Though today we are very happy and very privileged to put oak to use for beautiful wardrobes and beds, not so long ago, our favourite material was used primarily for a rather more sinister and serious role , war.

One of the most famous and important pieces of oak ever to go out to war is of course HMS Victory. Constructed from 90% oak and no less than 6000 trees, the ship is so significant that it remains the flagship of the First Sea Lord and is still in commission by the Royal Navy today.

Going on to fight in no less than six battles including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the ship was commissioned in the June of 1759 and was an unusual instruction at the time as the Royal Navy preferred to use far smaller and more manoeuvrable ships; so much so that only ten were constructed throughout the whole of the 18th Century.

Though the commission was passed, some doubted as to whether the ship would be worthy of the seas as the previous first-rate Victory was lost in 1744 with all on board.

Not only that, but thanks to the Seven Years' War which ended in 1763, the  frame remained covered and untouched for three years with work restarting in the autumn of 1763.

 HMS Victory 2 | Oak Furniture UK

After her launch in 1765, costing £7.06 million in today’s money, she was taken to sea without any immediate use and was in fact placed in reserve – to the point of being demasted and would not face the enemy for thirteen years.

In fact it was not until 1778 when HMS Victory fought in the first battle of her career. Under the flagship of Admiral Keppel, the ship partook in the First Battle of Ushant where she fought alongside 29 other British ships against a Force of 29 French Ships.

With HMS Victory opening the battle with a force of 110 guns on the ship Bretagne, battle commenced. Although the victor of the battle is unclear, British losses numbered at 407 men compared to that of 126 in French Ships.

Only four years later however, HMS Victory would partake in the Second Battle of Ushant where British forces would capture no less than 15 transport ships and over 1500 men of France.

It would not be until 1805 however, when the most famous engagement would take place when HMS Victory took part and claimed triumph over the French and Spanish forces in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Being the most decisive victory of the War of the Coalition, it is also significant for two reasons.

  1. Not a single British vessel was lost.
  2. The death of Lord Horatio Nelson.

With 13,781 deaths and casualties on the French and Spanish sides compared to 1,666 on the British, the Battle of Trafalgar would go down as one of the crowning moments in the ship’s career as well as one of the most significant victories of the Royal Navy.

More importantly, the battle ensured Britain’s protection from invasion for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars which would continue for another decade.

Amazingly however, after its retirement in 1812, the ship in 1831 was nearly broken up by First Sea Lord Thomas Hardy. Today it would not exist if it was not for his wife, who when she found out about his orders, fell down crying and begged for him to rescind them.

Though this story may not be true, the page containing that days orders was at some time ripped from the duty log; begging mystery to the story and fate of one of the most famous military ships of all time.

HMS Victory is now displayed at the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.

Not a bad history for nearly 6000 trees of oak.