A friend of mine has a gr-gr-grandfather who was there. I recently found
out that a William Coles also served there - still trying to trace if he is
"mine". We have several William Coles (my gr-grandfather dropped the 's'
from the name), and come from a long line of naval men.
Malvary in Ottawa, where there was a sharp frost last night.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jean Nathan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Chat" <lace-chat@arachne.com>
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 3:55 AM
Subject: [lace-chat] Happy Trafalgar Day!
At last England is celebrating Trafalgar Day today - the 200th anniversary
of the battle of Trafalgar when we wupped the French and Spanish and
Admiral Lord Nelson died. It's long been thought that we should celebrate
it every year just as the Americans celebrate Independence Day when they
beat the English, and other countries celebrate notable battles in their
history.
The famous signal in flags "England expects every man to do his duty" has
already been hoisted on HMS Victory in Portsmouth this morning and there
are various events, particularly in the Portsmouth area, throughout the
day. Around 1,000 beacons being lit around the country this evening, that
being the method of signalling that something notable had happened before
the days of easy communication. The last time beacons was when they were
lit in sequence in 1988 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the
invasion of the Spanish Armada and was part of a national chain of beacons
similar to that which was used in 1588 to alert the local militia to the
arrival of the invading fleet. Communications in the C16th were very poor
yet the English had developed a way of informing London when the Armada
was first seen. Beacons were lit along the coast. As soon as one beacon
was seen, the next further along the coast was lit. When the beacons
reached Beachy Head in Sussex, they went inland and towards London. In
this way, London was quickly made aware that the Armada was approaching
England. This time the beacons are more symbolic and being lit in various
parts of the country, more or less at the same time.
Currently there's a service on board the Victory, partly to commorate the
victory and partly to remember everyone who has ever been lost at sea.
Various events are going on today, including the Queen dining on board HMS
Victory, Nelson's flag ship - still the original ship which has been
restored when necessary but isn't quite like that broom you've owned for
forty years that's had five new heads and three new handles! The starboard
guns of the ship are going to fire a ripple broadside, bit they won't
really risk actually firing the guns in case there's damage to the ship.
Charges and smoke will make it seem as if the guns are actually firing.
So happy Trafalgar Day to anyione who considers themselves English.
Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK
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