Trafalgar 200

Today we mark 200 years since one of the Royal Navy's most famous and most crushing victories, at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought at cape Trafalgar, south west of Spain.

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The British fleet which proved too strong for the combined forces of the French and Spanish Navies, was led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, aboard HMS Victory.

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A Royal Navy fleet of 27 ships fought against a French and Spanish fleet of 33. The British lost no ships while the opponents lost 22.

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The battle was won when, abandoning the standard formation of a long line, Vice Admiral Lord Nelson used two parallel lines of ships to go straight at the enemy. This method simplified communication between ships and broke the battle down into a series of ship-to-ship fights.

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On the day of the battle, Nelson wrote the following words in his diary :

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May the Great God whom I worship grant to my country and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in anyone tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature of the British Fleet. For myself individually I commit my life to Him who made me, and may this blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To Hm i resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

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Nelson died in battle, his last words reportedly "Kismet, Hardy" , loosely taken to mean fate or destiny.

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He was fatally wounded by a lead ball, which sliced through an artery in his lung and lodged in his spine. He died knowing he had won the battle.

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French Commander, Vice Admiral Villeneuve was stabbed in the chest 6 times after defeat, probably murdered on Napoleon's orders.

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Life on board sailing vessels such as HMS Victory was lethally dangerous even without an enemy firing into them. Sailors drowned, fell to death from the rigging or were crippled in accidents. There were many more fatalities from disease than from enemy action.

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Royal Navy crews were astonishingly diverse.On HMS Victory, there were 64 Scots, 63 Irish, 18 welshmen, 21 Americans, 7 dutchmen, 9 West Indians, 6 Swedes, a handful of Germans, Portuguese, Maltese and Danes, a Russian and an African.

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Crews also included large numbers of men who - like Nelson - had lost eyes, arms, hands or legs in battle. Though they would be considered 'disabled' by modern standards, they took part in close combat.

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Nelson is a true British hero and the celebrations surrounding the bicentenary of Trafalgar and in commemoration of his death have been muted, low-key and without substance.

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Lest we forget has never been a more pertinent phrase, given the current dealings we have with the EU, who many consider to be the direct political descendants of Napoleon et al.