One of only three British flags to survive the Battle of Trafalgar is at risk of the leaving the UK. Worn by RMS Royal Sovereign, the ship that led the British attack, it is the most historically significant of the three and the only complete example of a Union Jack from a 100-gun first-rate flagship. The Minister of Culture has placed a temporary export bar on the flag to give local institutions the chance to acquire it for the purchase price of £450,000 ($600,000) before it leaves the country.
The Battle of Trafalgar took place on October 21, 1805, when the outnumbered British fleet under the command of then Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the combined fleet of Napoleonic France and Spain. Commanded by Admiral Collingwood, Royal Sovereign led one of the two columns of warships with Admiral Horatio Nelson’s Victory leading the other. Royal Sovereign moved faster under the day’s light winds than Victory and quickly pulled ahead of the other British ships, raking the Spanish three-decker ship Santa Ana. Royal Sovereign and Santa Ana fought each other for almost three hours until the latter surrendered. Royal Sovereign’s foremast was heavily damaged, but the Union Jack was still flying.
By the end of the battle, Royal Sovereign had lost her mizzen, mainmasts and foremast. The rigging was shot to tatters and the ship had to be towed. The flag bears the scars of its pole-position role in the fight. There are holes, burn marks, gunpowder stains and wooden splinters from the ship embedded in the woven cloth.
Unique among the surviving Trafalgar flags, this one was made and repaired by the sailors of the Royal Sovereign. They made it from hand-stitched wool bunting with a weighted edge. Charles Aubrey Antram, one of Royal Sovereign’s four master’s mates kept it after the action, indicating he may have been the signal mate. It remained in his family by descent until 2004 when it was sold at auction to a private collector.
Culture Minister, Baroness Twycross said:
Few symbols in our country are as evocative as the Union Flag, and this flag in particular is an extraordinary representation of Britain’s history and national identity.
This flag was made by ordinary Britons and now epitomises a defining moment in our national history. I hope this profoundly important historical artefact can remain in Britain for the public to enjoy.”
If I may ask: Who is contemplating to sell the flag, and who is currently owning it, and isn’t it the case that the flag, the whole ship, and actually the entire battle has already been paid for by the UK? ⛴️
The flag was purchased by a private individual at Christie’s in 2004.
Provenance: Charles Aubrey Antram R.N. (1785–1831), Master’s Mate in Royal Sovereign at the Battle of Trafalgar. By family descent to: His sister: Rachel Nelson Lloyd, née Antram (1803–1884). Her great-nephew: Owen John Dunn (1846–1925). His son: Captain William Henry Dunn (1889–1986). By his gift to: William Ames (1919–2003). His deceased sale: A Rare Early 19th Century Naval Union Flag, Lot 61, Maritime Models,Christies, South Kensington, 26 May 2004. Private Collection, UK.
Here we ago again, UK in a tizzy about losing their cultural heritage to a foreigner but still hold the Parthenon marbles. The hypocrisy reeks!
As per the Culture Minister:
“Few symbols in our country are as evocative as the Union Flag, and this flag in particular is an extraordinary representation of Britain’s history and national identity.”
“This flag was made by ordinary Britons and now epitomises a defining moment in our national history. I hope this profoundly important historical artefact can remain in Britain for the public to enjoy.”
If only such high-minded criteria were vouchsafed to the Greeks.
Er, it was actually the Turks (Ottoman Empire) that sold the Elgin Marbles. Are the Greeks seeking any reparations from the Turkish Authorities for any other items “sold” during that period? BTW ALL governments are hypocrites. Why don’t the Greek authorities claim reparations from the Venetians who destroyed it when THEY used it as a gunpowder store and it exploded in 1687? Or are the British authorities just an easy target? Some marbles have been returned from the Louvre and other museums.
Whataboutism.
Eh, do you know where Frank is from?
No, I didn’t think so.
We would be up in arms here in the USA if anyone bought and tried to export one of the significant battle flags from the American Revolution or Civil War – pray this Union Jack stays home where it belongs.