Keeping Watch

Cuthbert Collingwood was Newcastle-born to a very minor family of landowners; his father ran a small business that went bankrupt. He went to sea in the Royal Navy, aged 12, and worked his way through the ranks until he became an Admiral and second-in-command to his personal friend, Nelson, at the battle of Trafalgar, assuming command when the latter was killed

It is hard to find a bad word said about him. In a brutish age, he seems to have been a model of understanding of the men under his command, and earned their loyalty and dedication in return. He was astute both militarily and politically, and achieved remarkable results. In ill health at the end of his career, he begged to be allowed to resign and retire to England. When this was eventually granted, after many delays, he died four days after being relieved of command

The loyalty of his men may have accounted for their diligence in training, which ensured their effectiveness when they were first into action in the heart of the Spanish fleet at Trafalgar, damaging the Spanish Admiral's ship to the point of near sinking. He himself was lightly wounded, but his ship, though dis-masted, was saved. He was, it seems, a genuine hero. It is reported that he wept when he learned of his friend's death, which endears him to me

A life at sea may have given him more opportunity than most to observe eclipses. He was unmoved by today's and stared steadily across the Tyne as usual