Trafalgar Day Toast to Lord Nelson

October 21st is Trafalgar Day, the anniversary of the eponymous Battle fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of France and Spain during the Napoleonic Wars (1796–1815). Twenty-seven British ships commanded by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships in the Atlantic off the southwest coast of Spain. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without loss of a single British vessel. It conclusively ended French plans to invade England

It was also the day the British commander, Horatio Nelson was killed in action.

Nelson’s celebrated naval victories as well as his adulterous love affair with Lady Emma Hamilton had already ensured he was famous during his lifetime and news of his death brought a public outpouring of grief. Nelson, his body borne back to London preserved in brandy, was awarded a state funeral attended by huge crowds. It lasted from 5-9th of January 1806. 

Two hundred years later a BBC poll of “favourite Britons”, named him in the Top 10. In naval bases around the world, on October 21st, toasts are drunk to his “Immortal Memory”, including, I understand, by the American Navy, whom Nelson considered an enemy. I wonder if they toast with brandy?

Nelson’s victories laid the foundation for a hundred years of British supremacy at sea but he was much more than a naval commander.

Lord Nelson was a handsome, dazzlingly successful national hero, brutally snatched away at the moment of his greatest victory. Buried in the crypt at St Pauls, a stone’s throw from Cass Business School, it’s the legend of his leadership that I find fascinating. 

There are more than a thousand books written about Nelson’s life – many based on his own diaries and accounts and I certainly don’t pretend to be a Nelson Scholar. But on Trafalgar Day, I’d like to raise a toast to a few elements of Lord Nelson's leadership style I particularly admire:

• Nelson worked hard to acquire the technical expertise of seamanship but he also sought to apply that knowledge. He  took advice from senior mentors and sought out experiences to get himself noticed. He commanded ships’ boats and cutters, crewed by up to 15 men, transporting officers and messages as a young teenager. His technical knowledge and hands-on experience propelled him through the promotion ranks.
• Nelson was resilient – life on a ship in the Royal Navy meant enduring damp, close quarters, poor diet, strict hierarchy and the need to avoid disease and accidents which accounted for 85% of Royal Navy fatalities at the time. After being wounded during the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797 his response was “Let me alone: I have yet my legs and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and bring his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it's off the better”.
• Nelson was at sea for 30 of his 47 years and in his early career he was able to observe how the isolation of a ship at sea must reveal strengths and weaknesses in the ship’s captain. Nelson served on more than 25 ships - under a harsh disciplinarian with a reputation for having two men flogged every week; more kindly, as well as tough, battle hardened captains. He must have seen a wide range of styles and undoubtedly learned from the experience. Perhaps what he saw contributed to the development of his ability to form lasting relationships with people of all classes and ranks. Warm and friendly among his brother officers and equally direct and approachable to his men.
• Nelson was courageous and had “the courage of his convictions”. For him it meant the personal bravery of leading from the front, sword in hand. He suffered physical injury as a result – the loss of an arm and an eye. Leadership involves courage and facing down fear – perhaps through research, preparation and knowledge. The Royal Navy had trained its crews to be able to fire twice as fast as its enemies so its commanders knew, when in the right position, they had a competitive advantage.  Getting the strategic position right was his strength but also Nelson’s personal courage was visible - and the result was the total trust of his men.
• Every evening, when the weather was calm, his commanders would row across to Nelson’s ship and discuss naval strategy and tactics over dinner. Nelson encouraged younger officers to join them socially. When the time came for action, everyone knew how to respond to opportunities as they appeared and what to expect from his colleagues. He shared success, mentioning men of all ranks by name in his despatches and writing personally to families of those killed or injured to express condolences. Nelson modelled trust and also sought to ensure his subordinates knew and trusted each other. He put it thus, “I had the happiness to command a Band of Brothers”.
• Nelson also had his flaws. The perfect hero is a myth. He could be arrogant and his adulterous affair with Lady Emma Hamilton humiliated his wife and scandalized polite society. Not all his battles were victories – he got out of his depth in politics more than once. And he was vain – London's National Gallery (in Trafalgar Square of course) notes he sat more for than 85 portraits.

But perhaps the last word should go to a French Naval officer asked about his impressions during the Battle:

“The act that astonished me the most was when the action was over. It came on to blow a gale, and the English immediately set to work to shorten sail and reef the topsail with as much regularity and order as if the ships had not been fighting a dreadful battle. We were all amazement, wondering what the English seaman could be made of. All our seamen were either drunk or disabled and we the officers could not get any work out of them. We had never witnessed such clever manoeuvers before and I shall never forget them.”

If you'd like to read more, I recommend The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson, by Roger Knight, Basic Books, 2005- it's excellent.