When the Clouds Lift

Today, I would like to tell you a little story that was past on to me recently about the time of the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France. I believe the exact time of the story dates from the Battle of the Nile, 1805 a critical point in the war.

The Battle was one the decisive naval campaigns of the war. Before it, Britain was in a very desperate state - a larger French Army and a significant French Navy threatened the country. Much rested on keeping the French out of Egypt and stopping them threatening British interests in India and Africa. The impact at home would have been dire - probably a military campaign at home - maybe even a French take over of England!

During this time, the way news was passed between London and other parts of England was with semaphore signal - a method of using arms and pullies to show agreed codes between stations. The station acted much like mobile phone masts, pumping out a message, usually at the top of hills, ready to be picked up by the next station. This allowed London to know what was going on at battle locations. However, it was subject to the weather!

True to form the British weather got in the way!! Fog descended one day, and just as the battle news was coming through, the fog became very thick. It was vital to know what had happened; there was just enough time to see the start of the message "Nelson Defeated" - then the clouds came down.

Of course, the feeling at home was very low. A sense of foreboding clouded the minds of men and morale was extremely low. People feared the worst.

The next day, the fog had lifted, and the message was resent - this time the complete message came through "Nelson defeated French forces, a resounding victory!" Needless to say the mood changed in an instant. Where formerly the semaphore staff were slow to pass on the information - the system never worked so well as when it passed on that message.

As I write this, the sun has just come out in Victoria, London - so it seems like a good time to end this post and enjoy some sun. I hope followers of the blog get the chance to do the same soon.