How about HMS Backpedal for the new Royal Navy submarine? | Letters

Rosalind Mitchell says the name Agincourt could have offended Scots as well as the French. John Rushton finds the humour in news of a royal interventionNever mind the possibility of offending the French by naming a submarine HMS Agincourt, Emma Brockes (Digested week, 31 January). What is often conveniently forgotten is that Agincourt (1415) was a strictly English victory. Scotland was on the other side, allied with France. Naming a vessel of the British Royal Navy after a defeat for a significant part of Britain seems odd, to say the least.If the Royal Navy was minded to name a vessel Agincourt, perhaps it could restore the balance by calling another one Castillon, the 1453 Auld Alliance rout of a much larger English force that brought an end at last to the hundred years war. Curiously absent from the history syllabus in my English school.Rosalind MitchellEdinburgh Continue reading...

Feb 5, 2025 - 20:20
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How about HMS Backpedal for the new Royal Navy submarine?   | Letters

Rosalind Mitchell says the name Agincourt could have offended Scots as well as the French. John Rushton finds the humour in news of a royal intervention

Never mind the possibility of offending the French by naming a submarine HMS Agincourt, Emma Brockes (Digested week, 31 January). What is often conveniently forgotten is that Agincourt (1415) was a strictly English victory. Scotland was on the other side, allied with France. Naming a vessel of the British Royal Navy after a defeat for a significant part of Britain seems odd, to say the least.

If the Royal Navy was minded to name a vessel Agincourt, perhaps it could restore the balance by calling another one Castillon, the 1453 Auld Alliance rout of a much larger English force that brought an end at last to the hundred years war. Curiously absent from the history syllabus in my English school.
Rosalind Mitchell
Edinburgh Continue reading...