Sculpture of Admirals Nelson and Murray to be unveiled in Chichester on Saturday

The Murray Club is delighted to announce that a life-sized sculpture of Admirals Murray and Nelson, by the local artist Vincent Gray, will be unveiled in Chichester by the former First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, on Saturday April 3rd at 11am.

The statue is to stand outside the Council House in North Street, only yards from Sir George Murray’s former home, now the Harbour Hotel.

Appropriately, the ceremony coincides almost exactly with the 220 th anniversary of the Battle of Copenhagen, on 2 nd April 1801, when he was chosen by Nelson to lead the attack. It was at Copenhagen that Nelson famously raised his telescope to his blind eye and said: ‘I really do not see the signal.’

The battle was considered to be Murray’s finest hour. Vincent Gray, whose figures of John Keats in Eastgate Square and Maurice Patten in Litten Gardens have been widely acclaimed, said: ‘It has been a privilege to create a sculpture of Horatio Nelson, one of Britain’s greats, and Sir George Murray, a true Cicestrian.’


Richard Plowman, Mayor of Chichester and Chairman and co-founder of the Murray Club, added: ‘The unveiling of the sculpture marks a key moment following the 200th anniversary celebrations of Admiral Sir George Murray in 2015. It is wonderful to have a lasting tribute to a true Chichester hero and a fine role model.

Thanks to the generosity of the Murray family we now have here in Chichester a collection of national importance, comprising artefacts and letters, including twelve from Nelson himself.’


Because of Covid-19 restrictions, attendance at the ceremony will be by invitation only. However, the event will be recorded by the local film-maker Clive Hand. Note for Editors Admiral Sir George Murray was born in Chichester in 1759.

He was Vice Admiral of the Red, Captain of the Fleet, Nelson’s close friend, Mayor of Chichester and a local hero. At the time of his death at the age of sixty he was arguably Chichester’s most famous citizen, but 200 years later was relatively unknown, except to a few local and naval historians.

Statue

Perhaps the reason for this is that Murray missed the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). Nelson’s last letter before leaving for the Victory was to Murray, thanking him for a side of venison. Nelson would not appoint another Captain of the Fleet - hence the naval expression ‘Murray or none’.

Murray’s father-in-law, Colonel Teesdale, had died recently and Murray was the executor of a complex will, so he was given shore leave. Two years had been spent with Nelson in the Victory chasing the French Fleet, and of course no-one knew when the decisive sea battle would take place.

Had he sailed to Trafalgar, it is almost certain that Murray would have been by Nelson’s side and the latter’s final words might well have been ‘Kiss me, Murray’.

History and Murray’s renown would have been very different.


Murray left other reminders of his presence in Chichester, notably the house built for him in North Street in 1804 and known at the time by John Marsh as ‘the Admiralty’.

It became the Ship Hotel and only recently was its name changed to the Chichester Harbour Hotel. A blue plaque denotes the building’s history.

 

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