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Description:
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Nelson used this combined knife and fork after the loss of his right arm at Santa Cruz, Tenerife, on 25 July 1797. The silver three-pronged fork has a separate steel blade attached alongside the prongs by a screw. There is a ducal coronet and initials ‘N B’ engraved on the back of the fork; the silver head is mounted in an ivory handle. Captain Hardy is said to have given it around 1820 as a memento to his friend Henning of Dorchester, whose grandson Colonel Henning sold it to the Museum in 1945.
Evidently Nelson was in the habit of using such devices after he lost his arm, and two other well-authenticated combined knife and fork sets of slightly different designs are known. Lloyd’s of London has a gold example, said to have been used on special occasions, which came from the Bridport sale of Nelson relics in 1895. Another silver set is owned by descendants of Nelson’s sister, Catherine Matcham.
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