SeapixOnlineDisplaying 3588 of 11102 For decades many New Zealanders exploring the "Mother Country" England, have, like millions of others from around the globe, visited the world famous Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, drawn there by the mystique of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and his equally famous warship, HMS. Victory.
Like the writer, those of us who have trodden that well-worn path, have gazed upon the brass plaque on Victory's deck proclaiming "On this spot, Nelson fell" and later, when taken below decks, the brandy barrel supposedly used to transport Nelson's body back to England following his death at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.
The English artist Arthur William Devis (1762-1822) created "The Death of Nelson", a painting with strangely ethereal qualities depicting the death-bed scene. A replica of this painting hangs alongside one of Victory's sturdy white-painted oak timbers emblazoned in gold leaf with the words "Here Nelson died".
But things changed when the curator of HMS Victory, Peter Goodwin, decided to do an in-depth study of the painting and other old documents detailing damage sustained by the ship during the battle off the southern Spanish coast.
This research concluded that the exact spot where Nelson passed over was in fact 7.6m (25ft) further to the right and closer toward the ships bow than previously thought.
Forming part of Goodwin's research for a maritime history thesis, his findings were verified by a number of experts.
The Royal Navy accepted that the original memorial (pictured) was in the wrong place and decided to remove the commemorative wording and relocate it to what is now considered the correct location. A new memorial was consecrated on 21 June 2008.
HMS Victory is still the oldest commissioned warship in the Royal Navy having been built between 1759 and 1765.
Under Nelson's command at Trafalgar, she was not in fact the fleet flagship (that title went instead to HMS Vanguard) but was just one of a fleet of 27 English warships which went on to defeat a fleet of 33 French and Spanish ships of the line and effectively snuff out all of Napoleon Bonaparte's plans to invade Britain.
Keywords: Historic Shipping, naval vessels, naval ships, ships, shipping, weapons, warships, war, warfare, assault, attack, defence, defense, navy, navies, conflict, ship photos, battle of trafalgar, trafalgar, admiral lord nelson, horatio nelson, lord nelson, RN, royal navy, portsmouth, england, napoleonic wars, napolean bonaparte, napolean |
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