7 - Humanity

Summary

Humanity has long been recognised as one of Nelson's most distinctive icharacteristics as a man and as one of the main reasons for his success as a leader. On the morning of Trafalgar he asked, in his famous prayer, ‘may humanity after Victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet’ and the stories of the care that he took of his men have featured in all his biographies. Indeed, so much has this trait been emphasised that a popular misconception has arisen that his humanity was unusual and set him apart from his fellow-officers. Social studies of the Royal Navy in which he served, and of the careers of his contemporaries, have shown that such was not the case. It is now clear that the care Nelson took with the health and well-being of his men was learned from his mentors, such as Jervis and Locker and shared with his contemporaries, such as Collingwood and Keats.

What can, however, be claimed for Nelson is that in humanitarian matters, as in all other aspects of his life, it was his attention to detail that distinguished him from many of his colleagues. While other officers certainly were as concerned as he with the general health and well-being of their crews, he displayed throughout his career a close personal interest in individuals, together with an ability imaginatively to engage with their particular needs and problems.

This trait is strikingly demonstrated in a rather insignificant-looking little note written by him in early September 1805 and discovered recently among the papers of his brother, William Nelson at the National Maritime Museum (151). The ‘find’ hit the newspaper headlines because, on the other side of the paper, was a roughly drawn sketch, that turned out to be the only known drawing by Nelson of the tactics he was to use at Trafalgar – ‘the Holy Grail of naval history’, as one historian put it. Arguably, however, the list is of even more interest than the plan, since it shows Nelson taking a close, even a minute, interest in the welfare of some of his closest ‘followers’: for example asking for ‘a Timepiece’ for Mr William Bunce, Carpenter of HMS Victory.