Brits all at sea when it comes to knowledge of Nelson
Ahead of this month’s bicentennial celebrations of Nelson’s victory, a new survey reveals we’re hardly Trafalgar squares. In fact, three quarters (74%) of Britons couldn’t name the location of the naval victory and a fifth (19%) didn’t know whom the battle was fought between.
The study by the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, marks the start of its Trafalgar Woods Project, which is planting one new wood for each of the 33 ships in Nelson’s core fleet at the battle.
The findings suggest Britons need to reacquaint themselves with their history books as our naval knowledge is far from shipshape.
Who, what and when?
Nineties PM Sir John Major was credited by 3% as the Admiral who masterminded the Battle of Trafalgar, while one in ten (11%) attributed the victory to Waterloo general, the Duke of Wellington. Nearly six out of ten (57%) didn't know that Nelson's ship was called HMS Victory, confusing the vessel with NASA’s space shuttle ‘Discovery’ (12%), and Charles Darwin’s ship ‘HMS Beagle’ (2%). Over half (53%) could not identify which year the battle was fought, and of those, 3% said it was in 1980.
Location, Location, Location
The exact location of the Battle of Trafalgar also caused confusion, with only a quarter (26%) correctly naming Spain as the country where the British navy engaged with the Franco-Spanish fleet. One in six (15%) thought that the French were victorious, and 5% even thought that the battle was fought between England and Scotland.
A Victory Built on Oaks
Although constructed from approximately 50,000 oak trees, one in six (15%) didn’t know that Nelson’s fleet was made of wood. To celebrate the significant role timber has played in Britain’s naval heritage, the Woodland Trust’s Trafalgar Woods Project aims to involve at least 15,000 children in planting 250,000 trees and create new woods at 33 sites across the UK. Each one will be named after a ship in the fleet, with the flagship wood, Victory, being planted near Canterbury in Kent.
The project also provides a range of online educational resources to support schools planting a hedge or copse in their school grounds. Community groups can also organise their own events and register them with the Woodland Trust. For more information visit Trafalgar Woods website
Notes to editors:
For more information, including visuals and interview requests, please contact:
Peter Chipchase, the red consultancy on 0207 025 6597 or peter.chipchase@redconsultancy.comor Vicky Perry, 0207 025 6529 or vicky.perry@redconsultancy.com
Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121,
e-mail media@woodland-trust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland. Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free. Further news can be found on this website
Tree For All
The Woodland Trust believes its Tree For All campaign will inspire parents and children to get outdoors more and get closer to nature by starting with the simple and enjoyable act of tree planting. Tree For All will see 12 million trees planted throughout the UK over five years, that’s one tree planted for every child under 16. One million children will be involved in planting through schools and community groups, at public events and even in their own garden. Trafalgar Woods is part of the Tree for All campaign.
Sea Britain 2005
The Trafalgar Woods project is part of Sea Britain 2005, a year-long programme of events and activities to celebrate our maritime heritage. For more information visit www.seabritain2005.com
