Nelson & His World

I believe that only one man is proven to have been present at both Trafalgar and Waterloo - Don Miguel-Ricardo de Alava.

But I am aware of an interesting story of 2 brothers - one of whom was at Trafalgar and the other at Waterloo.

Henry Bellairs was a midshipman on HMS Spartiate at Trafalgar. He had to deliver a despatch to Nelson shortly before the start of the battle and was invited to remain on board Victory - but he said that he preferred to return to his own ship.

His brother William Bellairs was a lieutenant in the 15th Regiment of Light Dragoons at Waterloo.

Henry had a very interesting life. He left the navy in 1808 and joined the army. And then left the army in 1811 and joined the church. That must make him unique or a member of a VERY select club.

William not only got his Waterloo medal but also a Military General Service Medal with bars for Vittoria, Orthes and Toulouse. He was knighted by George IV.

I wonder if these brothers ever got together to chat in later years. If so I would love to have been a fly on the wall!!

MB

Mark, do you know how long before the battle Henry Bellairs delivered his despatch to Nelson?

Tony

Unfortunately not. I can only assume that it was in the final hours before the start of the battle.

I believe it was his daughter Laura who first recorded the fact in a short biography of her father - which I think gives it reasonably good provenance.

Unfortunately he does not have an entry in O'Byrne - the 2 Bellairs' who are in O'Byrne are his cousins.

All in all they were quite a family!

Henry was awarded his Naval General Service Medal with Trafalgar bar and I think that is the medal he is wearing in the attached photograph. (He was one of the relatively few Trafalgar veterans caught on film!)

As a vicar education became one his "causes celebre" and to this day there is a school named after him in Bedworth, Warks. Well there was last time I was there!!

MB

Thanks Mark, it's great to see the photo.

I asked, because there is no firm indication of the Spartiate's position in the morning before the battle. At dawn, she seems to have been a long way south of most of the fleet, and it is not possible to tell when she took her station last in the weather line behind the Minotaur. It may have been as late as 2pm, a couple of hours after the action began. But if Henry Bellairs did make it to the Victory that morning, then that might suggest she was in her station earlier.

Henry Bellairs wasn't the only man at Trafalgar later to go into the church, but to enter the army first certainly makes his a strange and interesting career!

Tony

Sorry I can't be more precise but the inference is certainly that Spartiate was in position sooner rather than later.

Regarding the positions of the ships I imagine you have consulted the report that the Admiralty produced on Nelson's tactics at Trafalgar. 1913 I believe. I know there is quite a bit in there regarding the positions of the ships and generally taken from primary sources.

MB

Yes, the Admiralty Report was an enormously useful source for my article, except that in the Spartiate's case, it contained a critical misprint or transcription error! So I also consulted the original logs at the National Archives for the Spartiate and a number of other ships.