3rd July 1797 Speedy taken after hard fight; Admiral Durand-Linois refused to accept Cochrane’s sword, in recognition of his courage

6th July 1801 Saumarez fought a long drawn out battle off Gibraltar against the French Chevalier Suffren. At one point he retired on Gibraltar to refit his battered squadron - the exhausted crews insisted on working on through the night in order to finish the fight - which they won

8th July 1795 Admiralty trials of dried potato slices and ground meat; the sailors disliked it and said this was cheating them of their salt pork

13th July 1795 Admiral Hotham with the fleet that would go with Nelson to the Nile and glory tentatively fought Rear Admiral Martin in the Orient; historians would call it ‘a miserable action’

15th July 1796 Glatton armed experimentally with an all-carronade armament fought off six frigates. She was commanded by Capt Bligh, previously of the Bounty

15th July 1815 Capt Maitland of the Bellerophon took the surrender of Napoleon Bonaparte at Basque Roads, thereby ending the war

16th July 1795 Shutter telegraphs connected the Admiralty with Chatham Royal Dockyard, time of transmission being an astounding 15 minutes

21st July 1811 Brig Sloops Cephalus and Thomas captured the entire escort of 11 French gunboats, this allowing them to gather up all 15 merchantmen of a convoy

22nd July 1805 Admiral Calder in Prince of Wales fought an inconclusive action off Ferrol which many consider should have been an early Trafalgar