Historic local hero

A FORRES Heritage Trust (FHT) historian marked two centuries since the death of a local war hero by visiting his grave.

Former Forres Academy teacher Dave MacFarquhar investigated the story of one of the town's most famous sons, Neil Smith, at his final resting place in Cawdor Kirk burial ground.

Mr MacFarquhar explained: "Neil Smith was assistant surgeon on Admiral Nelson's ship 'Victory' had a strong connection with Forres. Although a Nairn man by birth, he settled in Forres and died here on October 9, 1819.

"Many of the 3000 visitors to Nelson's Tower every year ask why Nelson's victory at Trafalgar was recognised so far north in a town which had no connection to him. Whether the good citizens who took it upon themselves to construct the tower in the years immediately following the battle knew of Smith, or that he was in Nelson's cabin as he lay dying, or that he played an important role in the preservation of Nelson's body as his ship made its way back to port, is difficult to say!"

The Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805 was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars of 1803-1815.

Twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory defeated 33 French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Villeneuve. The battle took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwest coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar, near the town of Los Caños de Meca. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost 22 ships, and the British lost none.

The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century, and it was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from naval tactics of the day. Conventional practice at the time was for opposing fleets to engage each other in single parallel lines in order to facilitate signalling and disengagement and to maximize fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead arranged his ships into two columns to sail perpendicularly into the enemy fleet's line.

During the battle, Nelson was shot by a French musketeer, and he died shortly before the battle ended.

Nelson's assistant surgeon Smith is believed to be one of the only crew members who knew that he was mortally wounded before the battle was over. He did not reveal the truth until it was so as to not affect the morale of his shipmates.

Smith is pictured in a copy of Arthur Williams Devis's painting 'The Death of Nelson' displayed on the first floor at Nelson's Tower.

His grave was only re-discovered around 20 years ago as Cawor folk cleared the older part of the graveyard. This was brought to the attention of The 1805 Club, founded to preserve and care for the memorials and graves of those associated with the sailing navy of the Georgian era, which installed a plaque which tells of Smith's place at that critical point of the nation's history.