Trafalgar through the eyes of a modern day spy

In order to put this into an 18^th century context, here's a pen-sketch of Nelson's life.

Alongside his abiding love of the sea and his intimate knowledge of it, he had a unique practice of consulting with and delegating to, his officers that was largely alien to his French and Spanish counterparts. Moreover, he knew his ships and their men, not just from the top down but also from the bottom up. He was ever willing to strip off his uniform and silk stockings and venture down into the bilges with crewmen who had reported a significant leak.

In 1799, Nelson himself, looking back, wrote of his time in both the Merchant Service and the Royal Navy and a saying then constant with the seamen: Aft the most honour, forward the better man. "So deep was the prejudice rooted," he pointed out, "and what pains were taken to instil this erroneous principle in a young mind." Having been a midshipman, he knew what he was talking about. As Ernle Bradford puts it in his fine work, Nelson: The Essential Hero, "What [he] knew by sympathy and instinct, what indeed Drake had known centuries before – that the man before the mast had his own rights every whit as much as the gentlemen aft – was not understood by the Admiralty until serious trouble forced their unwilling eyes to contemplate the reality of the sailor's life."

Rather, it was Nelson's sense of humility and self-knowledge that informed his actions. In most aspects of his life he was a disciplined man, an attribute he brought from his upbringing, when he learnt that disciplined behaviour minimised any waste of energy and maximised the chance of achieving one's goal. This was reflected in every aspect of his naval career, whether as a tactician, as a man who would defy orders from above when he recognised an opportunity that had to be taken, or when he went to inordinate lengths to fight for wages his men were owed but which the system denied them.

This was a side of Nelson's character that endeared him to his men, though not always to those in positions of authority. This was no mean feat in the late 18^th century when hierarchies were rigid and unforgiving. Throughout most of his career he displayed an innate capability that those around him quickly recognised and which led to his promotion to Post Captain – meaning he was capable of taking charge of a ship of over 20 guns – at age 20.

The ships and fleets that Nelson commanded were soon imbued with his sense of discipline. He was a man who knew what he was doing, and his men understood that only too well. This was reflected in his endless gunnery practice while at sea and the healthy competitiveness he nurtured among his gun crews that gave them a rate of fire on their two-tonne 32-pounders which exceeded that of any other navy. And efficient gun crew could get off three rounds in little more than three minutes. A tour of the lower gun-decks of the Victory in Portsmouth today provides some sense of the massive achievement this was.

Nelson knew that self-discipline was a far greater force, coupled with incentive, than its hierarchical counterpart imposed from the top down.

The trust that Nelson inspired is illustrated in a little-known fact: he was often in command of both naval and land-based forces at the same time. A case in point relates to Jamaica, which was then vitally important to Britain. It was rumoured that a French invasion was imminent, backed by an army of 25,000. The British had a meagre force of 7,000. At the express request of the British military and naval commanders in Jamaica, Nelson was given command of the vital batteries of Fort Charles in Port Royal, the capital. Not many naval captains inspire that sort of trust.

During his career, Nelson was appointed a colonel of the Marines and later a brigadier, both honorary commands in reward for his distinguished services ashore.

In Nelson's time, intelligence gathering and communications at sea were severely limited to flags and a handful of other signals. Nelson would often send a fast cutter ahead to either collect written and coded intelligence for him from designated points on the coast or to act as his fleet's eyes. The latter was particularly the case in the lead-up to the Battle of the Nile in 1798, where Napoleon's fleet and prized flagship, the 118-gun L'Orient, were at anchor in Abukir Bay. A British shell triggered off a fire on board the L'Orient and its powder magazine exploded, destroying the entire vessel. Bear in mind that the Victory, with just over 100 guns, carried 35 tonnes of gunpowder.

Above all else, the one form of intelligence that served Nelson so well, right through to the stunning win at Trafalgar, was the trust he shared with his captains and crews. They knew instinctively what he would want, and expect, of them in the event that battle conditions suddenly changed. His fleets were indeed like giant synchronised human brains.

The men and women who created the Bletchley success, one that so significantly helped save Britain and the Allies in WWII, did Nelson proud. He'd have definitely been looking down in 1945 giving them the thumbs-up.

His and their contribution, were inspiring displays of the human pursuit of excellence and the will to win out of tyranny.