Why Remember Nelson?

Arguably England’s greatest hero, at the time of his death in 1805, Horatio Nelson was seen by the vast majority of the population as the saviour of our island nation. After all, but for Nelson’s heroics at the Battle of the Nile and again at Trafalgar, Britain might have succumbed to the power of Napoleon and become just another part of his expanding Empire.

Defeat at Trafalgar meant that Napoleon’s navy would never again have the potency to spearhead an all-out attack on Britain and the nation was forever grateful.

Indeed, before and during Nelson’s funeral in January 1806, there was such an outpouring of national grief that the event took place over 5 days and he was afforded the honour of burial in St Paul’s Cathedral.

Why is Nelson so fondly remembered today and why are we, as a nation, making such efforts to commemorate the bicentenary of his death in 2005?

The answer lies in the qualities of the man who rose from relatively humble beginnings to become the outstanding naval commander of his time.

• He was courageous beyond question.

• He was a born leader, devoted to his men and able to extract from them loyalty and determination that went far beyond what might be expected from a partly conscripted crew.

• He was innovative. As a naval tactician he was without peer. Always looking to do the unexpected to give his fleet the advantage of surprise. At the Battle of the Nile, the French expected him to attack in the morning. Nelson attacked in the late afternoon. At Trafalgar, he cut through the French/Spanish fleet at right angles, rather than facing them side-on.

• He recognised the power of planning and teamwork. He planned every battle meticulously with his fellow captains – whom he called his ‘Band of Brothers’ – so everyone knew exactly what they had to do.

• He was devoted to his task as a naval commander; determined to face his enemies and win at all costs.

• He was recklessly passionate. His love affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton was the scandal of Europe and caused much consternation among the Establishment in Britain. On the one hand they wanted to fete him as a hero, on the other they wanted to chastise him for openly expressing his love for Emma and ignoring his wife.

There are two stories which epitomise how ‘The Nelson Touch’ impacted on the lives of others, many years after Trafalgar.

Firstly, in 1811, Captain Sir William Hoste, who was in command of the British fleet in the Adriatic, off the coast of what is now Croatia, had tracked down the French fleet and was preparing to do battle. As a young naval officer, Hoste had been taken under Nelson’s wing and trained for 12 years under his master’s keen eye. He was an eager pupil and, as a native Norfolk man and son of a clergyman, had much in common with his illustrious teacher.

Hoste had served under Nelson at the Battles of St Vincent, Nile and Copenhagen, and had established himself as a fearless commander. By a twist of fate – Nelson had sent him to North Africa on a mission – Hoste missed out on Trafalgar. He was devastated by the loss of Nelson – his mentor and inspiration. He was also wounded, professionally, to have been sent off on a mission at a time when he was convinced he could have made a significant contribution to the battle against the French and Spanish combined forces.

So, in March 1811, when Hoste faced a superior French fleet in the Adriatic, he was determined that he would make his mark. Outnumbered and outgunned, Hoste called upon 'The Nelson Touch' to provide him with the inspiration he needed to overcome the enemy forces. As the two fleets approached each other off the island of Lissa, Hoste raised a flag signal – in the style of Nelson – which said simply “Remember Nelson” The effect on his men was electrifying and, like Nelson at Trafalgar, Hoste led his fleet to a resounding victory. Although injured in the battle, Host survived to become feted as a great leader.

Like Hoste, we recognise the debt we owe to Nelson – and that’s why our company has been called ‘Remember Nelson’.

The second story comes exactly 100 years after Trafalgar and shows how Nelson’s prowess became the inspiration for a Japanese naval victory over the Russian fleet. Click here.

So, when it comes to commemorating Nelson and Trafalgar, Remember Nelson has selected a small number of traditional English manufacturers to create pieces with the highest quality and historical links to Nelson and Victory. The first of these is Royal Worcester...

In July and August 1802, following his victories at the Battle of the Nile and Copenhagen, Nelson, accompanied by Sir William and Lady Hamilton, made a grand tour of Wales and the West Country.

On 26th August, the party visited Chamberlain’s china factory in Worcester where one of the painters described him as ‘…a battered looking gentleman. Leaning on his left and only arm was the beautiful Lady Hamilton, evidently pleased with the interest excited by her companion…’

Having toured the factory, Nelson declared that although he already possessed the finest porcelain from factories across Europe, none equalled the china shown to him in Worcester.

He was so impressed that he ordered a breakfast, dinner and dessert service in ‘Fine Old Japan’ pattern which was subsequently known as the ‘Horatia Service’, after his beloved daughter who lived until 1881.

Sadly, Nelson was killed at Trafalgar before any of his china was delivered.

Chamberlain’s subsequently became Royal Worcester and the proud traditions of hand-crafting and decorating exquisite pieces in fine bone china which had so enchanted Nelson and Emma in 1802, are still flourishing today.

How appropriate then, 200 years after his death, that fine bone china has once more been commissioned in the name of Nelson at Worcester. This magnificent collection has been brought together by the craftsmen and women of Royal Worcester using the same skills and techniques of potting, casting and painting as applied 200 years ago.

The pieces we have commissioned for the Bicentenary Collection bring together some of the most elegant and important elements of Nelson’s life: the oak leaf border with gilded acorns has been taken from the Baltic service commissioned by Nelson after the battle of Copenhagen; the battle scenes are taken from contemporary paintings and etchings; his crests, coat of arms and battle honours reproduced in authentic detail to create what one renowned Nelson expert has already called “… the finest commemorative ware of its type for the Bicentenary I have seen. It harks back to Nelson's day, has an elegance as a result, and is nevertheless of our time. Well done.”

The collection honours Nelson and his personal attributes of leadership, teamwork, courage, passion, perseverance and determination. But above all, it respects Nelson’s dying wish that the nation should honour Emma. And it is with some pride that – for the first time in 200 years – in our Bicentenary Collection, Nelson and Emma sit alongside each other, recognised and accepted by the nation. We would like think that Nelson himself would have been proud of this collection.

Our debt to Royal Worcester…
There is little doubt that in creating this collection the craftsmen and women of Royal Worcester have captured the spirit of Nelson. Proud, elegant, dignified – defiantly patriotic. And for that we owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

But the debt to Royal Worcester goes back even further…
The ‘Horatia Service’ was probably not delivered to Merton until after the hero had fallen at the moment of his greatest victory at Trafalgar in 1805, but the invoice – for £120.10s.6d - was not sent to Lady Hamilton until 10 days after Nelson’s funeral in January 1806. It's believed that the bill was never paid.

Now, at a ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral on 19 May 2005, Remember Nelson Limited has paid Nelson’s 200 year-old debt– calculated at compound interest rates since 1805 to be approximately £3750 - by means of a donation to the Royal Naval Association.

The designs
All the Royal Worcester pieces included in this collection have been designed by David Williams FRSA. David is a world-renowned expert on Nelson as well as an avid collector of Nelsonia. He has published many articles and delivered many talks on the life and times of Nelson.

The backstamp All Royal Worcester pieces bear a commemorative backstamp which features the distinctive Royal Worcester cipher together with an outline of Nelson and a commemorative inscription. Those pieces which are issued in limited editions also bear the edition limit. The individual number within the edition is hand-painted in gold on each piece.

For information about specific Royal Worcester products go to: www.remembernelson.com/products/royal-worcester.htm

In addition to Royal Worcester, we have selected Dartington Crystal to produce a range of top quality commemorative glassware...

Why Dartington?

For hundreds of years, special occasions have generated commemorative pieces which stand the test of time as signposts in our history. Foremost among them – and certainly some of the most collectible - are engraved glass editions.

So when it came to the production of engraved glassware to form part of the Remember Nelson Bicentenary Collection, we wanted to find a company which matched Nelson for innovation; modern-looking but respectful of the past; a company where British craft skills could be seen at their very best. Dartington was the obvious answer and the pieces which now make up the collection are the proof.

All the pieces in this part of the collection are manufactured using the traditional methods of glass blowing. A visit to Dartington’s North Devon factory is like a step back in time. Production of every piece requires hard, demanding work and a great deal of care and skill.

The Bicentenary Bowl is a perfect example of the glass-maker's skill, where each individual bowl is blown to the correct shape by a master craftsman. As you may imagine, the reject rate when working with molten glass is very high and only the perfect survive to be passed for engraving. The engraving on the Trafalgar Bowl is done entirely by hand, each part of the intricate design being carefully hand-cut onto the glass by Master Engraver, Nick Davey.

The glassware which makes up the remainder of the collection has been made exclusively for Remember Nelson by Dartington Crystal, based on authentic shapes which can be traced back to the Georgian era.

The designs, by David Williams FRSA, reflect an elegant simplicity of which we believe Nelson would have approved.

The Dartington ‘marks’ of authenticity Each Dartington Crystal piece in this Remember Nelson Collection bears two distinctive marks. Firstly, the word ‘Dartington’ is backstamped on every piece indicating that it has passed all the inspection criteria as a first quality item. Secondly, you will find a fouled anchor motif pressed into the base of each piece