Trafalgar Day 21st October
October 21st 2005 marked the 200th anniversary of the British Navy's great sea victory off the coast of Southern Spain that routed a combined French and Spanish force which might eventually have spearheaded the conquest of Britain. It was also the battle in which Nelson died.

Just about everyone has heard of the Battle of Trafalgar. It was fought on October 21, 1805, off Cape Trafalgar, not far from the Spanish port of Cadiz. This was during the Napoleonic Wars and it inflicted a final and fatal blow to French sea power.

On October 20 the combined French and Spanish fleets sailed out of Cadiz. Overnight, Admiral Nelson kept his fleet under sail to stay in contact, and at daybreak the British navy could see the enemy about twelve miles away.

The British attacked in two lines led by Nelson and Admiral Collingwood; they had 27 men-of-war and 4 frigates, and the combined enemy fleet had 33 large ships and 7 frigates. When the battle ended several hours later, Napoleon's naval force was broken; he could no longer contemplate an invasion of England. Nelson, shot by a French sniper about 1.25pm, lived long enough to know he had won a major victory.

The 200th anniversary is an opportunity for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines , in particular, to celebrate the values which England was seeking to defend at the time, as well as the bravery and ability of the British fleet and and the personal courage and genius of the remarkable admiral who lost his life in battle.

Napoleon, already in control of much of Europe, was threatening to cross the Channel and invade. Like the Battle of Britain in World War II, the British victory at Trafalgar under Nelson was a turning point in an extended struggle to prevent sovereign European independent states being unwillingly brought under the rule of one nation.

Nelson was sincerely convinced of his duty to fight, both for the freedom of Britain and for the benefit of Europe as a whole. His famous signal to the fleet before the battle is remembered today. "England expects every man will do his duty"