Nelson enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of 12 and reported for duty on 1 st January 1771 on the 64 gun warship Raissanable commanded by his uncle Captain Maurice Suckling.

 

At the age of 20 he had been in naval and merchant service all over the world. He was made a captain in June 1779 taking command of Hitchinbroke at Port Royal , Jamaica .

 

He led a fleet of 27 ships in the Battle of Trafalgar defeating a Spanish-Franco fleet but became mortally wounded.

The battle's name is taken from Cape Trafalgar a low headland in SW Spain near the western entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar.

 

Picture by kind permission of  Oliver Broad

 

At 7.15pm on Friday 21 st October 2005 1000 beacons were lit throughout the country to celebrate the 200 th anniversary of the victory of the Battle of Trafalgar.

 

Burgh le Marsh's beacon situated on the ancient tumulus, Cock Hill, was duly lit, with cheers from the town's spectators, accompanied by a firework display.

A church service to commemorate the occasion will take place on Sunday 23rd October at

6.15 pm at St Peter & St Paul 's Church.