THE KING IN H.M.S. VICTORY

Hokitika Guardian, 8 September 1928, Page 4

THE KING IN H.M.S. VICTORY

MEMORIES OF RIS EARLY DAYS. NELSON’S OLD SHIP. (By COMMANDER 'DANIEL.) PORTSMOUTH, July 18. The oldest and most famous warship in the world, H.M.S, Victory, wns honoured to-day by a personal visit of the King. Ho had come on hoard to unveil n tablet on the middle deck, inscribed:

H.M.S. VICTORY . Laid down 1759 Launched 17G5 AVas after 157 years of service placed 1922 in her present berth the oldest dock in the world and restored to ]icr .condition as at Trafalgar undor the superintendence cf the Society for Nautical Research.

To commemorate the completion of the work this tablet wa,s unveiled on 17th July, 1928, by IBM. King George V. Essentially a seaman himself, there was no detail which escaped the King’s attention mid interest* Like all other sailormen who were brought up in the days of masts and yards, he was reminded cyf the good old days when lie servod as a‘ sub-lieutenant in H.M.S. Excellent.

It was neprly 10 years after Trafalgar that the Nelson statue appeared in Trafalgar Square. Onq hundred and twenty-three years after Nelson’s death, /England’s greatest hero has been paid a tribute which he would himself have loved. At Trafalgar the Victory was already JO years old, and was still in her prime —a marked contrast to modern days, when half that period makes a ship old. The rigging was cf hemp, and liie difference between customs and methods in those days and wluit the King remembered ns a young man interested him'a great deal, Endless pains have been taken to get every detail ns accurate as possible, and the King was highly appreciative of the work, especially to Sir Janies Cnml, whose generosity has made the old ship’s restoration possible. UNSOLVED PROBLEMS.

“Trafalgar,” lie said, “was the greatest naval victory, Nelson the greatest admiral, and Victory is the greatest ship in history,” when thanking Sir James. He was informed, in reply to a question, that the ship might be .expected -to fast 300 years in its present state. There are still a few unsolved problems, and one of these is the position of the fore lower studding-sail booms. As tilings are at present they would foul the sheet anchor. Problems such as these, and whether the wheel ropes should be of hemp or hide, absorbed the attention and interest of several naval officers, especially older ones, letired, whose hearts rejoiced at the smell of tar npd hemp. The galley, where hoys turned the spits by hand for officers’ roast dinners and where every puff of steam was condensed—for the supply of fresh water was precious; tlio magazines, from wlicih the powder monkeys raced up the hatchways with their cartridges to the guns, returning .down ,a rope. (There was one-way traffic at Trafalgar before Trafalgar Square); a seamen’s

mess table hanging on its tussles crowfoot ; the pumps, which took 150 men to heave—every step one took revealed

some point of interest, and steadily a picture formed of the life on board in

Nelson’s time. The men lived in broadside messes, and slung hammocks from the deck above much as they do to-daybut in daytime their-hammocks were stowed in nettings along the ship’s side, .where they served as armour to the’sail trimmers on dock. 'me senior officers lived in the wardroom aft, but most of them had to build their own cabins, and all furniture was private property. Women were allowed on hoard in pre-Trafalgar days, and one part of tlio ship right aft, which interested the King, is called the Ladies’ Hole. Another part of the women’s quarters was the cockpit, so named in jest bemuse of the fights which took place in it. Here also was the midshipman’s berth; and here the place where Nelson died.

Junior commissioned officers lived in the gun room, Where tlie tiller swept to and fro across the ship beneath tlie low booms overhead. The ship’s sides in those days were kept clear, as now, for ready access for repairs in battle. MAHOGANY BEEF.

A pound of biscuits and two pounds of beef was the daily ration, helped along by a gallon of beer. The beef was varied by salt pork, and. more than 100 years may have elapsed since cow or pig had entered tlie slaughterhouse. I have seen an inkstand made of what.l mistook for mahogany; it was really a piece of salt beef cashed in the days of Queen Elizabeth and not condemned until tlie reign ol William IV.

Bight aft the admiral’s quarters commanded a more solemn note, for here was penned that last great prayer of Nelson’s which is in the British Museum. Here in the admiral’s cabin were Nelson’s captains summoned to hear his plan of battle. Here, perhaps more than elsewhere, is one made to realise the truth of the words of Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Doveton Stnrdee, “ She (the Victory) is the living embodiment of the spirit of leadership, the mainspring of successful endeavour.”

£IO,OOO is still required to complete a few details, and to erect a Trafalgar .Museum alongside the ship. The King raised the question as to whether it was legitimate to. charge gate money for people coming on board the Victory as a means of obtaining the money. I understand tlie King was rather in favour of it, but the authorities do not seem to think it would be in order.