Nelson was the Royal Navy`s greatest hero, whose tactics and leadership brought about the victory that would establish British domination of the seas for the next 100 years.
Nelson himself died in the battle, shot as he paced the quarterdeck of his flagship HMS Victory, by a sniper from the rigging of the French ship Redoubtable.
When people think about Nelson today they automatically think of Trafalgar Square in London. However, the first statue of Nelson to be erected - and the first by public subscription - was erected a lot closer to home.
The bronze statue of Nelson in Birmingham`s Bullring was the first statue of Nelson in Britain and erected in 1809. Following the Rhodes Must fall campaign in South Africa and the removal of the Confederate monuments in the United States statues of Nelson faced criticism because of his support for slavery and colonialism.
An identical statue in Bridgetown Barbados - by the same sculptor and based on the same design - was defaced and a sign attached describing Nelson as a "racist white supremacist". The Birmingham statue includes a short biography of Nelson but doesn`t mention the issues of slavery and colonialism.
Conversation with Horatio Nelson in Birmingham`s Bullring
My life became painfully immobile
Following my visit to Birmingham
And sailing out to meet Napoleon.
We were expected to do our duty
And I did - the Battle of Trafalgar.
Uniformed, with HMS Victory
But now forgotten - except by pigeons -
I am just an invisible statue.
Birmingham`s first public memorial,
The first of its kind in the British Isles.
Scowling bronze visage from a pedestal:
Reposed, one arm resting on an anchor,
Fenced by iron spikes, flanked by four cannons
Which supported magnificent lamp posts -
Now invisible? How did it happen?
A statue unnoticed in the Bullring?
I beheld surrender of the seasons,
Reminder of cultural heritage.
A monument of political power,
Physical presence, symbolic status,
I saw it all. Watched springs turn to winters,
Survived Nazi air raids, IRA bombs,
But my gnawing vacancy grew within
And into a throbbing bottomless void.
Why? I thought I was a secular saint,
Naval hero who sacrificed his life
Saving my country from Napoleon.
A painting shortly after Trafalgar
Showed me ascending to Mount Olympus
On the wings of angels to take my place
Amongst the gods - the start of an orgy
Of commemoration across Empire.
Within this bronze shell, my still beating heart,
Infected by loss and bitter anguish -
Through turning of the years - I have evolved
Into a forgotten obscure statue;
Rooted both silently and helplessly,
Watching Birmingham`s diverse life flourish
Like a movie patron views from afar
The screen - but there is no happy ending.
Off the grid, rainwater on my parched tongue,
Hungry man must be fed, weeping infant
Will seek sanctuary and affection
And an exhausted body seeks out rest.
Truisms of human experience
As is our common desire to be loved.
Am I to be mocked, held up in contempt,
For yearning for what is natural?
On my plinth in a labyrinth of shops
I have vainly sought out warmth and passion
Beneath the neon lights blaring out brands ,
Encircling apartments, adverts, glass
And more steel-plated walls of reflection
Where my image has withered and mocked me.
Perched in the Bullring, imperial clad,
A forgotten statue in Birmingham.
I have not been targeted by protesters
Like those in Cape Town, Kyiv or Charlottesville,
The campaigns against imperialism.
I stand here covered in pigeon droppings,
Compete with iconic Selfridges store
And the Bronze Bull in Birmingham`s Bullring
And out of place like colonialism;
A forgotten part of the cityscape.
I know other colonial statues,
The handsome faces of English statesmen,
Become covered in names of passers by
Or lovers with a permanent marker
And based neither on fondness or grudges.
What`s my legacy? In sight, out of mind,
Relic, put on a plinth and forgotten,
Much like our imperial legacy?
I will not succumb to imprisonment
Or modern history`s woke world order.
A saviour will come, with chisel in hand
And I will be taken down and released,
Set free to become a chameleon,
Merge unobserved into the city`s heart
And into my new lifeless surroundings
Forgotten, at one with the bricks and mortar.
Ian Henery
Photo Credit - David Moore
Commissioned for The Grid Project
In Search of Urban Happiness
Landmarks
Web - https://www.thegridproject.org.uk
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