Bantock, Granville - The Fighting Temeraire (G)

Newbolt was in his turn inspired by a Turner painting of the same name that beat Constable's Haywain into second place in a recent vote for the nation's favourite painting.

"The Fighting Téméraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1838" depicts the last trip down the Thames of the hero of Trafalgar, the ship that rescued Nelson's own during the battle. A 98 gunner, HMS Téméraire was named after an earlier vessel captured from the French and, until Turner coined the prefix "Fighting", was generally nicknamed "The Saucy."

Sir Henry Newbolt, Royal Naval Historian, uses the glories of the past in counterpoint to this last, sad voyage to the breakers' yard in his poem that retains the name Fighting Téméraire. The text of the poem can be found by clicking here.

Turner also painted another work featuring the Téméraire entitled "The Battle of Trafalgar as seen from the mizen, starboard shrouds of the Victory":