laudable Practice

Today is the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, a victory which destroyed Napoleon's naval power and constrained his imperial ambitions. In the weeks following, a royal proclamation appointed Thursday 5th December as "a General Thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the late signal and important Victory - obtained by His Majesty's Ships of War, under the Command of the late Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, over the combined Fleets of France and Spain". ' A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to Almighty God ' was duly issued for use in the United Church of England and Ireland.  Across the Kingdom, in the dark and cold of that early December day, those attending divine service would have heard Trafalgar remembered in a context defined by the weight, seriousness, and ultimate significance of Christianity: it was the 'Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to Almighty God' which gave moral and spiritual meaning to the victory and the ongoing time of war. Thi...

Today is the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, the Anglo-Allied and Prussian victory which delivered Europe from the decades of wars and invasions provoked by Napoleon's ambitions. On the eve of Waterloo, the Reverend George Griffin Stonestreet, chaplain to the Guards regiments, administered the Holy Communion in Brussels. Later that day, many of the officers and men in Brussels would be required to assemble and march with haste, as Napoleon's forces moved towards the Anglo-Allied positions at Waterloo. The chalice used at the service (pictured below) is kept in the Guards Museum . On the same day, there was a report that the Chaplain General, John Owen, "gave an address to British troops". Previously, as a Brigade Chaplain, Owen had been warned by officers and men about placing himself too close to the front line. His response had been that his primary duty was "to be of service to those now departing this life". It seems that seven chaplains wer...