villeneuve in indecisive action off Cape Finisterre 18 August. Arrives Portsmouth and returns to Merton. 14 September. Rejoins Victory at Portsmouth 29 September. Takes command of British fleet off Cadiz 21 October. Killed at Battle of Trafalgar 6th November. News of Trafalgar and Nelson’s death reaches England 4th December. Victory brings his body to Portsmouth 5 December. National day of Thanksgiving for the victory at Trafalgar 1806 8 January. Funeral procession of barges on River

Thames from Greenwich to Whitehall Stairs 9th February. Procession from Admiralty to St Paul’s for burial service taken from Nelson Trafalgar Companion

But Harks the Cannon’s Sound the General tear Proclaiming the Hero of Trafalgar near.

That ship whose conquering Standard bore brought her dead hero to Britannia’s shore.

From a painting on glass produced in 1806, in the collections of the Nelson Museum, Monmouth.

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Sickness in Nelson's Fleet

In a report to Nelson, dated Victory at Spithead 18 Aug. 1805, Leonard Gillespie, the physician of the fleet, certified the number of sick in the ships just returned from the West Indies. They were as follows: Victory 14; Canopus 36; Superb 20; Spencer 15; Swiftsure 29; Belleisle 15; Conqueror 10; Tigre 11; Leviathan 26 and Donegal 19; a total of 195 out of 5,500-6,000 men, or 3 or 4 per cent. This is very low compared to the equivalent French and Spanish figures. Gillespie added that of these sick only 23 were cases of scurvy; alongside 9 fluxes, 10 fever, 32 ulcers, 45 wounds and accidents, 10 rheumatism, 23 'pulmonic inflammations', 2 venereal disease (on Donegal) and 60 other com-plaints. These total 214, which does not correspond with the number listed sick. However he goes on to elaborate on the subject of scorbutics (those showing early signs of scurvy but who have not yet developed the disease): 'The number of scorbutics has considerably decreased in the Fleet, in consequence of the refreshments pro-cured at Tetuan and Gibraltar. Spencer and Tigre have 40 scorbutics each; Belleisle 160 scorbutics; Conqueror 36 scorbutics.' It appears that these were not included on the sick list as they presumably remained on duty.

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The keel of the Victory, a First Rate, was laid at Chatham Dockyard in 1759, and construction of the important vessel was overseen by the master shipwright of the yard, John Lock and, after his death in 1762, Edward Allin. The fact that 1759 witnessed British victories at Lagos, Minden, Quebec, and Quiberon Bay was surely a factor in her naming. But, with the Seven Years' War ending in 1763, the hull was not floated out of dock until 7 May 1765, allowing her timbers to season ‘in frame’. This, and the exceptional thickness of her timbers, may well have contributed to her longevity. After sea trials she was laid up ‘in ordinary,’ without a commission and manned by a skeleton crew, in the river Medway at Chatham. In 1771 and 1775 the Victory needed repairs to planking below her waterline to remedy leaks perhaps caused by infestations of shipworms or wood-boring gribbles in the Medway. First commissioned in March 1778, a month after France joined the American War for Independence, the Victory sailed to blockade Brest, where she engaged six ships of the escaping French fleet. After minor repairs she returned to the Brest blockade, helping to capture a French convoy in December 1781. Decommissioned in 1783, the Victory had commenced a ‘middling repair’ when structural defects caused by her coppering in 1780 were discovered. Most of the thousands of bolts attaching copper sheathing to her lower hull had thoroughly rusted. According to a contemporary observer, ‘it is the general opinion of the Officers and Carpenters, who have inspected her, that had she touched the ground ever so slightly she must have gone to pieces.’ Underwater iron fastenings were replaced with those made of copper or other non-ferrous alloys. In 1787, after another large repair and a short commission, she was out of service until 1790, when she . was in the Channel as the flagship of Samuel Lord Hood. In 1793 she served in the Mediterranean when Hood captured Toulon, Corsica, San Fiorenzo, and Cadiz, returning to England in November 1797. The Victory, 32 years old and deemed unfit for further sea service, was converted into a prisoner-of-war hospital ship in December. Two years later, however, the First Rate Impregnable ran aground and was lost, and in 1800 a ‘great repair’ to the Victory costing £70,000 was begun. Her outward appearance changed to increase her seaworthiness.

Fate of Nelson’s Flagship The ship's open galleries were removed and the entire stern closed in, and her heavy figurehead was replaced with a lighter version. The ship's hull, previously bright with rosin above the lower-deck gun ports, was painted in black and yellow-ocher bands, the port lids remaining yellow. In the days before the Battle of Trafalgar, her port lids were painted black to aid recognition in battle, producing the ‘Nelson checker’ pattern. In mid-May 1803, Britain declared war on France,

and the Victory was made ready. Lord Nelson commander in chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, came aboard the Victory on 31 July 1803. Thereafter, according to maritime historian Peter Goodwin, ‘Nelson a n d V i c t o r y b e c a m e s ynony m ous . ’ H er t o t a l broadside weight—I,148 pounds-was lighter than when she first set to sea, as lighter guns and more powerful carronades reduced the total number of guns requ i red. Her a rmament included: 30 32, pounders, 28 24-pounders, 30 long 12-pounders, 12 short 12-pounders, 2 medium 12-pounder carriage

guns, and 2 68-pounder carronades. Interesting details of the 21 October 1805 Battle of Trafalgar are contained in the Victory's logbooks. Her crew were at their quarters by 1100 that day and took their meal of ‘pork and wine’ at their guns. At 1125 the Victory hoisted Nelson's famous signal: ‘England expects that every man will do his duty.’ Soon the flagship came under fire from five enemy vessels. The wheel was smashed, and the Victory was temporarily out of control, but her master, Thomas Atkinson, organized secondary steering from the gunroom. It was recently discovered that ships were fitted with such devices in 1803, and it is therefore possible that helm orders were shouted down to Atkinson through copper speaking tubes. Although crewmen from the French 74-gun Redoutable boarded the Victory, the flagship's Ma-rines and carronades decimated them, while her other guns kept firing into the enemy ship's hull until she surrendered. Royal Marine Second Lieutenant Lewis Rotely starkly conveyed the traumatic experience of being on the Victory during her

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murderous exchanges with Bucentaure, French Commander in Chief Pierre Villeneuve's 80-gun flagship: ‘A man should witness a battle in a three-decker from the middle deck, for it beggars all description: it bewilders the senses of sight and hearing. There was the fire from above, the fire from below, besides the fire from the deck I was upon, the guns recoiling with violence, reports louder than thunder, the decks heaving and the sides straining. I fancied myself in the infernal regions, where every man appeared a devil. Lips might move, but orders and hearing were out of the question; everything was done by signs.’ Final numbers of dead and injured in the Victory were high: 102 out of the original complement of 820. After enduring the devastating battle and losing their commander, the surviving crewmen had to make the Victory seaworthy; a storm was approaching. On Wednesday 23 October, sailors were ‘securing the Masts, Yards and Rigging.—Carpenters employed stopping the Shot Holes & c as necessary’ and pumping out the 12 inches of water that poured into the hold each hour. The 64-gun Polyphemus took the ship in tow, but during the storm on Saturday 26 October the main yard was lost. The spar ‘Split the Main Top Sail and Main Sail all to Pieces,’ and the towline parted. The next morning the bigger, 98-gun Neptune took the Victory in tow, but on the 28th the towline again parted and Neptune ‘carried away her Fore Top Mast.’ Finally reaching Gibraltar on 29 October, the Victory anchored in Rosia Bay. Fitted with jury masts, the Victory sailed from Gibraltar on 4 November, arriving at Spithead on 5 December. There, Portsmouth Naval Academy drawing master John Livesay, sketched her, revealing the vessel's battered hull, in preparation for Nicholas Pocock's paintings of the Battle of Trafalgar. Docked at Chatham in March 1806, the Victory's refit was overseen by Master Shipwright Robert Seppings, and in December 1808 the ship set out to evacuate Lieutenant General Sir John Moore's army from Corunna, Spain, after its defeat of French Marshal Nicolas Soult's forces. After disembarking the rescued troops in England, the Victory fought two Baltic campaigns under Vice Admiral Sir James Saumarez and in January 1811 was temporarily converted into a troopship for the Peninsular campaign. She was laid up in ordinary from late 1812 until December 1823, when the vessel was converted to a guard ship, and from 1824 to 1831 she served as a flagship and residence of the port admiral in Portsmouth Harbour. In October 1831, First Sea Lord Thomas M. Hardy, the Victory's captain at Trafalgar, refused to sign the order for the old warship's disposal. Naval veterans began giving unofficial tours, and helped by the visits of Princess, then Queen, Victoria in 1833 and 1848 the Victory was increasingly viewed as an icon.

She subsequently served as tender for the 131-gun Duke of Wellington and then as flagship of the commander in chief, Naval Home Command. In 1903 the iron battleship Neptune was being towed to a breaker's yard when her towline parted and she accidentally rammed the Victory, badly damaging the old flagship's port side. That event and the 1905 Trafalgar centennial raised questions about the vessel's future. The Society for Nautical Research, however, raised funds to put the Victory into dock at Portsmouth's Royal Naval Shipyard in 1922 and to restore her to her 1805 appearance. Nelson's flagship was opened to the public in 1928. Over the last ten years, thanks to an investment of at least £1 million by the Society of Nautical Research and £l million by the Royal Navy, archaeologists have analyzed the Victory's construction and historians have searched archives to restore the vessel to her 1805 configuration. For instance, the ship's grand magazine has been painstakingly reconstructed in its 1803 refit state, lined with copper, lead, and plaster to reduce as far as humanly possible the risk of fire and explosion. The only surviving ship of the line from an era that spanned the American Revolution to the Napoleonic Wars, HMS Victory now serves as a meticulously restored piece of naval history's past.

The Author: Dr. Coats jointly founded the British Naval Dockyards Society in 1996 and has served as its secretary since 1997. In 2005 she organized the Portsmouth Dockyard in the Age of Nelson conference and was involved in the editing of Peter Goodwin's book, ‘The Ships of Trafalgar:’ ‘The British, French and Spanish Fleets, 21 October 1805’ (Conway Maritime Press and Naval Institute Press, 2005). This article appeared in the October 2005 edition of the American Journal, ‘Naval History’.

The Victory at Trafalgar

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Although Nelson was never involved in the exploration or settlement of Australia, such was his heroic status among those who were, that many places and landmarks were named after him or after people and events associated with him. Readers will be familiar with some of these—the former shire of Nelson in the South West and the later clutch of streets in East Perth—but it is

perhaps less well known that two ships bear-ing his name came out to Australia in the 19th century and played a significant role in the country’s m a r i t i m e history.

The first of these did so during Nelson’s lifetime, sailing from Portsmouth in 1800 and .operating for the next 24 years out of Sydney. The ship, a 60 ton surveying brig, equipped with 6 brass carronades, was called the Lady Nelson, after Nelson’s wife Fanny, and had been launched in Deptford in 1798. Fitted with three sliding keels, she drew no more than six feet and so was particularly suited for survey work and map making in shallow waters. On the way out from England, under the command of James Grant, the ship was involved in charting Bass Strait and the naming of King Island and of Mounts Nelson and Schank, the latter after the designer, a naval captain. In 1801, now under the command of John Murray, the Lady Nelson returned to Port Philip Bay and on 8th March and raised the flag and took possession of the area in the name of “His Sacred Majesty King George the Third of Great Britain and Ireland”. In 1802 she joined Matthew Flinders and the Investigator in the exploration of the coast to the north but after two groundings off the coast of Queensland and the loss of one of her sliding keels, the ship was ordered back to Sydney, having become, in Flinder’s words, “a burthen rather than an assistant”, on account of her poor sailing qualities and John Murray’s limited surveying experience. The Investigator went on to complete its historic circumnavigation of the continent. However, the “little consort’s” contribution to the country’s exploration and settlement was far from over. In 1803 the Lady Nelson carried an expedition to establish a new settlement at Risdon on the River Derwent in Van Diemen’s Land and in the following year, under the command of James Symons, returned to explore the Tamar Estuary. 1805 and 1806 saw passages to and from New Zealand conveying a Maori Chief to meet Governor King and at the same time she began a series of voyages transferring the settlers on Norfolk Island to their new home in

Van Diemen’s Land. In 1821 the ship was driven ashore on rocks at Port Macquarie but was repaired to take part in the expedition in 1824 to Melville Island to establish the first white settlement in the North. On a voyage from there to obtain supplies from the East Indies she was sadly captured by pirates on the island of Baba. The crew was murdered and the ship plundered and burnt. By way of a happier epilogue, a replica of the Lady Nelson was built in 1987 as part of the Bicentenary Celebrations and, operating out of Hobart, is today involved in sail training and the tourism industry. The second ship in our story, and one bearing Nelson’s own name, came out to Australia later in the 19th century. She was a first class warship and the largest wooden sailing ship ever built. Having been launched in 1814 but not completed until after the Napoleonic wars were over, she never fired a gun in an-ger and languished in Portsmouth’s harbour for more than 50 years. In 1860 her upper deck was removed and she was converted to a 90 gun, 500 hp screw ship. In

1867 she was acquired by the Government of Victoria and together with the recently built ironclad monitor, HMVS Cerberus, formed a major part of the local defence of the Port of Melbourne. She was at first used as a reformatory vessel and later as a training ship for the Victorian Naval Brigade. The Nelson has long since disappeared but the Cerberus, which was scuttled in 1924 to become a breakwater, can still be seen in the shallows of Black Rock on the eastern shore of Port Philip Bay. Bob Woollett References: 1. Ill Starred Captains: Flinders and Baudin – Anthony J Brown 2. No Pleasure Cruise: The story of the RAN -Tom Frame 3. To Defend a City– Matthew Stirling. Winter, 2008 Australian Heritage 4. Lady Nelson HM —Irene Schafer, Autumn, 2008 Australian Heritage

Another Nelson/Australia Link

Woodcut of the Lady Nelson

HMVS Cerberus and HMS Nelson

The Nelson Society of Australia Inc Patron: Commodore David J Orr. RAN (Ret’d)

Honorary Life President: Graham Perkins Honorary Chaplain: Rev Joe Newbold

COMMITTEE 2007-2008 Office Bearers: Chairman: Mike Sargeant Vice Chairman: Richard Savage Secretary Bob Woollett Treasurer Renee Almond Committee Members: Ron Ingham, Gillian Mead, (Minutes Sec.) Lilian Toomer, John Caskey, Rob O’Connor.

OTHER POSITIONS Newsletter: Betty Foster, (editor), Bob Woollett, (assistant editor) Ted Collinson and Rob O’Connor, (photos) Lilian Toomer. (distribution) Nelson Dispatch Distribution: Gwen Phillips

SUB COMMITTEES Memorial Service: Richard Savage (Chair), David Shannon, Ron Ingham, John Caskey, John Ashworth and Mike Sargeant. Catering: Elsie Paice (co-ordinator) and Renee Almond Pickle Night Bob Woollett, (co-ordinator) Betty Foster and John Caskey Reception: Cynthia Lyall and Ann Penny

THE NELSON SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA INC Founded 2001

To advance public education in the appreciation of the life and character of Admiral Lord Nelson. Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st October 1805. In the greatest sea battle, involving 60 ships of the line, over 3,000 men were killed, 3,500 wounded and over 1,000 reported missing.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Title……….. Name………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Address…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………...Postcode………………………………………………. Telephone……………………………………E-mail………………………………………………………….. Membership Subscription — $25 Cheques to be made out to The Nelson Society of Australia Inc.

Send to Membership Secretary, Bob Woollett, The Nelson Society of Australia, 28 Norfolk St, Fremantle, 6160 WA Phone 9335 7451

Page 12 The Nelson Society of Australia Newsletter July 2008 Printing courtesy of Jim McGinty MLA