to do so in this bicentennial year. We look forward to seeing many more names amongst this list in the years to come, and in welcoming new contributions for future editions of this journal. We look back to events on that fateful day in 1805, with a view to looking forward. It is fitting, as editors, to offer the words of others. On Trafalgar Day in 1896, a London journalist described the enthusiasm for Nelson in glowing terms, better than we ever could: ‘Britannia Rules the Waves!’is out great national motto, copyright, complete; and Nelson, the greatest of all her sons remains our most popular, perhaps our only, ‘hero’. To the man to whom our first line of defence is a meaningless phrase Nelson sums up once and for all the naval history of England. His glory grows year by year; distance only helps to magnify the magic of his name, and his grip tightens on the imagination of his countrymen. This week has witnessed a popular outburst of enthusiasm throughout the length and breadth of the country, which demonstrates as nothing else could the canonisation of the hero of Trafalgar…Nelson comes home to the hearts of all men, not as a spotless saint, but as an intensely human brother. His picturesque personality has silenced those who forgot to be patriotic, and today he stands as far above all our heroes as, in stone, he actually looks down on London from his splendid pinnacle in Trafalgar Square…and his countrymen have worshipped him, even in an age which is fain to break images and pull heroes down. Nelson, indeed, is the darling of the people. It remains to be seen if this enthusiasm endures, and whether his image can appeal to thoroughly modern audiences. One can be certain, nevertheless, of the value in revisiting the Nelson story. Anthony Cross Huw Lewis-Jones vii
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