Nelson & His World

A young man named Horatio Chapple has been tragically killed by a polar bear.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14415592

Sounds familiar by another Horatio?



http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explor ... ID=BHC2907

A strange coincidence indeed.

However, sad though it is that this Horatio has lost his life and four others were injured, one wonders whether the warnings given by the Norwegian authorities were taken that seriously by the team leaders. I can understand the reasons for the character building exercise, but why do it in so remote a place? We did this sort of thing in the scouts and I remember hikes I went on in Scotland and elsewhere, but they were within the reach of civilisation and nowhere near as dangerous from the wildlife point of view!

I was half-listening to a radio programme in which I think it was said that the camp was patrolled by men with guns who were prepared to deal with threats from wild animals. Why they didn't do so is the subject of investigation.

Polar bears are incredibly dangerous so Nelson was particularly fortunate to survive his encounter.

Indeed it is ! My sister sent me the article, I couldn't believe the first name !

A quotation from a much longer piece in the Daily Express:


Horatio, who was named after Naval hero Lord Nelson, dreamed of studying medicine at university once he had finished his exams. In a bitter irony, as a 15-year-old midshipman, Horatio Nelson fought off a polar bear on Spitsbergen after his musket misfired

It struck me too, do hope the others are on the mend.