Archive for June 9th, 2007
The Admiral
The Collingwood Memorial
This statue to the memory of Admiral Lord Collingwood looks upon South Shields from it’s lofty pile in Tynemouth reminding us of the way in which the forgotten Northumbrian hero kept his eye on the English fleet and saved the nation from a disaster.
Cuthbert Collingwood was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1748 and was sent to sea with the Navy by the age of 12. By 1772, Collingwood was an experienced seaman, and he was sent to Jamaica where he met another midshipman by the name of Horatio Nelson. Both were to rise through the ranks together serving their country in foreign seas. It was the start of a life-long friendship between the two men.
The Battle of Trafalgar has become inextricably linked with the name of Lord Nelson, but Collingwood’s involvement was huge. On October 21, 1805 the combined forces of France and Spain were annihilated by the English fleet following a bloody battle.
There were many heroes that day, not least Nelson, who was mortally injured in the fighting. As Nelson lay dying, Collingwood took control amongst the thunderous battle that raged all around him. In routing the French and Spanish enemy forces from his ship, the Royal Sovereign, Collingwood defeated the foreign forces. Had the Royal Navy lost the battle, Napoleon with his 115,000 troops based at Boulogne, would have swept across the channel and invaded England.
With Collingwood’s help the British Navy did not lose a single ship at Trafalgar, and the country was saved from invasion. He brought the fleet home unscathed in the teeth of a terrifying storm in the Bay of Biscay which resulted in him being awarded the title Baron Collingwood of Coldburne and Heathpool.
