Ned

[anteros_lmc]

Sir Edward Pellew 19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833

180 years ago today Sir Edward Pellew, Admiral Lord Exmouth passed away. He survived 43 years of war at sea and died peacefully at home surrounded by his family.

In the Pellew Archive at Greenwich there are many, many deeply moving condolence letters sent to the family which nodbear and I have had the privilege of reading. What is most striking, other than their genuine sincerity, is how many of the letters from former shipmates refer to Pellew as both father and friend. He may be remembered as the quintessential frigate captain, but as his most recent biographer Stephen Taylor has pointed out, he also had a particular gift for friendship. And as nodbear has said in her Thankfulness post, "he seems to have the same gift for friendship after death as well as in life."

Comments

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

From an as yet unidentified french writer (not Captain Bergeret )
to Fleetwood 31 JAnuary 1831- written in English but with French idioms around all over the letter

you have lost the best of fathers and I have to regret the one whom I Shall dare to name the best of friends, for so has he been to me ever since I first had the good fortune to become acquainted with that Excellent Man,
a model certainly,in public life as in private,whsoe great and heroic virutes were endowed with a simplicity that rendered them all the brighter.
We hope to work out who this is -but whoever they are that lsat sentence quoted has Ned captured perfectly.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Am all sniffly now, reading that. Brilliant summation of the man.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting the letter. I didn't have a chance to look any of the condolence letters out when I posted this. I hope we can figure out who wrote this one day, it's such a moving tribute.

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

I hope we can too =we need an 1830s street directory for Paris - I think they do exist but tracking one down that we can use is another matter !

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I am sure that when he left this station, departing from home was the way he preferred to go.

A good man. The more I learn about him the better I like him. That is a rare quality in a human of any time.

And I have to say that I really like the idea of him having a hand in all the friendships that have come about because of him and Hornblower world.

I imagine he would be a little dazed, but not at all disapproving!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think you and nodbear are both right. Ned's gift for friendship really has lived on and I think he would be bemused but delighted if he could see us here today.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Maybe he will feel inclined to dictate a letter from his current station...

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

MAybe he will :)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Somehow he has a way of getting his thoughts across....

[shezzawatto.livejournal.com]

This was lovely! Thank you girls.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome indeed.