Remembering the Royal Navy
It is difficult to overstate the contribution that the men and women who served in the Royal Navy and in other British ships, including the merchant navy, have made to our country and indeed to the world.
I would not have wanted to live in the world we might have today if the Spanish Armada had resulted in a successful invasion.
Nor in the world empire which would probably exist if the Royal Navy had not made it impossible for Napoleon to invade Britain. Napoleon once said, "Let us be masters of the straights (e.g. the English Channel) for six hours, and we will be masters of the world."
Of all the people who have dreamed of conquering the world, Napoleon was the one whose ability gave him the best chance of achieving it, and the only one who was good enough at building things as well as conquering places that he might heve been able to create a world empire which would last - but nobody who has looked at Ingres' painting of him in his coronation robes could doubt that he was a total megalomaniac. Or that Nelson did the world a huge favour 208 years ago today when he terminated that ambition.
Then there was the abolition of the slave trade - parliament eventually voted for it, but it was the Royal Navy who carried it out.
And, within living memory, there was the role the navy played in the defeat of Hitler's Nazis - a force which did unimaginable evil and could have done far worse had they not been stopped when they were.
It is not so well known that many of the men and women who are protecting our country today at the risk of their own lives in dangerous places like Afghanistan are Royal Navy sailors who serve alongside our soldiers and airmen.
We owe the men and women of our navy, and indeed the rest of our armed services, more than words can possibly express, and Britain has a duty, which we have not always beedn good at carrying out, to honour and look after them in turn.
I would not have wanted to live in the world we might have today if the Spanish Armada had resulted in a successful invasion.
Nor in the world empire which would probably exist if the Royal Navy had not made it impossible for Napoleon to invade Britain. Napoleon once said, "Let us be masters of the straights (e.g. the English Channel) for six hours, and we will be masters of the world."
Of all the people who have dreamed of conquering the world, Napoleon was the one whose ability gave him the best chance of achieving it, and the only one who was good enough at building things as well as conquering places that he might heve been able to create a world empire which would last - but nobody who has looked at Ingres' painting of him in his coronation robes could doubt that he was a total megalomaniac. Or that Nelson did the world a huge favour 208 years ago today when he terminated that ambition.
Then there was the abolition of the slave trade - parliament eventually voted for it, but it was the Royal Navy who carried it out.
And, within living memory, there was the role the navy played in the defeat of Hitler's Nazis - a force which did unimaginable evil and could have done far worse had they not been stopped when they were.
It is not so well known that many of the men and women who are protecting our country today at the risk of their own lives in dangerous places like Afghanistan are Royal Navy sailors who serve alongside our soldiers and airmen.
We owe the men and women of our navy, and indeed the rest of our armed services, more than words can possibly express, and Britain has a duty, which we have not always beedn good at carrying out, to honour and look after them in turn.
Comments
People said that about ancient egypt, they said it about Alexander the Great, they said it about the Roman Empire, hey even the british empire is so weak now, it does not really matter.
Napolean building an empire is a probability, but one that would last? I'm not convinced.
In England there was a law that you drove your horse and cart on the left hand side of the road and sat on the right, when passing another cart going the other way. This was so if you were foe's you would go right hand to right hand with your swords in the right hand and holding the horse steady with the left hand.
Napolean passed a law stating all Frenchmen drove their carts and passed on the right hand side, the only reason was because it was different to us filthy English.
This is actually the origin of the military salute.
(The problem with spending 3 years writing the pub quiz on an RAF base is you end up with a head full of useless information)
The navy use a different salute to the other forces, other forcs show their palm, the navy show the back of the hand.
This dates back to the old tall ships, ropes used in rigging were often coated in tar, thus it improves their resistance to rough seas, and weather. The sailors of the day used to salute the officers on board, but it somehow seemed bad manners to show a filthy dirty palm to an officer, after you had been hoisting tarred ropes, so they would turn away the dirty palm and show the officer the much cleaner, back of the hand.
I don't think Napoleon's empire would have lasted for ever, but it might well have lasted a couple of centuries, in which case it would still be around now.
Amusing point about the navy salute.
You know what suckers we are for tradition, hey there is even a worn spot on the House of Commons door from Black Rod's stick over the years.