|
A Piece Nelson's Naval
History on Display at The Atkinson
A full and intact letter from Horatio
Nelson to Francis Drake, British Minister in Genoa, in his own hand is on
display at The Atkinson from 3 September until 31 October 2015.
The letter dated August 16 1795; from Falls Bay expresses Nelson's
disappointment to Drake about him not seeing Admiral Hotham until his return
from Leghorn and asking if he knows:- 'the exact plans which this army is to
follow, at present I am totally in the dark';
The letter, written by Nelsons's own hand before he lost it at Santa Cruz on the
24 July 1797 is an unrecorded document written a few months after the battle
of Genoa when Nelson was still involved in patrolling the Italian coast.
The letter has been kindly loaned by Roger Martin, a local resident with a
passion for history. He recently acquired the genuine letter penned by Lord
Nelson. He decided that such a special item deserved to be made public for
others to see and approached The Atkinson.
Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758 to 1805) was a British Naval commander and a national
hero, famous for his naval victories against the French during the Napoleonic
Wars.
Over the period of 1794 to 1805, under Nelson's leadership, the Royal Navy proved
its supremacy over the French. His most famous engagement at Cape Trafalgar,
saved Britain from invasion by Napoleon, but it would be his last. Whilst
leading the attack on the combined French and Spanish fleet, he was killed by a
French sniper. His body was placed in barrel of brandy to preserve it and he was
brought back to England where he was given a state funeral.
The letter will be on display from September until the Saturday, 31 October
2015,
together with a painting of HMS Victory from The Atkinson's permanent collection
which the Gallery is hoping to have restored.
If you would like to know more about Nelson and his flagship HMS Victory then
Stephen Whittle Principle Manager, the Museum, Galleries and Operations is
delivering the Object of the Month talk on a painting of Nelson's flagship by
Richard Henry Nibbs on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, at 1pm. The talk is free and
everyone is welcome.
Object of the month is a regular programme of
short gallery talks that highlight different objects from the collections. Join
us as we delve deeper in to our collections and reveal new stories every month.
The Talks take place on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, at 1pm, in the
Galleries, no need to book and all the talks are free!
For more information on all the talks and the full programme of events and
activities available at:- The Atkinson, then please visit theatkinson.co.uk or call
Box Office on:- 01704 533333. |
