Trafalgar Captain

The battle of Trafalgar was the most decisive sea-battle ever fought. The 'glorious victory' on 21 October 1805 had checked Napoleon's lingering hopes for an invasion of Britain and smashed Spain's status as a first-class naval power. It brought Britain a mastery of the seas that would last for the next 100 years.

Philip Durham was one of the twenty-seven British sea captains at Trafalgar, and one of the most successful - he captured two enemy ships and in the process was wounded in the midst of the ferocious battle.

The life of Philip Durham really does mirror that of the swashbuckling hero of the Patrick O'Brian novels which the recent Hollywood blockbuster Master & Commander was based on. He was one of the most famous British sea commanders of his day, and led an adventurous and colourful life. Durham survived the sinking of the Royal George off Portsmouth in 1782 in which over 900 persons were drowned, took the first and last prizes of the wars against revolutionary France and Napoleon, and was regarded by many contemporaries as the single most successful naval prize-taker. He made his name as a brilliant frigate captain in the tradition of the fictional Jack Aubrey.