England expects that every man will do his duty

To do so, he ordered both the French and Spanish navies to take control of the English Channel to ensure a safe passage for the Grande Armée.

[3] As a result, the British were victorious, ensuring their control of the sea and removing the possibility of a French invasion of Britain.

Nelson agreed to the change (even though it produced a less trusting impression):[4][5] His Lordship came to me on the poop, and after ordering certain signals to be made, about a quarter to noon, he said, 'Mr.

Pasco, I wish to say to the fleet, ENGLAND CONFIDES THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY' and he added 'You must be quick, for I have one more to make which is for close action.'

[12][14] A team of four to six men, led by Lt. Pasco, would have prepared and hoisted the flags onboard Nelson's flagship HMS Victory.

[15] According to the historian John Knox Laughton: It is said that, as he saw the flags going up, Collingwood remarked half-peevishly to his flag-lieutenant, "I wish Nelson would make no more signals; we all understand what we have to do."

A number of ships in the fleet recorded the signal as "England expects every man to do his duty" (omitting that and replacing will with to).

[4] On 26 December 1805, The Times newspaper in London reported the signal as; "England expects every officer and man to do his duty this day".

To make the words fit the metre, they were altered to "England expects that every man this day will do his duty".

During the 1865 Battle of Riachuelo, a turning point of the Paraguayan War, Brazilian Admiral Manuel Barroso, Baron of Amazonas, rallied his fleet by signalling the Portuguese equivalent, "O Brasil espera que cada um cumpra o seu dever".

Nelson trusted the experience, skill, and initiative of his individual captains and sailors, as a way of managing the uncertainty inherent in war.

[28] During the Second World War, an Admiralty propaganda poster intended to increase industrial production on the home front, carried the slogan; "Britain expects that you too, this day, will do your duty".

[29] Nelson's flag signal was hoisted by the Royal Navy monitor HMS Erebus at the start of the bombardment for the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944.

[30] It was also referenced by Margaret Thatcher during her crucial speech to the cabinet which finally persuaded them to rally behind her over the divisive issue of the poll tax.