File:HMS Chatham Commerorates the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. MOD 45145572.jpg

English: HMS Chatham was honoured to represent the Royal Navy in Cadiz, at the 200th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar. Together with Spanish and French warships, she remembered the sacrifice and courage of all those who lost their lives during the battle. On 21st October, following a wreath laying ceremony and parade in the city, the ships sailed in formation to the site of the battle.

Wreaths were laid by each ship, the Spanish frigate Reina Sofia, the French frigate Montcalm and HMS Chatham, as they steamed slowly past the Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias, which takes its illustrious name from Spanish Admiral Gravinas’ Flagship of 1805. Witnessing the laying of the wreaths into the seas, where so many sailors lost their lives, will be descendants from the great naval legends of each nation.

On HMS Chatham’s, Navigation Officer, Lt Jim Edmondson may perhaps feel the presence of his ancestor, the Master of the Dreadnought, who fought in the battle as part of Admiral Collingwood’s squadron. Lt Edmondson said, "I feel extremely fortunate to be able to be here on the 200th Anniversary, not only because of the importance Nelson still has in the Royal Navy, but also to have the opportunity to pay respects to my ancestor".

Commissioned in 1990 from the same Chatham Naval Dockyard that built Nelson’s Flagship HMS Victory in 1795, the 21st Century frigate HMS Chatham played a wider role in the Trafalgar 200 events throughout the year. In April, members of the ship’s company reburied sailors from the Battle of the Nile, 1798, with full military honours in the Commonwealth cemetery in Alexandria.

• Organization: ROYAL NAVY
• Object Name: hires-04118-04118010
• Category: RNA
• Supplemental Categories: Ships, Type 22, Personnel
• Keywords: HMS Chatham, Battle of Trafalgar, Cadiz, Bridge, Sea, Sunset, Insignia, Binoculars
• Country: Spain