The great British naval hero Horatio Nelson, who defeated the French at Trafalgar in 1805 in one of the most memorable of all sea battles, was born at Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, England. His father was rector of that parish. Horatio’s mother (nee Suckling) was related to Sir Robert Walpole the British statesman and prime Minister
Nelson’s uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, who later became Comptroller of the Navy, gave Horatio his first taste of the sea. Horatio, who was educated in his home country of Norfolk by the North Sea, was entered in the ship reasonable by Captain Suckling in 1770 when there was an alarm of war with Spain. But the dispute with Spain was quickly settled, and Nelson was packed off in a merchant vessel to the West Indies to gain experience.
This was the beginning of a hard apprenticeship during which time Nelson visited such remote areas as the Arctic and the East Indies.
Five years after his first appointment at sea Nelson fell ill and was invalided home. It was not until two years later, having just passed his examination as lieutenant that his remarkable career began in earnest.
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