The other Thomas Hardy and Trafalgar - Dorset Coast

I love this. The other Thomas Hardy in this account is the more famous one. And quite rightly, too, I'm sure - when you're talking about Trafalgar.

Thomas Hardy was fascinated by the Napoleonic war, as a child he heard stories of the preparations made to defend the county from invasion. The fact that he shared the same name as one of the greatest naval heroes, who lived only a few miles from where he was born only added to the fascination which this period had for him. In later life he was to claim a distant relationship with his namesake, the hero of Trafalgar. He used these stories to good effect in his later writings...

This article includes a list of Hardy poems and stories associated with the Napoleonic war.