A village in West Cornwall has celebrated one of Britain’s most famous wartime victories, fought against the combined French and Spanish fleets in 1805. Despite the Cornish mizzle, sailors from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose paraded through the streets of Madron, near Penzance, on Sunday, 19th October, to remember the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson.
Led by the HMS Seahawk Volunteer Band, Royal Navy Ratings were joined by members of the Sea Cadets, Royal Naval Association and the Royal British Legion. The parade made its way to St Maddern’s Church, the same parish church that held the first thanksgiving service over 200 years ago, just days following the historic sea battle.
Organised by Madron Parish Council, the annual event is always held on the Sunday closest to 21st October. It was on this day in 1805, that an outnumbered British fleet of ships achieved victory under the command of Lord Admiral Nelson, who was mortally wounded during the battle.
The story goes that following the Battle of Trafalgar, the topsail schooner HMS Pickle set sail for Falmouth and along the way passed on news of the victory and the death of Lord Admiral Nelson to fishermen in Mount’s Bay. They promptly returned to Penzance and spread the news to town mayor, Thomas Giddy, who led a procession to Madron Parish Church where the Nelson Banner, which was hastily prepared to mourn the death of Nelson, was paraded for the first time. The banner is now kept in Madron Parish Church and paraded each year at this memorial service to his ‘Immortal Memory’.
See all the pictures from the event in the slider gallery below:
Joining the Trafalgar and Nelson Thanksgiving Parade this year, mayor of Penzance Stephen Reynolds commented: “It is an honour to be here at Madron on Trafalgar Day to celebrate not just the life and the heroism of Nelson and our Armed Forces who serve today, but also to celebrate this lovely community right on our doorstep.
“A huge thank you to everyone from Madron Parish Council and the church who have organised this commemorative service and keep it alive for the generations to come.”
Chairman of Madron Parish Council, Hugh Eddy added: “It’s not every day that your village gets the Royal Navy from Culdrose parading through it, and we always get a very good turnout for this event. There is obviously the Trafalgar connection, but also, I think this is just great for the community, because you get to see the Forces up close and chat with them. It’s a very unusual event, especially for Cornwall, so a big thanks to everyone from RNAS Culdrose for being here today.”
Following the thanksgiving service in Madron Parish Church, the parade filed past Landithy Hall, where commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose Captain James Hall took the salute.
Representing Penzance Council, the mayor of Penzance was joined at the Trafalgar Day event by councillor Penny Osborne.
