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You are bidding for:
6 Gold Plated x HMS Victory 250 year Anniversary Medals
Reclaimed Oak - HMS VICTORY
The 6 HMS Victory Gold Plated medals come with their Limited Edition certificate number and are stored in a wooden presentation box. The box has some light marks on it.
The piece of HMS Victory Oak was removed from HMS Victory in 2004 during the restoration project. The Oak piece has not been cleaned or stained and therefore is as it was when used in the ship. This comes with a brass coloured plaque stating 'HMS Victory Launched 1765'. Included with the Oak pieces is a copy of the certificate of authenticity supplied at the time of the restoration and signed by Lt Cmdr. Frank Nowosielski MBE RN Commanding Officer, HMS Victory. (please note part of this has been blanked out on the EBAY listing to restrict electronic copying – however the full certificate (A5 size) will be provided with the Oak piece.
This would make a great present for someone who has an interest in HMS Victory & Lord Nelson.
Brief History
The year 2015 was the 250th Anniversary of the Launching of HMS Victory – Lord (Horatio) Nelson’s Flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805
The Prime Minister, Pitt the Elder, placed the order for the Victory in December 1758. Around 6,000 trees were used in her construction, of which around 90% were Oak with the remainder being Elm, Pine and Fir. Much of the Oak was felled from forests in Kent and Sussex, using trees of 80 – 120 years old. The total cost of the build was £63,176. 3s. 0d, which would be around £5-6M in today’s money.
On 7th May 1765 Victory was launched but was laid up until February 1778 when she was finally commissioned. Very soon after she was engaged in her first battle against the French fleet off Ushant. During 1778 – 1780 she served as the Flagship for Keppel, Hardy, Drake and Parker.
In March 1780 she was sheathed in copper plating to combat ship-worms. Around 4,000 plates, each measuring 4ft, were attached using around 140 copper nails in each plate.
In 1781 Victory, under Admiral Kempenfelt, captured a French fleet off Ushant, despite being numerically inferior.
HMS Victory was refitted in March 1783 and again in 1787 and 1795. In October 1797, now 32 years old, Victory returned to Portsmouth. A decision was made, due to her state, to convert her to a hospital ship and to be later disposed of. However, due to the loss of the Impregnable there was an urgent need for an additional 3 decked ship. A decision to refit Victory was made and this commenced in 1800. A major refit was required and work did not complete until April 1803.
With renewed hostilities with France in 1803, Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson hoisted his flag on the Victory.
On 21st October 1805 the battle of Trafalgar commenced and the Victory, which was Lord Nelson's flagship, fought it's finest battle.
Note: We can strongly recommend H. M. S. Victory (Kenneth Fenwick - 1960) as one of the best books on the history of the Victory that I have ever read. It can usually be found here on EBAY or on Amazon 2nd hand.