The countdown to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar has started with the completion of the commemoration ceremony to mark the 199th.

In driving rain and strong winds, officers and ratings gathered on the upper deck of Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to see Nelson’s famous signal of 33 flags, stating that “England expects that every man will do his duty”, hoisted by a team of sailors from HMS Collingwood.

Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent laid a wreath on the spot where Nelson fell, having been shot by a French marksman. A further wreath-laying took place on the Orlop deck below, where Nelson died, content that the battle was won.

There is now just one year until the focal point of the Trafalgar 200 initiative – an initiative which will see events right across the country, from Nelson’s home county of Norfolk to the South Coast of England, when he last stepped off home soil as he set off to find and destroy Napoleon’s navy.

Exactly 200 years ago, on October 21 1804, HMS Victory was at Agincourt Sound in Sicily, under repair and taking on stores, whilst taking part in the blockade of the French at Toulon.