Nelson, a national hero

click photo to enlarge
There are heroes and then there are national heroes. In saying that I am using the term in its traditional sense of people who demonstrate bravery by putting themselves in harms way in the service of their country. Foot soldiers, sailors and airmen who are at the sharp end of conflicts are often recognised for acts above and beyond the call of duty - they are heroes. National heroes are usually figures of higher rank, leaders rather than one of the "ranks", and sometimes, though not always expose themselves to the same dangers as their subordinates.

One of Britain's national heroes who most certainly put himself in harms way was Horatio Nelson. The fact is, everyone who served on a man of war in the Napoleonic period was subject to the same dangers from rifle shot, cannon ball, grapeshot, fire and the multitude of flying wooden splinters. Nelson, from his time as a junior sailor until his demise on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar suffered injuries of a lesser or greater extent. His elevation to national hero recognised his personal bravery as well as his tactical skill in defeating the navies of his government's enemies.

Consequently, Nelson is one of our country's most celebrated national heroes with many statues across the land, streets named after him, public houses too, and even a town. On a recent walk in Greenwich I came across a sculpture of the admiral to add to the many that already adorn our capital. It is in the square of the newly opened Greenwich Centre and is made of, or so it appears, Core-Ten steel. I must confess that initially I couldn't work out that it represented a person, but once I'd identified the face the rest fell into place.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: Admiral Nelson, The Greenwich Centre, London
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 90mm (180mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.5
Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec
ISO:250
Exposure Compensation: -0.3EV

Road signs, national heroes and beer

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It has become the custom for English counties to publicly mark their geographical boundary where it crosses a main road. In the past a simple sign with the county name and the coat of arms was erected. Then, as local government tried to become more "user friendly" the county was prefixed by "Welcome to..." Nowadays most counties have a slogan as well, and in many cases they verge on the ridiculous.

Take Lancashire. A sign saying "Welcome to" (small print), "Lancashire" (big print), and "The Red Rose County" (small print), with an heraldic red rose, was perfectly unexceptionable. It told you which county you'd entered, and reminded you of the symbol that the county has proudly and publicly displayed for centuries. However, the county's elected representatives seem to inhabit a different planet from ordinary folk, and they couldn't see that changing the slogan to,"Where everyone matters", would invite ridicule. It was obvious that removing the well-loved Red Rose symbol would provoke criticism. And it was equally obvious that the new slogan means absolutely nothing: it's an empty, well-meant phrase that is not specific to Lancashire. One wag suggested that Lancastrians must be suppurating people, oozing pus-like matter! Norfolk's slogan is "Nelson's County". Now of all the fine things that I can think of associated with that fine county, Nelson doesn't figure very highly on the list. But, perhaps the sign's an attempt to make a connection between the great English hero and the county, and so raise its profile. Which leads me to the thought that many national heroes would turn in their graves if they saw the use to which later generations put their names. Would John Lennon and Robin Hood appreciate having airports named after them? Perhaps Field Marshall Montgomery would feel somewhat trivialised to be remembered by a duffle coat bearing his name. And Constable would surely have something to say about the number of biscuit tins his "Haywain" has decorated.

Which brings me back to Admiral Nelson and today's photograph of the side of a Bateman's Brewery lorry with an advertisement for "Victory Ale". A bottle of strong beer isn't, perhaps, the most demeaning use of a national hero's name and face, particularly when he's already been immortalised in poetry, with a column (and square), in countless pub names, and has a Lancashire town (indirectly) named after him. The size and colour of this lorry impressed me, and I felt the admiral, the bottles and landscape would make a quirky image when juxtaposed with a real person.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 73mm (146mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/500 seconds
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV
Image Stabilisation: On