1 Chronicles 22:17-19

HMS Victory, Labyrinths of Tunnels

Only One of Many Battles . . .
In one of the most decisive naval battles in history, a British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the coast of Spain, Nelson’s last and greatest victory against the French and Spanish, 1805.

Men abroad the HMS Victory slept in something identical to hammocks, string up beside their gun ports/gun mounts with a very tiny table, shared close by, to hastily eat their military rations . . . This was the wartime home for these sailors, a floating battleground. Numerous battles had been raged around and on the ship, the HMS Victory.

On one sunny June afternoon, 1981, the British Naval Officers at Portsmouth, England, had invited Nate, the ship’s Chaplain, , along with some other officers stationed aboard the USS Josephus Daniels, CG-27, to a dinner at the historic British Naval Base.

Having arrived somewhat early, while the other officers went off looking for a pub, Nate walked aboard the fully operational war ship, the HMS Victory. Even after loudly hailing an on-duty British Tar, He found himself alone, a rare opportunity in which he spent almost an hour aboard the United Kingdom’s iconic 18th Century Warship.

In the surrounding Portsmouth countryside elaborate labyrinths of underground tunnels stretched into the distances where many citizens of their war torn country once hid, hoping to avoid being shot, having faith that somehow they would have a future, not knowing how they would rebuild their lives, their land.

Our home, regardless of the COVID-19’s new set rules and inconveniences caused, is our home, our sanctuary, God-given and not afforded to all.