WARRIORS

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

Horatio Nelson

Few military commanders can rival the scale of Horatio Nelson’s legacy, made all the more potent by his death in the midst of his greatest victory.

The monument bearing his name, Nelson’s Column, stands in London’s Trafalgar Square and dominates the centre of the British capital. Here are some facts about him.

1. Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 in Norfolk

He was the son of Edmund, a clergyman, and Catherine, who died when he was nine years old.

2. At 14, Nelson took part in an expedition to the Arctic

During the expedition, he defended a small boat from a walrus attack.

3. Nelson met his mistress Emma Hamilton in 1793

After meeting in Naples, the pair began an affair despite both being married. By the time they returned to England with Hamilton’s husband, Sir William Hamilton, in 1800, Emma was pregnant with Nelson’s child.

4. Nelson had been married for 10 years when he met Emma

Nelson separated from his wife, Frances Nisbet, following his return from Naples in 1800 but she received half of his income during his lifetime and a generous pension after his death.

5. Nelson lost the sight in his right eye during the siege of Calvi in 1794

Contrary to some depictions, however, evidence suggests that he did not wear an eyepatch.

6. He was shot in the arm during the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797

The musket ball severed an artery and his arm was amputated immediately – without anaesthetic.

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7. In August 1798, Nelson defeated the French fleet at Aboukir Bay at the mouth of the Nile in Egypt

Following the achievement, King George III made him Baron Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe (his birthplace).

8. The decoration on his hat was called a chelengk

It was given to Nelson by the sultan of Turkey in recognition of the former’s defeat of the French fleet at the Nile. The central diamond sat in a clockwork mount that rotated.

The chelengk on Nelson’s hat is clearly visible in this portrait. The Ottoman military decoration was stolen in a raid on the National Maritime Museum in the 1950s.

9. Nelson and Hamilton “married” in 1805

The day before Nelson sailed for Trafalgar, he and Hamilton took Holy Communion together and exchanged rings.

10. Nelson referred to his battle plan at Trafalgar as the “Nelson Touch”

The tactic is better known as “crossing the T”. Rather than forming up in a single line of battle and engaging broadside, Nelson formed two columns with the intention of slicing through the Franco-Spanish line. In the resulting melee, Nelson believed the superiority of British gunnery would win the day.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking