“Pickle Night” Commemorates Trafalgar Victory Announcement

An annual event, “Pickle Night,” commemorating the 200th anniversary of HMS Pickle’s delivery of the Trafalgar victory news, occurred in Portsmouth. The celebration was hosted aboard HMS Warrior within the city’s Historic Dockyard, with approximately 170 guests expected to attend. Each November, participants, identifiable by their blue and white striped shirts and straw boater hats, convene for an evening of music, traditional sea shanties, and narrative performances. Master at Arms Martin Jakeman noted that in 1805, HMS Pickle’s arrival was met with a “mixed response” because it conveyed both the victory and the news of Admiral Lord Nelson’s death. He stated: “Pickle was a very small ship, I give her the nickname of ‘Lickle Pickle,’ because she really is small.” He added, “She’s nice and speedy, so she could really dart from Trafalgar with all the dispatches and the news straight back to England.” Jakeman further explained that the reception of the news constituted a “mixed bag” of reactions. He recounted, “Supposedly King George III said that the country had lost more than it had gained.” Jakeman elaborated on the sentiment: “It’s fantastic new, we have a great victory on our hands but we also have the loss and the sad death of course of Lord Nelson.” Participants were served a hearty stew and engaged in singing, concluding the evening with Lord Nelson’s prayer. An attendee remarked, “To be here on this deck, it’s amazing.” Another individual informed the BBC that they were “here for the history, about what pickle night was all about.” Readers can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or Instagram. This content is copyrighted by BBC, 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites and provides information regarding its approach to external linking.