Nelson & His World

With Trafalgar week in sight, there is grim news indeed this week for the Royal Navy with their defence cuts. Fingers crossed that HMS Victory is not sent to the breakers yard in the defence cuts.

If, (Heaven forbid) Victory is a victim of the defence cuts, it won't be the first time that Nelson's memory has been similarly afflicted. Today's Times has a leader and a full page spread on a report that the original design of Nelson's Column was truncated by a full 30 ft to cut costs. So affronted was its designer, William Railton, that he refused to attend the unveiling ceremony.

Sadly, the Times is now 'pay to view' so I can't post a link here.

I can see the aircraft on the carriers being replaced by the cost cutting Drones as inevitable.

Hardly worth celebrating Trafalgar this year. makes me wonder if these cost cutting measures that are to be made on Wednsday and not Thursday, are an affront so as not to dampen the Trafalgar spirit. Some help indeed!

Can't see the Government stepping in to help the country save Nelson's Star of Bath on Friday either.

Stephen,

Isn't that what all these other cuts are for, so that the Government can at least say they have saved Nelson's Bath Star for the nation? The nation should be grateful for that.

Kester,

I just wonder after today's cuts if the Royal Navy is still the Senior Service?

Please oh please, don't tell me that we have to go through this again as last year. Is there really a danger of loosing the Victory to some 'foreign' power ???

surely she has earned her place and need not worry about her future

they wouldn't dare touch the Victory would they ?

I'll strap myself to a mast if I have to

Margaret

Try not to worry, Margaret! I'm sure Victory is safe. I'm sure I've read 'somewhere' that the receipts from visitors' payments actually cover the cost of maintaining the ship, with a little to spare. We Brits are a bit phlegmatic and usually express our outrage in stiff letters to the Times; but can you imagine the uproar if Victory were to be decommissioned?


Here's a bit more about the cost-cutting exercise that shortened Nelson's column.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... ds-newsxml

Stephen: the Royal Navy will still be the Senior Service as it's the oldest of the three services and that won't change, despite diminished manpower, firepower etc.

Are we sure though that the government haven't any plans to replace the soon-to-be defunct Ark Royal with the Victory?

Seriously though I can't imagine that with all the intense interest in Nelson and the Victory, from the SNR down to the general public, all the money that has been invested in the ship, plus her position as one of the top visitor attractions in the UK, she will be allowed to just rot! I would also imagine there are plans in place to maintain her upkeep should the RN and the MOD, through the government wish to save money there as well!

Stephen,

Anna is right. The Royal Navy is still, and would remain, the Senior Service – even should they be downgraded to one officer, one rating and a none-too-well maintained rowing boat!

In Anna's attachment from the Daily Mail, a comment contributor, - David C, of Alexandria Egypt wrote:- 'John Nash also designed another monument to Nelson, Marble Arch which was intended to be the gateway to Buckingham Palace, unfortunately the arch is too narrow for the royal state coach to pass through so the arch was put in its present position but if you take time to walk through it you will see the memorial plaques to Nelson and Trafalgar.'

I consulted Wikipedia but there was no mention of the above fact relating to Nelson and Trafalgar and I haven't had time to check any other source, perhaps any N&HW member could enlighten me.

Ed,

I had no idea that Marble Arch partly comemmorated Nelson, but then read that is was also supposed to honour Wellington, although this latter idea apparently didn't come to fruition - perhaps because Wellington was still alive at the time! Even the Nelson connection would seem somewhat obscure, since there don't appear to be any ships on the reliefs and the figures are in Roman dress!

The idea that the Arch was moved from the front of Buckingham Palace, because the Queen's coach couldn't pass through it, may actually be erronous. It seems as though the more likely reason is that the Palace was resigned in 1851, to give it the flat front we know today, and the plans didn't include the Arch which of course had to be moved. Incidentally, I also read that the Gold State Coach (the big one!) actually passed through the Arch, in its present location and with the present Queen 'on board', during the Coronation procession in 1953. I wonder if they were testing the story – even so it must have been a bit of a tight fit!

Apparently Marble Arch was originally intended to commemorate Nelson and Trafalgar on one side and Wellington and Waterloo on the other, but the idea was dropped.

On the future of the Victory, it is perhaps worth mentioning that the 'Save the Victory Fund' still exists as a separate ring-fenced fund administered by the SNR (and is sill open to donations). I think the fund value is somewhere in the region of £2 million, which is invested to produce an annual income from which grants are allocated for restoration work on the ship. The SNR also funds an Education Officer for the Victory.