Hats off to Lord Nelson

PROUD: AB Shannon Watson’s great grandfather’s medals made the trip to the Turkish Memorial in Gallipoli.

Navy officers and sailors around the world raised their champagne glasses in unison on October 21 to toast the 200th anniversary of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson’s remarkable victory over the French Armada at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 turned the tide against Napoléon Bonaparte and made Nelson – mortally wounded at his moment of triumph – an inspiration for generations of Britons and people throughout the Commonwealth.

In Britain, Queen Elizabeth lit the first of 1000 beacons to mark the battle and chaplain Ned Kelly read a prayer that Nelson had written and read to his crew on the morning of the battle.
Among many Battle of Trafalgar celebrations around the globe was the tribute organised by the British High Commission and the Australian National Maritime Museum at Sydney Harbour that featured the Chief of Navy VADM Russ Shalders as the special
guest.

“Uniquely in the world, Australia occupies a landmass with no land borders, one basic language and a strong democratic tradition,” VADM Shalders said.

“This fortunate set of circumstances, which makes Australia a truly ‘lucky country’ can be traced back to the battle of Britain’s navy success over the combined naval forces of Spain and France 200 years ago.”

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