H.M.S. Foudroyant by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Mark Barrett · **Joined:** Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:40 pm **Posts:** 1088

I can't recall if this poem has been mentioned before - (apologies if it has :oops:

)

It was written by Conan Doyle when H.M.S. Foudroyant was about to be broken up in a German breaker's yard.

It was published in a book of Conan Doyle's poetry titled "Songs of Action".

When he was knighted in August 1902 it was apparently chiefly for his patriotic endeavours rather than for any of his fictional works.

Quote:

H.M.S. FOUDROYANT
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

(Being a humble address to Her Majesty's
Naval advisers who sold Nelson's old flagship
to the Germans for a thousand pounds)

Who says the Nation's purse is lean,
Who fears for claim or bond or debt,
When all the glories that have been
Are scheduled as a cash asset?
If times are bleak and trade is slack,
If coal and cotton fail at last,
We've something left to barter yet
Our glorious past.

There's many a crypt in which lies hid
The dust of statesman or of king;
There's Shakespeare's home to raise a bid,
And Milton's house its price would bring.
What for the sword that Cromwell drew?
What for Prince Edward's coat of mail?
What for our Saxon Alfred's tomb?
They're all for sale!

And stone and marble may be sold
Which serve no present daily need;
There's Edward's Windsor, labelled old,
And Wolsey's palace, guaranteed.
St. Clement Danes and fifty fanes,
The Tower and the Temple grounds;
How much for these? Just price them, please,
In British pounds.

You hucksters, have you still to learn,
The things which money will not buy?
Can you not read that, cold and stern
As we may be, there still does lie
Deep in our hearts a hungry love
For what concerns our island story?
We sell our work perchance our lives,
But not our glory.

Go barter to the knacker's yard
The steed that has outlived its time!
Send hungry to the pauper ward
The man who served you in his prime!
But when you touch the Nation's store,
Be broad your mind and tight your grip.
Take heed! And bring us back once more
Our Nelson's ship.

And if no mooring can be found
In all our harbours near or far,
Then tow the old three-decker round
To where the deep-sea soundings are;
There, with her pennon flying clear,
And with her ensign lashed peak high,
Sink her a thousand fathoms sheer.
There let her lie!

tycho · **Posted:** Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:11 am

Many thanks for that, Mark. I was totally unfamiliar with Conan Doyle's verse - though I know his prose, of course. No great poetry, but the passion of the conviction gives it a certain power.

As I've said before, poetry, even poor stuff, often does the business when prose doesn't cut it. I once had a long battle with the taxman who owed me money, and I had a thick file of letters to record the strife. Finally, I wrote my grievances in Kiplingesque doggerel: 'Come all you young taxmen and hark to my lay....' and got a cheque from Her Majesty's Inland Revenue soon afterwards.

Devenish · **Posted:** Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:59 pm

Anna,

As a point of interest, the Foudroyant was actually saved from the German breakers when she was bought for £20,000 by a Mr Wheately Cobb, probably inspired by the public indignation at the time and perhaps even Conan Doyle's poem. He subsequently used her as a boy's training ship, but unfortunately she suffered a perhaps even more ignominious fate, by being driven ashore on Blackpool beach in 1897, where she was destroyed:

http://wikimapia.org/2364085/HMS-Foudroyant

Clicking on the thumbnail picture gives you a larger image. A sad end for one of Nelson's flagships, but I believe various souvenirs were made from her timbers.

Mira · **Posted:** Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:26 pm

Kester,

You're right about the Foudroyant ending up as rich pickings for souvenir hunters, even on a mass produced commercial scale.

My hubby, who occasionally works in the area, tells me that the walls of the Blackpool FC boardroom are beautifully panelled with wood from the wreck of the Foudroyant.

Devenish · **Posted:** Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:42 am

Mira,

Thanks for that. I expect there is quite a substantial amount of the Foudroyant's timbers and fittings around in various places, especially in the Blackpool area.

tycho · **Posted:** Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:10 am

It appears that a syndicate bought the wreck to make souvenirs; there certainly seems to be a lot of stuff about from the ship on ebay etc. Just try Googling HMS Foudroyant sovenirs.

http://www.fleetwoodtoday.co.uk/nostalg ... 1073270.jp

Mark Barrett · **Joined:** Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:40 pm **Posts:** 1088

All manner of items were made from the timber and copper from the Foudroyant.

Best known are the medallions - of which many many thousands were made.

But a whole range of furniture and other memorabilia was made. I once came across a reference to something called "Catalogue of furnishing made from the Foudroyant wreck by GOODALL, LAMB and HEIGHWAY LIMITED of Manchester". I tried quite hard to find a copy of this booklet. I seem to recall that they had one in Blackpool Library - but I never made it up there to see it with my own eyes.

I always found it interesting that the combination of timber and copper perfectly suited the "art nouveau" fashion of the late Victorian age.

There is a whole little website dedicated to a bookcase made from Foudroyant timber and copper.

http://foudroyant.co.uk/whole.htm

MB

Nelson & His World

H.M.S. Foudroyant by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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