Title says it all really! Today in 1805 Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleet, thus preventing the invasion of Great Britain.
“A Toast to the immortal memory of Nelson!”
and “Absent friends and those at sea.”
Good to see that someone out there in the world still remembers. 'Tis kismet, Hardy.
“England expects that every man will do his duty.”
For the longest time I thought that was a dirty joke.
Yeah, kinda paired up with the instruction to women, “Lie back and think of England.”
I think the first time I heard that quote was from my great-uncle, when he had taken me to Trafalgar Square. And he told me how bold Admiral Lord Nelson had been (I always thought that it was so right that they use ‘Admiral Lord’ rather than ‘Lord Admiral’)…anyway, he told me how bold Nelson’s attack on the enemy fleet was. My uncle said that Nelson intended to destroy the enemy fleet at whatever cost to himself and his own fleet. We talked about Trafalgar and the Spanish Armada and the Battle of Britain…just a couple of guys from Missouri seeing a little bit of the world.
I doubt anybody in this country even thought of it
Yeah. On “Losing The World Egg-Chasing Cup” Day, historic sea battles are very low on the priority list, especially when it coincides with “Being Pipped At The Post In The Driving Round And Round World Championship” Day
Yay! We watched the sea cadets and stuff in Trafalgar Square yesterday. Was fun.
I remember being over in England two years ago for the bicentennial of the battle. I even went to Portsmouth for the celebration. Taking the tour of HMS Victory was very cool even though I couldn’t take pictures. I even stood on the spot where Nelson was shot. At St. Pauls Cathedral there were ceremonies and even a Nelson impersonator strolling around.
The actual message that Nelson wanted was “England CONFIDES that every man will do their duty”
Confides didn’t have a signal though and would have had to be spelt out so the signaller substituted “expects”, with Nelson’s permission, as there was a signal for that.
His last instruction, ‘Engage the enemy more closely’, is still the RN’s signal #1 IIRC.
“Kiss me Hardy.”
- “Only if you wash it first.”
I only think of Trafalgar when I have to spell it.
Frequently.
We couldn’t have found a home on something simple like Maple Lane or Park Street? No, we had to find one on a dang tongue-twister. 
Why no pics?
Possibly because there were ‘interesting’ warships in the background; more likely, they wanted to make money off selling pictures and postcards.
We went to Portsmouth to see The Victory three or four years ago – train from Waterloo station, very pleasant trip. Same deal. You could take all the pictures you wanted outside the ship by no photos were permitted once aboard. I assume this was for commercial reasons. If you have any interest in British or naval history the trip is well worth the effort.
As for the “England expects…” message, the fleet’s general reaction was either “When have we not done our duty” or “I wish he’d quit with the signals and let us get to it.” Napoleon was sufficiently impressed that he ordered a similar inscription on French warships – “France (or the Emperor) expects….”