The Nelson Monument on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill is colourfully commemorated for Trafalgar Day (Monday 21 October) with the message that Nelson ordered to be flown before the Battle of Trafalgar in tribute to those who lost their lives in the Naval action, including Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson himself, on 21 October 1805..
Over 200 years since the telescope-shaped structure rose into the Edinburgh skyline, the famous memorial has been decorated with naval flags which spell out the message “ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY”.
Nelson originally wanted to use the word ‘CONFIDES’ in the message, but as ‘EXPECTS’ was already in the Naval vocabulary and ‘CONFIDES’ would need to be spelt out, it was suggested by Rear Admiral Pasco, that to save time, ‘EXPECTS’ could be substituted.
Baillie Norman Work laid a wreath inside the Monument on behalf of the Lord Provost and all citizens of Edinburgh. He said: “Calton Hill’s iconic monument was built in memory of Lord Nelson and all Scots who died in the Battle of Trafalgar, and this service is held every year to remember their courage and their sacrifice.
“This is a unique chance to see colourful flags draped around the monument and to share in the city’s naval history, at one of the Capital’s most fascinating and quirky landmarks.”
Commander Gary Mills, Chief of Staff, from the Naval Regional Command HQ for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “It is a real privilege, along with my colleagues, to be able to represent the Royal Navy in Edinburgh on Trafalgar Day.
“The battle itself some 214 years ago, proved to be a vitally important part of our maritime and UK defence history.
“Nelson himself along with 1587 other British casualties died at the battle, but was, rightly, revered as a national hero. It is fitting that we still pay tribute to this great man and his Sailors at the city’s memorial.”
Lord Nelson coined the phrase ‘Band of Brothers’ to describe the Captains under his command, and of the 27 Captains in Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar, five were Scots and a third of the 18,000 crewmen involved were from Scottish towns and fishing villages.
Scotland’s industry also contributed to the event, by producing and supplying sails from the jute mills of Dundee, iron for the cannons from the Carron Works in Falkirk, charcoal from the forests of Argyll which was used to fire those cannons and timber products from Scotland’s woods which were used to construct Nelson’s fleet of Naval ships.
