Isle of Man marks Trafalgar Day with statue of local naval captain | ITV News – ITV News
A statue of Captain John Quilliam has been unveiled to mark Trafalgar Day in the Isle of Man.
Captain Quilliam was the First Lieutenant aboard the HMS Victory, serving alongside Admiral Lord Nelson.
He is known as the most famous Manxman to have participated in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Captain Jack Ronan of the Steam Packet Company unveiled the bust in Castletown.
The bust was designed by Manx sculptor Bryan Kneale RA MBE and depicts Captain Qulliam in uniform.
It was originally on display in 2005 to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and later won the Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture.
Captain John Quilliam was born in 1771 at Ballakelly Farm in Marown in the Isle of Man and joined the Royal Navy in 1791.
He became the equivalent of a millionaire in 1799 before catching the attention of Admiral Lord Nelson during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.
After that he served aboard the HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar, rigging up a temporary method of steering the ship using ropes after the ship’s wheel was shot away.
Following the battle, he had a seat in the House of Keys but made the decision to return to the sea to command several ships leading up to his retirement at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Source: itv.com