The HMS Victory Story E-Book

John Christopher

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Constructed from the wood of over 6,000 trees HMS Victory was designed as a 'first-rate ship', packing a formidable punch with over 100 guns arranged over three decks. Immortalised as Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar, after bringing Nelson's body back to England the Victory sailed out on a number of expeditions until her retirement in 1812. In a wonderfully entertaining narrative, and packed with fun facts, figures and over 100 colour photographs, author John Christopher recounts the story of this celebrated warship right up to its restoration project and current role as the centrepiece of Portsmouth's historic docks. Author John Christopher is a life-long transport enthusiast and a balloon pilot. He has previously written The Hunter Story and Balloons at War for The History Press.

Leseprobe

The HMS Victory Story

John Christopher

First published in 2010

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2014

All rights reserved

© John Christopher 2010, 2012, 2014

John Christopher has asserted his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7524 8510 2

MOBI ISBN 978 0 7524 8509 6

Original typesetting by The History Press

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction – Hearts of Oak

Building a First-Rate Ship

Anatomy of the Ship

Victory Before Trafalgar

Horatio Nelson – Hero of the Nile

Nelson’s Navy

Life on board Victory

A Ship of War

Victory at Trafalgar

Aftermath

Saving Victory

Postscript

Appendix 1 Timeline

Appendix 2 Places to Visit

Appendix 3 Glossary of Terms

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very grateful to the staff at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard for their kind assistance. I would also like to thank my wife, Ute, for her continued support and many hours of proof reading, and my children Anna and Jay.

A number of sources have been consulted in the production of this book, including:

Sea Life in Nelson’s Time by John Masefield, Men of Honour – Trafalgar and the Making of the English Hero by Adam Nicolson, The Habit of Victory by Captain Peter Hore, Nelson by Roy Hattersley, The Nelson Companion edited by Colin White, The Book of British Ships by Frank H. Mason, and Shipping Wonders of the World edited by Clarence Winchester.

INTRODUCTION

Heart of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men, We are ready; Steady, boys, steady! We’ll fight and we’ll conquer again and again.

Heart of Oak, with words by David Garrick, became the official march of the Royal Navy

HEARTS OF OAK

Towards the end of the eighteenth century the old world order was undergoing something of an upheaval. On the other side of the Atlantic a bunch of colonists had the temerity to declare independence, while in Europe a bloody revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte was stirring up a storm. The result was a succession of conflicts and, consequently, Britain’s Royal Navy was far bigger than it would otherwise have been during peacetime. This meant that there were more than enough glorious battles to be fought and great victories to be won to meet the needs of any aspiring hero.

‘Cometh the time, cometh the man.’ This adage could not have been more apt when applied to Britain’s most famous sailor, Admiral Lord Nelson. In the hero-making business here is a prime example of the right man being in the right place at the right time. If his times had been any less eventful then young Horatio might have stayed in Norfolk and become a clergyman like his father.

Not only did he look better in a uniform than a dog collar, Nelson had extraordinary charisma and leadership qualities. The women adored him, his men would follow him into hell and back. What’s more, he had the foresight to die young – he was only forty-seven years old at Trafalgar – and to die gloriously, two essential elements in the creation of such a potent hero myth.

Equally as famous is his greatest flagship, HMS Victory. It was not the only ship Nelson served on, and he was not the only admiral to hoist his flag on Victory, not by a long shot, but it was his ship at the most famous moment in his career and in the history of naval conflict. It also happens to be an extraordinary survivor, the lone one of her era. Following a hammering at the Battle of Trafalgar, Victory was refitted, virtually rebuilt, and went on to serve in two Baltic campaigns. Miraculously, thanks largely to the sentimentality of key figures within the Admiralty, she escaped the breakers yard. Unlike HMS Temeraire, which fought alongside Victory at Trafalgar and is famously depicted in J.M.W. Turner’s oil painting ‘The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838’.