Kiss me, Hardy

Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy once lived at 156 Durnford Street. Although he rose through the ranks to become a Vice-Admiral, his Naval career is remembered by just three words, 'Kiss me Hardy'. When Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson was fatally wounded aboard HMS Victory in 1805, he was taken below deck where he was later visited by Hardy. Nelson's words to him were, 'Take care of poor Lady Hamilton', before he uttered the immortal words, 'Kiss me, Hardy'. It has been suggested that what Nelson actually said was, 'Kismet, Hardy' meaning that this was his fate. However, that was not the case as many officers present, including his surgeon, William Beatty, who wrote down his words, bore witness to the actual event. When Nelson uttered the words, 'Kiss me, Hardy', Hardy knelt beside him and kissed him on the cheek.Many people think that these were his last words, but, his final words were uttered just before he died three hours after he had been shot. These words were, 'God and my country'. A young sailor from Cawsand, Lieutenant John Pollard, was a midshipman on the Victory when Nelson was fatally wounded. Although not a well known name now, it was Pollard who shot and killed the enemy sailor who shot Nelson. He was known thereafter as, 'Nelson's Avenger'. However, several other men also claimed to have shot the Frenchman. In An Authentic Narrative of the Death of Lord Nelson by Sir William Beatty, published in 1807, he wrote: 'There were only two Frenchmen left alive in the mizzen-top of the Redoubtale at the time of his Lordship's being wounded and by the hands of these he fell. At length one of them was killed by a musket ball; and on the others then attempting to make his escape from the top down the rigging, Mr Pollard (Midshipman) fired his musket at him and shot him in the back when he fell dead from the shrouds on the Redoutable's poop.' Beatty's account supports Pollard being the 'avenger'.