Horatio Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, on 29 September 1758. He was the son of the Reverend Edmund Nelson, rector of the parish, and his wife Catherine, and was one of eleven children.

Nelson’s connection with the Royal Navy came through his mother’s family. His uncle, Maurice Suckling, a naval officer, helped him enter the service. Nelson joined the Navy at 12 in 1771, beginning a career that took him from junior officer to vice-admiral.

He served during the American War of Independence. He became one of Britain’s leading commanders during the wars with revolutionary and Napoleonic France. His victories included the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

Nelson’s final battle came at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The British fleet defeated a combined French and Spanish force. Nelson was shot during the fighting and died aboard HMS Victory.

The rector’s son, born 47 years earlier in a Norfolk village, had become one of the best-known officers in the Royal Navy.