Lord Nelson’s historic HMS Victory flagship which he led the Royal Navy to victory over Napoleon’s fleet to be rebuilt – from French wood in £45m restoration scheme

HMS Victory, Lord Nelson’s historic flagship from which he led the Royal Navy to a famous victory over Napoleon’s fleet at Trafalgar is being rebuilt – using wood from France.

More than two centuries after the historic 1805 battle – in which sailors were told ‘England expects that every man will do his duty’ – ship makers conserving the warship have turned to Britain’s historic foes for oak ‘as they have the best forests’.

Project manager Simon Williams said even Nelson himself was ‘very concerned’ about the ‘state’ of British forests – and said while it is ‘ironic’, it isn’t ‘unusual’ to outsource timber.

The 37-year-old said when the National Museum of The Royal Navy started the £45million project in Portsmouth, Hampshire, they put an open call out to the timber market and ran a competition to state what they were looking for.

The winners – Hewins Oak, WL West & Sons and Border Hardwood – all source wood from France.

A major project is underway to restore the ship’s wooden hull – with French wood now being used to repair Victory (pictured is shipwright James Haycraft working on the warship)

HMS Victory, the oldest commissioned warship in the world, was the flagship of legendary naval commander Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson (pictured) who died on her during the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar 

‘In the current age, France is a neighbour that we have a reasonably good relationship with, and they certainly have superiorly managed forests to the UK,’ Mr Williams said.

It comes as retired naval top brass said the decision to patch up Victory with French oak was ‘quite a turn up’ – but perhaps one Nelson wouldn’t have been outraged at.

Vice Admiral Bob Cooling told MailOnline: ‘I don’t think he would be fazed at all and he would take it as ironic but perfectly acceptable that having put holes in Victory at the time of Trafalgar, that the French are now giving up their oak to patch her up. It’s a fabulous turn of events, really.

Asked whether Lord Nelson would be rolling in his grave at the thought of his beloved Victory being repaired with French wood, Vice Adm Cooling added: ‘Lord Nelson would have a grin and think it was very appropriate that the “defeated” were now providing the timber to patch up Victory and maintain her legacy.’  

Lord Nelson died on HMS Victory after being shot by a French sniper during the 1805 clash against Napoleon’s fleet. 

The battle – which marks is 219th anniversary next week – was an overwhelming victory for the outnumbered British fleet, which captured 18 ships from the combined French and Spanish armada. 

In all, 450 British men were killed, but more than 4,000 enemy fighters lost their lives with 20,000 taken as prisoners of war. 

Project manager Mr Williams said the move to source French oak to patch up Victory stemmed from France’s country’s decision to dedicate ‘large areas’ of green for ship building in the 17th century.

HMS Victory (pictured in August)  is under cover as major restoration work is carried out 

Conservation teams are seeking to replace rotten wood with fresh oak sourced from France 

The scheme to restore Victory, the world’s oldest commissioned warship, will cost £45m

‘Even when Victory made her name, Napoleon instructed even more planting of trees,’ he continued.

‘The French have been very, very good at managing useable forest since the 1600s.

‘What that gives us is vast opportunity, and then we can be more discerning with quality.

‘We’re after the best quality timber.’

Mr Williams said France have a ‘yield’ of exceptional timber which is overseen in a way that is ‘sustainable’.

‘Historically, even Nelson was very concerned about the state of British woodlands,’ he continued.

‘Even after a visit to the Forest of Dean, he was concerned that they were not managed as they should be.

‘When Victory was afloat, even then – there was serious concern about British forests.’

A handwritten report written by the Admiral, which is held at The Nelson Museum, saw him brand the state of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, as ‘deplorable’.

Among complaints, he said they had allowed some trees to ‘stand too long’ which consequently ‘occupy a space which ought to have been replanted with young trees’.

Pictured is a depiction of what the Battle of Trafalgar looked like on October 21, 1805

Pictured: a detailed view of the wooden futtocks which make up the hull of HMS Victory

Mr Williams continued and said the Royal Navy often turn overseas for timber, having previously sourced wood from Canada.

‘For the Royal Navy to support ships like Victory, and their construction and maintenance, we have always looked abroad to bolster supply,’ he added.

‘It’s quite ironic that we have having to go to the French for this oak – but it isn’t unusual.

‘The French have very very well managed oak forests and the scale means we can very discerning on quality.’

The project manager said France has arguably the ‘best quality forests’ so it is ‘the place to go’.

He noted that while the UK have a lot of ‘ancient’ oak – this timber is often hard to use in ship building.

HMS Victory was built in 1759 and launched in 1765 making it the world’s oldest commissioned warship.

Mr Williams said when it was constructed, the quality of timber used was ‘low’ so the vessel was taken out of water every few years to ‘service a total refit’.

The project manager said now, they are essentially doing the same repair, by carrying out a refit ‘that she would have gone through in her service career’.

The vessel was the flagship of Vice Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, where he was famously fatally shot.

The battle was a decisive British victory over the French and Spanish fleets – and is regarded as a key event in the Napoleonic Wars.

It is believed the vessel was originally constructed entirely with English oak and other British native tree species, which have all aged over time.

Recent works to restore the historic vessel began in May 2022 after shipwrights noticed that much of the timber had ‘decayed’ and resembled ‘potting compost’.

A scaffolding structure was erected around the ship – which is housed at the National Museum of The Royal Navy – and repairs commenced.

Dan Snow said using oak from France isn’t completely shocking as the Royal Navy had historically ‘nicked trees from overseas’.

However, the historian admitted there is ‘a kind of irony’ in the fact HMS Victory has used French timber.

‘It’s kind of a nice bit of history, as well,’ he added.

The 45 year old said issues with the ship becoming weathered, and issues in sourcing the oak, led to project managers turning overseas.

‘They had to strip a lot of what was done in the 80’s away because it got wet, cold, hot, and so the trees were exposed to the weather – the west facing side got the rain,’ he said.

‘And, it’s very hard to source the right type of oak from the UK so it’s coming from the French.

‘It’s quite normal stuff – but we aren’t stealing it from France.’

It is hoped the conservation of HMS Victory will be complete by 2035. They hope the repairs will last 50 years.