Elderhostel Trip to England The Nelson/Napoleon Experience
By John Simmons
What originally began
as an Elderhostel trip to England to celebrate the Bicentenary of
Nelson’s victory and death at Trafalgar evolved into a tri-national
gathering of some stature at Oxford University. Forty three people
(all over 55) first spent three days alongside the Thames, seeing
the city, bridges and a boat trip up to Greenwich. There we had an
extensive tour of the National Maritime Museum and the
Nelson/Napoleon exhibit with many artifacts including letters,
uniforms, paintings and a moving map display that showed the battle
develop over ten minutes. There followed lunch at the Queens House
beneath Turner’s immense painting of the Battle of Trafalgar, and a
tour of the Naval Chapel, Greenwich Observatory and the Cutty Sark.
A second day took us to the Chatham Dockyard, the source of HMS
Victory, the sail loft, spar loft, ropery, cannon foundry and a
great, full scale display of the shipyard in operation in the mid
18th century, from the eyes of a young dockworker as he goes from
shop to shop, from lofting to the final framing of the hull,
planking and fitting out. The buildings are all original. Because of
our special tour we received individualized presentations.
The next day we were bussed to Oxford, the home of Christ Church,
the largest of the 36 colleges of Oxford University. Each college is
individual and averages 300 students in a specific grouping of
subjects only, unlike our universities. The students need not attend
classes but study under a single tutor, one-on-one, presenting
papers, discussions and testing for his sole analysis. After three
years an examination by professors determines the level of his
graduation and exit into society. It is very stratified. Acceptance
is determined more on sibling performance at the school and social
stature, or wealth, even tough the costs are reasonable ($3000) and
are often paid by the State or by grants. The living quarters, made
available to us in the off-season, are Spartan to be sure – the
shower and heads are on alternate floors, but not yours. The Great
Dinning Hall was used in the Harry Potter films and dates from Henry
the 8th, as emphasized by his portrait hanging overhead, painted in
life – awe inspiring! Between the Great Hall and the Anglican Chapel
next door is the Buttery, where you can order wine, drinks, ale or
rum, with which we saluted Nelson each night. The food was great and
served by young people that also serve the students.
We heard about 30 hours of lectures (see listings below) from some
of Britain’s greatest naval authors. The questions after were
varied, insightful and precise. The authors handled each without
batting an eye, often with humor, sometimes with a bit of cheek. The
group had grown to 185 at Oxford, including guests from the U.S.,
France, Spain, Italy and Canada, many with military backgrounds,
four Admirals, a dozen nobles and historians beyond count. We took a
tour of Portsmouth harbor, seeing the exact sights Nelson saw
whenever he headed to France, Spain, or the East Indies. A tour of
HMS Victory and HMS Warrior, the dockyard and all the buildings of
the 19th century took place next. We should count ourselves
fortunate that we never had to contest a first rate as massive as
this. Back at Oxford we toured the city and observed the crewing of
a vessel similar to that which transported Nelson’s body down the
Thames to lie in state, rowed at Oxford on the upper reaches of the
Thames.
On our last night we had a great banquet, five wines plus Madera and
port, toasts to both Nelson and the Queen, plus a moving
presentation by Admiral Sir Julian Oswald, Sea Load. I was pleased
to receive a Naval Ensign from a British officer, one of the many
noble guests at the very enjoyable event.
SPEECHES GIVEN
1. “Command and Leadership: Nelson’s Wars” Professor Nicholas Rodger
2. “The Royal Navy – Defender of Trade and Empire” Dr. Robert Blyth
3. “Birth of the US Navy” Professor John Hattendorf
4. “Women and the Sea” Dr. Margarette Lincoln
5. “Trafalgar: The Ships and the Seamen” Professor Roger Knight
6. ““The Nelson Touch” – Battle Tactics at Trafalgar” Colin White
7. “The Prizes of War: The British Naval Prize System 1795-1815”
Richard Hill
8. “The Sea Warriors – The Fictional Legacy” Capt. Richard Woodman
9. “Command: Frigate Captains” Dr. Tom Wareham
10. “War at Sea in Pictures – Art and the Battle” Pieter Van Der
Merwe
11. “The War of 1812 – and The Creations of a Myth” Prof. Andrew
Lambert