"There is a contemporary account of Nelson's funeral which describes how the coffin was booed and spat at by sailors lining the funeral rout who had fought in the Battle of Trafalgar."


Probably wishful thinking on the part of those who like to think that the downtrodden English sailor finally stood up for himself and gave His Lordship what for.

Most historians seem to agree that (by comparison) Nelson was one of the more respected naval officers, if only for the fact that his concern about the well-being of his men was based on the fact that a healthy crew was an effective crew.

It's also doubtful that many sailors who had been at Trafalgar would have been ashore for his funeral. Few were genuine volunteers and consequently they had a tendency to bugger off when they had the chance.

"Oh dear - another session of corpse kicking I fear."

Aarrh, Jim lad.