[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by iadom

Interestingly, the Victory is to be repaired using oaks planted 200 years ago on the recommendation of Nelson himself. Lord Nelson urged that trees be planted in the Forest of Dean,Glos, in 1802 when he learned that many of its oaks had been plundered for charcoal. In a report to Parliament he said the trees should be replanted to provide timber for future warships. HMS Victory's commanding officer. Lt Commander Frank Nowosielski will visit the forest to collect the timber from two trees that have been felled.

Talk about forward planning.

From Tuesdays Times:

May 18, 2004

By Simon de Bruxelles



IN AUGUST 1802 Admiral Lord Nelson toured the Royal Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, in search of timber for the naval dockyards and was appalled by what he found.
Not only had a large section of the forest been plundered by the charcoal-burning industry but the trees that survived were unavailable after a dispute between the timber merchants and the Admiralty.



Nelsonââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s flagship HMS Victory had had a refit two years before, which could not be completed because of a shortage of wood. Nelson made a secret deal with the timber merchants and recommended to Parliament the replanting of large areas of the forest to guarantee the supply of raw materials for the Royal Navy of future centuries.

But even his foresight could not have predicted that the saplings he had planted would be used to repair his own vessel 200 years on. Two great oaks have been felled in the forest to provide raw material for the restoration of HMS Victory in time for the 200th anniversary next year of the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. The ship attracts 350,000 visitors a year to Portsmouth historic dockyard and will be the centrepiece of the celebrations next year.

Nelsonââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s successor as commanding officer of HMS Victory, Lieutenant-Commander Frank Nowosielski, will use an original Royal Navy hammer to mark the timber as naval property.

Commander Nowosielski said: †œI think it represents the rounding of the circle. Nelson would have approved without doubt. Iâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢m sure Nelson would be pleased that the oak he planted would be used in HMS Victory, his last ship.ââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ�

The Forest of Dean oak will be used to refurbish the †œapron kneeâ₠¬Ã‚Â� on one of the gun decks, acting as a buttress to the floor above. HMS Victory had a major rebuild in the 1950s after an infestation of death-watch beetle when shipwrights opted to use imported teak instead of traditional oak. Despite the infestation, some of the original wood survives.

Commander Nowosielski said: †œA wooden ship was only expected to last for 25 years so itââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s surprising we have any of it left. We still have 20 per cent of the original wood.ââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ� By the time of Trafalgar, the ship was already a veteran, just a year younger than the 48-year-old Nelson. Her keel had been laid down in 1759, although she was not launched until six years later. She first saw action in 1778 at the Battle of Ushant off Brittany. Her construction consumed 6,000 oak trees, equivalent to 100 acres of woodland. The two main types of timber used were †œgreat⠀ Â� oak for the straight beams and keel and curved †œcompassà¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚ ÂÂ� oak for her ribbing. Trees in the Forest of Dean were planted a specified distance apart to encourage their branches to bend upwards at the correct curve. In 1802 stocks of timber in the Royal Dockyards were at an all-time low after Lord St Vincent, the reforming First Lord of the Admiralty, refused to deal with timber merchants whom he accused of operating a cartel. Nelson, already a national hero, set off to investigate the situation. Accompanying him were the elderly Sir William Hamilton and his wife Emma Hamilton †â€ÂÂÂ� Nelsonââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s mistress.

During a stay at the Three Cranes Inn in Chepstow, Nelson is believed to have secured agreement with the areaââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s biggest timber merchant which led to the delivery of enough timber to complete the refit of HMS Victory and other warships. Nelson was able to write to the Prime Minister from his cabin on board HMS Victory in May 1803: †œMy Dear Sir, I am at last afloat and shall sail at 4 oâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢clock to Brest . . .â₠¬ÃƒÆ’‚ÂÂÂ�

By 1808, three years after Nelsonââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s death, Parliament ordered the replanting of the Forest of Dean and today it has the largest area of old oak trees in Britain. The trees are still known locally as †œNelsonà¢ÃƒÆ’¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢ââ‚ ¬Å¾Ã‚¢s Oaksââ‚ ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ�.