One day, probably in 1804, Admiral Lord Nelson gave a present to a naval friend who had fought alongside him in a pivotal action. Now, the shoe buckles Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton received can be yours.
A year after passing on his rather fancy shoe buckles, Nelson would be dead, killed at the height of his greatest triumph, the defeat of a Napoleonic French fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton survived the Napoleonic Wars and died, aged 72, in Bath. He stopped serving at sea in 1805, but continued to rise through the ranks to serve as a Lord of the Admiralty, First Naval Lord, and Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth among his many honours and titles.
The buckles stayed in his family.
Sir Richard Bickerton, friend and colleague of Nelson, and receiver of parts of his shoes.
Hanson Auctioneers Derbyshire are selling them on November 28, with an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000.
Charles Hanson of the auctioneers told the Southampton Daily Echo: “[These buckles] come to us from the family of Sir Richard, second baronet, a Southampton-born man who signed up for the Royal Navy at the age of 12 and rose to the highest ranks.
“It was wonderful to meet his descendant and discover the story of the buckles, their provenance and place in history.
“Nelson and Bickerton knew each other well. In 1804 Bickerton served as Second-in-Command to Nelson during a blockade of the French port of Toulon.”
The blockade of Toulon was an attempt to keep the French and Spanish fleets bottled up and away from the English Channel, on the French shore of which waited a massive French army.
The fleets got out, but Nelson chased them to the West Indies and back, finally defeating them – at the cost of his own life – at Trafalgar.
Nelson was so impressed with his second-in-command’s work that he insisted Bickerton share the honours he received.
The buckles are described as “typical of the period” by Hansons.
Charles Hanson adds: “The buckles’ link to both Bickerton and Nelson, Britain’s greatest maritime commander, will appeal to collectors all over the world with a passion for naval history. Nelson’s inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics delivered decisive British victories during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.”
Nelson is among the most collectible of British military figures, and perhaps the only naval figure to achieve that status.
His signature is worth thousands of pounds. His most famous decoration sold for a probable fee of over £300,000. A grog set made nearly £70,000. Flags from his ships have sold for nearly £300,000 in 2018 and nearly £400,000 in 2008.
