Again, Jim, I'm not interested in Nelson's popularity ratings – just the historical inaccuracy of the "spitting on his coffin" claim.

Having discovered four years ago that an ancestor had been at Trafalgar I have been trying to find out how the poor bugger found himself there, in the course of which I have come into contact with a number of people who have been very generous with their knowledge of Nelson, Trafalgar and early 19th Century life in general.

One thing I have learned is the enormity of the crap that has been written giving gloss to the Nelson-Trafalgar period. Less so – but no less harmful – is the baseless crap written by those who wish to portray Jack Tar as the advance guard of a workers' revolution.

Walter Pardon was right – after Nelson's failed attack on Boulogne there was a wave of discontent centred on a belief that Nelson had acted recklessly and squandered many lives. However, always aware of his image, Nelson managed to ride out any lingering doubt about his abilities as a naval commander.

The discontent surrounding his funeral was aimed largely at the organizers and those who hogged the limelight at the expense of the Tars.