Nelson & His World

I believe "the life of Lord Nelson" is one of the specialist subjects on Mastermind tonight.

Last week they had "the life of the Duke of Wellington". I only managed 3 correct answers on that so hopefully will do better tonight!!

I know Nelson did feature once before, many years ago. For a long time it was the highest recorded points total for a specialist round.

I didn't see it myself and I did try to get hold of a copy of the questions, but was unsuccessful.

MB

Mark,

Good luck – I'm confidant you can do a lot better than three!

Keep us posted and, as you say, it would be interesting to see the questions.

Well, how did we all do?

I got 9/13. Not bad. The Hotham (I always forget his name!) and Temeraire questions I couldn't think of on time before the presenter said the answer. But I didn't know about Nelson promoting Hardy to flag-captain after sending Berry to London. And for some reason I thought it was John Skyes who saved Nelson's life, not John Sykes- apparently I can't read names properly!

I follow the girl who was on on Twitter. Poor girl! She's devastated because she let her nerves get the better of her! She looked frightened when she came on! I applaud her for even getting on the stage. My legs would have been like jelly.

Here's the list of questions that were asked in her two minutes in case anyone missed it:

1. Whom did Nelson describe as 'one of the very best women in this world' in a letter to his wife after they met in Naples in September 1798?

2. Horatio Nelson joined the navy on board HMS Raisonnable in 1771. What relation was the captain of that ship, Maurice Suckling, to Nelson?

3. What was the meaning of the signal no. 39 which, according to popular legend Nelson claimed not to see during the Battle of Copenhagen?

4. During the Battle of Trafalgar, which ship captained by Eliab Harvey came to the aid of Nelson's flagship, Victory, after she became locked together with the Redoubtable?

5. During which battle in July 1794 did Nelson write to Lord Hood, 'I got a little hurt this morning. Not much as you may judge from my writing'?

6. Nelson spent the Christmas of 1800 with the Hamiltons at Fonthill Abbey, the Wiltshire home of which novelist?

7. What collective name did Nelson give to the group of trusted senior officers whom he commanded from the Battle of the Nile until his death?

8. According to the memorandum written by Nelson shortly before Trafalgar 'that no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship...' where?

9. Which of Nelson's crew saved his life twice in hand to hand fighting on a barge accompanying a bomb vessel during the bombardment of Cadiz in July 1797?

10. Whom did Nelson promote to his flag-captain on the Vanguard having sent Edward Berry to London with news of the Victory at the Battle of the Nile?

11. At which port did Nelson and the Hamiltons arrive back in England in November 1800, following their overland journey from Naples?

12. Which admiral did Nelson criticise in letters to his wife for failing to fully engage the French in the Mediterranean in the summer of 1795?

13. During the Battle of Cape St. Vincent which ship did Nelson first capture and then use as a bridge to take the much larger San Josef?

Raerae,

Thanks for posting the questions. Off the bat, I believe I answered twelve of the thirteen questions correctly. The one I couldn't remember was question 6 – the name of the novelist.

I answered them all except 5 & 12. Of course, I knew the answers but you need speed of recall as well on Mastermind - and that gets harder for oldies like me!

I didn't know 6, and for some reason I thought John Sykes' name was John Wilkes (which was made more annoying by the fact that literally the day before I'd read a letter from Nelson which mentioned him!). The others I got though, was quite chuffed with myself!

The poor girl really did look flustered towards the end, bless her.

Yes, there is the time factor of course and the pressure of being in front of an audience and the cameras. It's one thing being able to answer the questions in the comfort of your own home and in your own time – quite another under those circumstances, so I'm sure many of my answers would have fallen under the 'tip of my tongue' category, and I would have had to pass!

Anyway, we seem to be doing well on this forum – which is to be expected!

In a way I'm glad I didn't see the girl's embarrassment, that often makes one feel uncomfortable.

I'm soo glad I wasn't the only one to get his name wrong!