'Wonderful' Royal Navy flag flown at Battle of Trafalgar on HMS Royal Sovereign saved from being sold
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The historically significant artefact will be displayed at a museum
A Royal Navy flag which was flown at the Battle of Trafalgar has been saved for the nation and will be displayed in a museum.
The Union Flag was flown from HMS Royal Sovereign, flagship of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, second-in-command to Lord Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805. It had been due to be sold out of the country but an export bar was put in place due to its historical significance, and a fundraising drive was started to save it.
The flag will now be put on view in Newcastle, the city where Collingwood was born and where many of his men were raised. Susan Collingwood-Cameron, great, great, great niece of Collingwood, said: “This flag is said to have been made by sailors on board the ship, many of whom came from Tyneside and were affectionately referred to by him as his ‘Tars of the Tyne.’
“It will be a tribute to them, and the important role they played, in one of our greatest moments in history. There may well be descendants of their families still living in the area.”
Measuring 1,525mm by 2,745mm, the flag was hand-stitched in wool bunting and it remains in good condition, although battle scars can be seen on it. The Battle of Trafalgar was a defining moment in the Napoleonic Wars, and there are just three remaining flags from it.
It was kept as a souvenir by Charles Aubrey Antram, a 17-year-old who was serving as a master’s mate on the ship, and passed down through his family until it came into a private collection. North East Museums has raised more than two-thirds of its £700,000 fundraising target to purchase the flag and create a permanent home for it at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund supported the bid with a £400,000 grant and further generous support has come from other organisations, as well as a contribution from the Collingwood family. The flag cost £450,000 with a further £250,000 needed to transport, store and conserve it in a permanent display.
The museum group is crowdfunding the outstanding amount. The flag will be used to prompt further understanding of Collingwood’s place in history, the role of North East sailors in the Royal Navy and the maritime past of the region. It was understood that around 500 sailors from the Tyne and Wear area fought at Trafalgar.
Keith Merrin, director of North East Museums, said: “It is wonderful to have acquired this rare and historically significant flag to ensure it remains in the UK and specifically in North East England, which was home to Vice-Admiral Collingwood and many of his crew. Collingwood is a popular figure in the North East but perhaps isn’t given the national hero status that he and his crew deserve.
“Our fundraising continues so that we can create a permanent display with the flag as the centrepiece at Discovery Museum in Newcastle where it can be enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.”
Simon Thurley, chairman of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: “The Union Flag flown from HMS Royal Sovereign at the Battle of Trafalgar is an extraordinary survivor of one of the most significant moments in UK naval history, with a powerful connection to the people and heritage of the North East.”