Felicity Herring BA MA wrote her dissertation on the paintings of Nelson's battles and began lecturing on the life of Admiral Lord Nelson in 2004 and did her first cruise the following year 2005, two hundred years after the death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. A highlight of her lecturing career was talking on HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship. She became a lecturer for NADFAS (now renamed the Arts Society) in 2007 for which she has ten talks in which she brings together her interest in 19th century history and art and enjoys sharing it with others. Now resident in Dorset she has travelled widely having lived in three continents.

1. Nelson in the West Indies NEW TALK
NeLson sailed to the West Indies five times, the first as a young boy in 1771 when not yet 13, the second as a young officer in 1777. Two years later as post captain of HMS Hinchinbrook he led an exhibition to Nicuagua to capture Fort San Juan, a disastrous campaign during which Nelson was taken severely ill. He was eventually invalided back to England where it took him a year to recover. In 1782 he sailed to Newfoundland in Canada, then on to Quebec and New York where he met up with Lord Hood's fleet and sailed again to the West Indies returning the following year. In 1784 he sailed again to the West Indies in command of the frigate Boreas and the following year met Frances Nisbet in Nevis who he married two years later. His final voyage to the West Indies was in 2005 chasing Admiral Villeneuve prior to the Battle of Trafalgar.

2. James Barry RA and his niece Dr James Barry
Dr James Barry was first female doctor in Britain. Born in Cork in 1789 she was the niece of the artist James Barry RA. In 1809 she disguised herself as a man and went to Edinburgh University to train to be a doctor. Following her graduation in 1812 she joined the army and was posted to South Africa where she maintained her male persona throughout even fighting a duel. In Cape Town she performed the first successful caesarean section in which both mother and baby survived. Further postings followed to Mauritius, Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, Malta, Corfu and Canada. It was not until her body was being bathed for her funeral that her female identity was discovered.

3. The Life and Loves of Admiral Lord Nelson
Illustrated with copies of paintings of him, his battles and Emma his beautiful mistress. This talk features his three major battles the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of Copenhagen and the Battle of Trafalgar

4. The Battle of Trafalgar
Details of Nelson's role, his battle tactics, the ships, the crew and gunnery skills of the opposing navies are highlighted.

5. 19th Century British Marine Painting - illustrated with paintings of ships and the sea in all conditions from battle scenes to the tranquil calm of harbours.

6. Lady Butler: battle artist
Elizabeth Butler was a genteel Victorian lady who chose to paint battle pictures, an unusual choice for a 19th century woman. The battle scenes she depicted included the Peninsula Wars in Spain, Waterloo, Crimea, Afghanistan, the Boer War up to and including WWI, this talk shows her pictures and gives the audience details of the battles as well as details of her life married to an army officer in the 19th century

7. An Artist's View of 19th Century Rural Britain - features idyllic views of the countryside by artists such as Constable and Turner and in contrast illustrations of the hardship of rural life in the 19th century and introduces historic information about health, education and working conditions of the time.

8. Fun and Games - the Victorians at Leisure
Follows what people in the 19th century were doing in their leisure time from tennis to football to sailing, all illustrated with paintings of the time featuring artists such as Sir John Lavery and James Tissot.

9. A Journey to Egypt and the Holy Land with David Roberts
This talk about David Roberts begins in Spain and features his journey up the Nile and into the Holy Land in 1838, illustrated with copies of his paintings of the great temples and the historic sites he saw on that journey.

10. A Journey to Italy with the 19th Century British Artist
In this lecture the audience is taken on a 19th century journey travelling from northern France with Richard Parkes Bonington, into Paris with Thomas Shotter Boys, onto Italy with Bonington and Edward Lear. In addition there is biographical information about the short life of Bonington and the sad life of Edward Lear, an artist better remembered for his nonsense rhymes than his art. This talk is illustrated with further views of Italy by Turner and other English artists.

11. Sir David Wilkie: painter of everyday countryfolk
Born in Fife in 1785 David Wilkie was a painter of everyday scenes of country life, he was the first British genre painter. He painted small, detailed pictures of domestic life peopled with well observed characters. His picture of his local village fair, painted when he was only 19, has 140 characters in it, many sketched from members of the congregation of his father’s church. He went on to paint pub interiors, gamblers, card players, a proposal, a wedding, and an eviction but his most famous painting was of a group of Chelsea pensioners receiving news of the victory at Waterloo.

12. W L Wyllie - Marine Artist 1851 - 1931

Lectured from 2005 to 2011 - stopped when my husband was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Lectured on Saga, Fred Olsen and Discovery cruises

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.