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Shoe buckles worn by Horatio Nelson are set for auction after the renowned naval commander gave them to a fellow hero of the seas during the Napoleonic Wars.
More than 220 years ago Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson gifted the pair of buckles to his Second-in-Command Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton. They have remained in the Bickerton family ever since, passed down through the generations.
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “These buckles are a thrilling auction find which sweep us back in time to British battles on the high seas. They come to us from the family of Sir Richard, second baronet [1759 to 1832], a Southampton-born man who signed up for the Royal Navy at the age of 12 and rose to the highest ranks. It was wonderful to meet his descendant and discover the story of the buckles, their provenance and place in history.
“Nelson and Bickerton knew each other well. In 1804 Bickerton served as Second-in-Command to Nelson during a blockade of the French port of Toulon. This was the early days of the Napoleonic Wars which lasted from 1803-1815, a time when the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte battled for power across Central Europe.
“When Nelson received the thanks of the Corporation of London for the Toulon blockade, he insisted Bickerton received equal recognition. Nelson’s high regard for Bickerton was underlined by the gift of the buckles in around 1804.
“They are typical of the period and would have been given not long before Nelson lost his life, aged only 47, at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. That momentous historical event saw the British Navy fight off the combined French and Spanish fleets, thwarting Napoleon’s plans to invade Britain. Nelson led the battle but was fatally shot aboard HMS Victory. However, the defeat of Napoleon cemented British naval supremacy for years to come.
“Bickerton played an important part in Britain’s success at sea. After the blockade of Toulon, he was elevated to Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean when Nelson left to pursue the French fleet across the Atlantic.
“Bickerton’s naval record was impeccable. When Britain entered the French Revolution War in 1793 he joined the Channel Fleet and later served as a Lord of the Admiralty and First Naval Lord, the highest rank in the Royal Navy. He was eventually forced ashore by illness in 1805 but went on to serve as a Conservative MP for Poole in 1808.
“The buckles’ link to both Bickerton and Nelson [1758-1805], Britain’s greatest maritime commander, will appeal to collectors all over the world with a passion for naval history. Nelson’s inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics delivered decisive British victories during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.”
The pair of buckles will be sold with an estimate of £2,000-3,000 at Hansons Auctioneers’ Fine Art Auction on November 28.
