Writing Home from Trafalgar: A Sailor’s Extraordinary Story

On 21 October 1805, HMS Victory led the British fleet into one of the most famous battles in naval history. But what was Trafalgar really like for the ordinary sailors who fought it? Six weeks after the battle, David Johns, a Welsh sailor from Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire, sat aboard Victory at Spithead and wrote a remarkable letter to his parents. He described the terrifying intensity of the fighting, the enemy ships surrounding Victory, and the death of Admiral Nelson. His words offer a rare and deeply personal account of Trafalgar, written before the battle had passed into legend.

In this episode, we bring Johns's letter to life and explore its extraordinary story with historian, novelist and expert on Welsh maritime history J. D. Davies. Together, we discover a Trafalgar far removed from the familiar world of admirals, monuments and grand strategy: a battle experienced through smoke, splinters, cannon fire and the desperate struggle to survive. It is also a reminder of the often-overlooked Welsh contribution to British naval history, and of the thousands of ordinary men whose experiences made Trafalgar much more than Nelson's victory.

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