Chilean Navy pays tribute to Admiral Cochrane
Thursday, 21st May 2015
The Chilean Navy paid its annual tribute at the grave of Admiral Cochrane, the 10th Earl of Dundonald, on Wednesday 20th May 2015.
Wreaths were laid by HE Roland Drago, the Ambassador of Chile, and by Major General Martin Smith, representing the First Sea Lord.
The wreath laying ceremony was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall.
The 15th Earl of Dundonald read Psalm 107.
Admiral Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860) had a truly remarkable career as a naval officer and a politician. One of the Royal Navy's most audacious and feared commanders during the Napoleonic Wars, he went on to command the Chilean, Brazilian and Greek navies, helping these countries in their fight for independence.
His life and exploits served as inspiration for the naval fiction of 20th-century novelists C.S. Forester, who created the character of Capt Horatio Hornblower around him; and Patrick O'Brian, who drew on Cochrane's tactics for his naval stories featuring Captain Jack Aubrey (played by Russell Crowe in the film Master and Commander).
