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How cool is this?

From todays Daily Mirror.



22 June 2005

TRAFALGAR CREWS ON THE WEB

A WEBSITE will today enable people to find out if their ancestors fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.



The Trafalgar Ancestors database gives access to records of around 18,000 who were on the British side when Nelson beat the French in 1805.



Naval expert Bruno Pappalardo said some of the crews may have never sailed and many came from all over the world.



He added: "Trafalgar Ancestors offers those interested in family history the chance of finding if an ancestor may have served in Nelson's fleet."

The website launch coincides with a new exhibition - Captains, Pirates and Castaways - at the National Archives in Kew, South-West London.







The website is at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/trafalgarancestors

Ha I found 27 with the right surname and one was an Able Seaman on the Victory, that is good enough for me, I am claiming him as a relative

WOW And there is even a relation of mine here. He was on HMS Prince. Rank/rating Landsman? Aged 25.Bothwell, my learned friend.What was a Landsman?

None of mine, but my surname is that of one of the proscribed clans so finding the same surname would be surprising to put it mildly.

Landsmen was a term used for sailors of little or no experience who were not volunteers to the Royal Navy. the majority of them were Pressed men. Passing out in a pub during Nelson's time may well see you waking up on one of His Majsty's ships in the morning!

Many of these "pressed" landsmen remained in the service voluntarily, contrary to popular opinion life in the navy was in many cases much better trhan civilian life. You got three decent meals a day, 8 pints of beer and a ruim ration. By Neslons day the perils of scurvy were well known and where possible green vegetables and lemon juice were supplied.

Foreign vessels that were captured were considered the captor ships and the spoils were divided amongst the crew.

It may interest our American friends to know that there were 22 Americans serving on the Victory at Trafalgar and 3 Frenchmen!!!!

Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash. ......winston churchill