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What kind of leader
was Lord Nelson?
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© 2010 Emma, Michael and Elway's Excellent Adventures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hotpudding/4356235728/
It is 21st October 1805 at Cape Trafalgar, off the
South Western coast of Spain. You are Lord
Nelson, in charge of the flagship HMS Victory.
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Question 1 – Decisions need to be made so that the
battle can begin. Do you …?
a) Work out everything on your own. What do those
idiots know? You are famous after all!
b) Hold a meeting with lots of men from your ship.
After all, they might have some interesting ideas.
c) Not bother with plans. Instead just make it up on
the spot and one way or the other things will work
out.
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Question 2 – You need to make sure all of the men
know what they are doing and that they know the plan.
Do you …?
a) Give them a long and complicated speech, telling them
every little detail of your plan.
b) Make sure your instructions are short and clear, then get
each team leader to explain it to their men and have each
team leader sign a document saying they understand.
c) Write down every possible outcome of each decision and
send it out to the men on the ship, giving them a couple
of hours to read it through.
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Question 3 – There are 821 men on board HMS
Victory. They live a hard life and discipline is tough.
How do you keep them in line?
a) Anyone who steps out of line will be thrown into
the sea.
b) Bring them into your office for a good telling off!
c) The people who do not do their job will be
whipped up to 36 times in front of the other men
to warn them not to misbehave.
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Question 4 – The Battle has started. Your captain (who is lower in
rank than you) has advised you to not wear your uniform, hat and
medals as they will clearly show the enemy that you are an important
leader, and they will try to kill you. Do you ...?
a) Wear the uniform of a lower soldier so as to not draw
attention to yourself. BUT you still have your reservations.
What is a ship without its commander?
b) Go out in your full uniform. You are proud of your medals
and want the men to see that you are going out to battle with
them.
c) Take the medals and hat off. You still have your officer’s jacket
on, but you will draw less attention to yourself that way.
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Question 5 – You must cage in or destroy the French ships.
You wanted to attack them in three different places, but you are
only left with two thirds of the ships you thought you would
have. Do you ...?
a) Sail right towards the enemy so that you can get close to the
weakest part of the ships.
b) Keep your distance. Wait for them to make their move and
try to trap them in.
c) Wait for back up – hope that more British ships will turn up.
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Nelson is shot!
During the fight with the French ship
Redoubtable, Nelson is mortally wounded by
musket fire. He is carried below deck, where
he learns that the Fleet have taken 15 enemy
ships. He has won the Battle of Trafalgar.
Nelson dies.
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Question 6 – Nelson dies in battle. You want to get
him back to England in one piece for his funeral. To
keep his body preserved, do you …?
a) Wrap him in a cloth, and keep him in a closed room
away from anyone else.
b) Put his body in a huge barrel of alcohol to stop it
from rotting.
c) Make a coffin out of wood left over from the battle
and keep him there for the journey home.
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Question 7 - You are the person in charge of deciding
how to remember Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar.
Do you ...?
a) Create a large statue so that people will remember him
forever.
b)
Name a key area in London after his huge victory.
c) Hold a huge funeral in the centre of London, and a big
celebration of his victory.
d) Publish articles in all the newspapers in England saying how
amazing he was and that everyone should remember him.
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Answers
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Question 1 – Decisions need to be made so that the
battle can begin. Do you …?
Answer: b. Hold a meeting with lots of men from
your ship. After all, they might have some interesting
ideas.
Nelson believed in making all of his crew members a
part of the decisions made, in order to motivate them
to fight. Nelson would even celebrate a win with the
sailors on board – something unheard of at the time!
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Question 2 – You need to make sure all of the men
know what they are doing and that they know the plan.
Do you …?
Answer: b. Make sure your instructions are short and
clear, then get each team leader to explain it to their men
and have each team leader sign a document saying they
understand.
Nelson wanted to make sure his plans were as clear as
possible so that no silly mistakes would be made. He
knew that it would be better to leave the explaining to
team leaders, and to give them some responsibility by
having them sign a document.
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Question 3 – There are 821 men on board HMS
Victory. They live a hard life and discipline is tough.
How do you keep them in line?
Answer: c. The people who do not do their job will
be whipped up to 36 times in front of the other men to
warn them not to misbehave.
A sailor could be flogged (whipped) and given as many
as thirty-six lashes for drunkenness, arguing, rudeness
or not carrying out his duties. Another punishment
was being put in leg irons (chains) on the deck, all day
and in all weathers.
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Question 4 – The Battle has started. Your captain (who is lower
in rank than you) has advised you to not wear your uniform, hat
and medals as they will clearly show the enemy that you are an
important leader, and they will try to kill you. Do you ...?
Answer: b. Go out in your full uniform. You are
proud of your medals and want the men to see that
you are going out to battle with them.
Nelson wanted his men to know that he would lead
them into battle and fight alongside them, unafraid, and
he showed this by wearing his full uniform. However,
this made him a big target for the enemy.
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Question 5 – You must cage in or destroy the French ships.
You wanted to attack them in three different places, but you are
only left with two thirds of the ships you thought you would
have. Do you ...?
Answer: a. Sail right towards the enemy so that you can
get close to the weakest part of the ships.
Nelson was a creative man. He decided to try a different
style of attack which meant sailing straight up to the enemy
ships. Nelson’s vessel would be under heavy fire from the
enemy ship’s guns and would not be able to shoot back, but it
would reach the enemy ship’s weakest part (the front), and be
able to make a full attack on it. The fact that the enemy did
not expect it meant that it was a very successful tactic.
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Question 6 – Nelson dies in battle. You want to get him back to
England in one piece for his funeral. To keep his body
preserved, do you …?
Answer: b. Put his body in a huge barrel of alcohol to
stop it from rotting.
Nelson’s body was put into brandy as alcohol keeps it
from rotting as they wanted his body to be taken back
to England in as good a condition as possible.
Preservation of bodies in liquor was fairly common
practice in the early 1800s.
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Question 7 - You are the person in charge of deciding how to
remember Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. Do you ...?
Answer: a, b, c and d!
Nelson was seen as a hero and one of England’s
greatest commanders of all time. He was given a huge
funeral, which the government paid for. Trafalgar
Square was named after his victory with a tall statue of
Nelson. All of the newspapers mourned his death with
great sadness.
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