The “admiral of admirals” is truly one of Britain’s greatest heroes. Actually, his whole life was a battle since he ad to survive several diseases from malaria to scurvy.
Although Nelson had been out to sea since childhood, he suffered from seasickness through his life.
Nelson had suffered several injuries and wounds in battles
- he lost his right eye in the Siege of Calvi (1794) – “I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes” – Lord Horatio Nelson
- he was shot in the arm in the Battle of Tenerife (1797), an arm which was amputated soon after the shot
According to the doctors diary Nelson wanted no anaesthetic but a heated knife since “cold knives are more painful.”
As a great tactic, he had commanded the British Navy from 1784 to 1805, when he was shot dead in the Battle of Trafalgar. His body was preserved in brandy and taken to London. The streets of the City had seen no such mourning before. Admiral Nelson’s body was placed in a coffin down St Paul’s Cathedral’s Crypt.
“England expects that every man will do his duty” – Lord Horatio Nelson.
FACTFILE
Name: Horatio Nelson
Rank/Titles: Vice-Admiral of the White; 1st Vicount Nelson; 1st Duke of Bronté
Birth: 29 Sept. 1758, Burnham Thorpe, ENG
Death: 21 October 1805, on board HMS Victory near Cape Trafalgar
Height: 5ft 4in (162 cm)
Years of Service: 1771-1805 inthe Royal Navy
(Click HERE to watch and play the Battle of Trafalgar)
GREAT BRITANNIA 