Nelson & His World

Discussion on the life and times of Admiral Lord Nelson
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 Post subject: St George's Day
PostPosted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:06 am 
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Location: mid-Wales
Today is St George's Day. He is England's patron saint, though few mark the day with any ceremony.

Today's Times carries an article by Roy Hattersley, politician, journalist and biographer of Nelson. Hattersley maintains that we should celebrate not the the life of St George, but Shakespeare 'who defined our national character'.

The article begins: Horatio Nelson, the authentic hero of English history, called the captains who sailed with him a 'band of brothers....' and continues by suggesting that Nelson was familiar with Shakespeare not by diligent reading, but because, 'like so many Englishmen and women, he had absorbed Shakespeare through his pores.'


It is an interesting article but alas, it does not appear to be in the timesonline edition - perhaps someone more skilled than I can unearth it?

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:45 pm 
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Anna,

Here's the article:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 150017.ece

From the comments, its clear that not everyone agrees and presumably the Society of St George, or whatever it's called, wouldn't either!

Whether Nelson 'absorbed Shakespeare through his pores' or not, he would have been aware that his personal flag, as Vice Admiral of the White, was in reality a St George's flag.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:45 pm 
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Kester:

many thanks for that. I don't know how you do it!

As a matter of interest, there were four St George's flags flying in our small village today, and in Bath, where I spent the afternoon, several pubs were bedecked with flags - a marketing ploy to attract customers, I think.

Churches of the Church of England will be flying St George's flag today. I think - correct me if I'm wrong - that churches that were used as signalling posts have permission to fly the White Ensign, as does All Saints, Burnham Thorpe, in honour of Nelson's connection.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:47 am 
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Anna,

Not so difficult, I just typed in Roy Hattersley - and bingo!

Yes, you're right certain churches have the dispensation to fly the White Ensign, (the other well known one is the Navy's church, St Martin's in the Fields, in Trafalgar Square) otherwise I think its usually the St George's flag – often I believe defaced, or with their own badge superimposed on it. I'm not sure whether that includes churches that were use as signalling posts, but you may be correct and that sounds likely. However the flying of the White Ensign by those not really entitled to do so, i.e. pubs and the general public, is obviously frowned on by the navy, but I am not sure that there is any particular law prohibiting it. However I do know that a pub in Poole here I used to live used to habitually fly a large White Ensign, which was evident for about two weeks, before it suddenly disappeared never to be seen again. My guess is that the publican, who may perhaps have been ex RN, was notified of his error by the powers that be and it was removed. Poole is not notably a naval town, but there is a RM base at Hamworthy, so possibly some Royal Marine might have noticed the ensign when having a swift pint!

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