A medal, which was won by an Aberdeenshire man at the battle of Trafalgar, has been sold at auction for £12,000.
Bervie-born David Sharp was press-ganged into the Royal Navy when he was 23 in 1805, and was put on board HMS Revenge as an ordinary seaman – where he served for nine years during a tempestuous period of British history.
Catapulted from civilian life to a battle zone in the space of a year, Mr Sharp witnessed some terrible sights on board the Revenge – with dozens of casualties being recorded.
Led by Lord Admiral Nelson, he was logged as an ordinary seaman at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, and ranked as able seaman in another victory over the French, at Basque Roads, in 1809.
Nelson was shot during the battle of Trafalgar and died shortly thereafter, becoming one of Britain’s greatest war heroes.
The Revenge was severely damaged during Trafalgar, with 28 men killed amid the conflict, and also went on to Basque Roads in 1809, where the number of casualties amounted to 18.
Mr Sharp’s campaign medal was sold this week by Dix Noonan Webb in London to an anonymous overseas collector.
Born in 1782 at Bervie, Kincardine, Mr Sharp rose to the ranks of quarter-master’s mate and captain of the maintop. He joined HMS Glasgow in 1814 and left the Navy the following year.
Will Bennett, spokesman for Dix Noonan Webb, said last night: “David Sharp’s story is like something from a movie.
“He was seized by a press gang and forced into the Royal Navy against his will. But later that same year, he found himself at the Battle of Trafalgar, one of the most important British naval victories in history, where his ship suffered heavy casualties.
“It was an extraordinary transition from a peaceful civilian life to one of the bloodiest and most dramatic actions of the Napoleonic wars.
“Today his medal survives as a memorial to him.”