Nelson's Funeral

The final touch was the battle flag, flown by the HMS Victory at Trafalgar. The 48 sailors from the Victory were supposed to fold up and drop into the crypt. Instead, with 7,000 of the most eminent people in Britain watching, they tore off pieces of the flag to take as souvenirs. Many genteel Britons were horrified but I like the idea of these sailors taking a little piece of Nelson's memory for themselves. He belonged more to his sailors than to these high dignitaries and government officials who were using his legacy for their own purposes.