The Union flag flown during the Battle of Trafalgar from HMS Royal Sovereign, flagship of Newcastle-born Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, goes on public display for the first time on Saturday (October 17).
It will be on show at Discovery Museum in Newcastle until November to coincide with Trafalgar Day on October 21.
Acquired this summer, the flag was hand-stitched on the way to battle in 1805 by the crew.
North East Museums has raised £502,200 of a £700,000 target to purchase the flag and create a permanent home for it at Discovery Museum.
The public rallied round the flag to support a fundraising appeal which raised £24,948.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund gave a £400,000 grant and further support came from the Sir James Knott Trust, Community Foundation North East, XTX Markets, the Drapers’ Charitable Fund and several other donors.
The Collingwood family, direct descendants of Vice-Admiral Collingwood, also contributed to the fundraising appeal to save the flag and bring it to Newcastle, where Collingwood was born on September 17, 1748.
He later made his family home in Morpeth, which still stands.
Fundraising continues to reach the £700,000 target.
Keith Merrin, director of North East Museums, said: “This is the first opportunity for visitors to see this rare and historically important flag since it was acquired by North East Museums to save it from being exported overseas.
“We’re very excited to provide access to the flag for our visitors for a short period before a permanent display is created, and it’s particularly poignant that it is on display on Trafalgar Day.
“The groundswell of support from the public has been incredible and we could not have done this without them – as well as the very generous support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Collingwood family and our other funders and donors.”
Simon Thurley, chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: “This is an exciting first opportunity for the public to see an extraordinary survivor of one of the most significant moments in UK naval history and to discover its powerful connection to the people and heritage of the North East.
“The Memorial Fund exists to save the UK’s most outstanding heritage and make it publicly accessible, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. I am pleased to count this rare and nationally important flag among the heritage treasures we have helped to protect.”
Following the flag’s temporary display, it will be stored while the museum creates a new, larger permanent display exploring Vice-Admiral Collingwood, an important regional and national figure, and his role, along with many others from the North East, in a significant moment in British history.
After Admiral Horatio Nelson died during the battle, Collingwood took control of the entire fleet and secured Britain’s pivotal victory. The museum, which attracts over 200,000 visitors each year, will use the display to involve communities and inspire young people through its extensive education work.
The Battle of Trafalgar was a defining moment in the Napoleonic Wars, one of the most consequential and culturally important naval actions in British history.
Of the three surviving flags from the battle, the Newcastle example is the most significant, since it flew from the ship which initiated the engagement at Trafalgar.
Following the battle, the Royal Sovereign Union flag was kept as a souvenir by 17-year-old Charles Aubrey Antram (1788–1831), who was serving at the time as one of four master’s mates on the ship. It was then passed down through his family before being sold to a private collection.
An export ban was placed on it by the Secretary of State because of its significance to the UK following a recommendation from the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. This process gave North East Museums a chance to coordinate the fundraising efforts to retain the flag for public display in the UK.
Discovery Museum is open Monday toFriday, 10am-4pm, and weekends, 11am-4pm, and has free entry.
