When Trafalgar Day was replaced by Remembrance Sunday in the calendar
AS we approach the most important Remembrance Sunday since the Armi- stice of 1918, it is worth reflecting about the day that was superseded by the Great War remembrance of 100 years ago.
In 1805 the Royal Navy engaged with a combined French and Spanish fleet on the high seas and defeated them at the Battle of Trafalgar. H.M.S. Victory commanded by Vice-admiral Horatio Nelson had led the formidable Royal Navy Fleet but he sadly died of injuries received in battle. But the victory was an astounding achievement and the date October 21, would be forever immortalised as “Trafalgar Day”.
Commemorated
The formation of the Navy League in 1894 gave added impetus to the movement to recognise Nelson’s legacy, and grand celebrations were held in Trafalgar Square in London on October 21 1896. It was commemorated by parades, dinners and other events throughout much of the British Empire and every Trafalgar Day it continued through to the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th century. But its public celebration declined after the end of the First World War in 1918. The massive casualties and upheaval had changed the general public perception of war as a source of glorious victories to a more sombre view of it as a tragedy, for which the newly instituted Armistice Day on November 11 and the nearest Sunday to this date, Remembrance Sunday, were created.
In London Trafalgar Square would become the centrepiece of the Nation’s celebration of Nelson’s victory with the 169 foot Nelson’s Column at it’s centre. The whole area had been redeveloped by John Nash, but following his death progress was slow and the square didn’t actually open until 1844, thirtynine years after Nelson’s victory.
Statue
However the landlocked West Midlands beat all comers when it came to erecting a statue in honour of the great Admiral. The bronze statue of Nelson that now stands in the Bull Ring in Birmingham was the first publicly funded statue in the city and the first statue honouring Horatio Nelson in Britain. It was made in 1809, just four years after the Battle of Trafalgar, and was the creation of artist and sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott after a public subscription of £2,500 had enabled the commission to be completed. The statue had proved a success because the people of Birmingham had become so enamoured to Nelson after he paid a visit to the town on August 31, 1802, the year before he sailed against the fleets of Napoleon and his ally the Spanish.
Appointed
The Black Country has its own Trafalgar hero to honour and he is Captain James Eaton, an officer in the Royal Navy who served for 43 years and was present at the Battle of Algecira Bay, the Battle of Trafalgar and the invasion of Java, He was born in London in 1783 and entered service in 1799. By 1805 he had been appointed signal midshipman aboard HMS Temeraire and as such was the first person to pass on Nelson’s famous signal to the fleet: “England expects that every man will do his duty.”
Having survived the battle he was promoted to lieutenant the following year. Whilst serving aboard HMS Lion he was wounded taking a convoy out to China, served at the capture of Java in 1811 and in 1813 distinguished himself while aboard HMS Beaver when he helped in the rescue of the crew of a Swedish vessel. After retiring from the navy with the rank of Commander in 1842 and being awarded the Naval General Service Medal with two clasps, he came to live in West Bromwich where he died in February 1857. He is buried at All Saints Church in Charlemont, West Bromwich and on his headstone it reads: “Sacred to the memory of Captain James Eaton R.N. of Hill House West Bromwich, a gallant officer and affectionate husband.”
Trafalgar Day is still celebrated although it’s not so widespread. In Birmingham sea cadet units from across the West Midlands including the Black Country join in a ceremony at Nelson’s statue in the Bull Ring and we would like to hear from any sea cadet units who hail from our neck of the woods who may have taken part in Trafalgar Day celebrations in the past. If you have a story to tell as well as pictures please contact jworkman @blackcountrybugle. co.uk, 01384 880533, or write to John Workman, Black Country Bugle, Dudley Archives Centre, Tipton Road, Dudley DY1 4SQ.