Famous last words, general.

[KG]

On the tombstone of a sailor buried in
Tarrytown, New York:

THO NEPTUNE’S WAVES
HAVE TOSSEDME TO AND FRO,
BUT NOW AS YOU CAN PLAINLY SEE
I’M SAFE HARBORED HERE BELOW.

[Administrator]

Apparently, the final words of writer Roald Dahl were almost: "You know, I'm not frightened. It's just that I will miss you all so much" to his family. After appearing to fall unconscious the nurse then injected him with morphine to ease his passing, he uttered his actual last words: “Ow, f*ck!”

[Administrator]

Kiss me Hardy ? or "Kismet [fate] Hardy" ?

According to the contemporary accounts, Nelson last words were:

"Take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy, take care of poor Lady Hamilton". He paused then said very faintly, "Kiss me, Hardy". This, Hardy did, on the cheek. Nelson then said, "Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty".

The later story, that Nelson's last words were "

Hardy", aren't supported by any contemporary evidence. In fact, 'kismet' isn't recorded as being in use in English to mean fate until as late as 1830, a quarter of a century after Nelson died. That euphemistic version of events is thought to be a later invention that attempted to avoid embarrassment by covering up the supposed homo-erotic imagery of men kissing. That was misguided in more ways than one, not least because platonic kisses between men at times of great emotion weren't viewed in the way in 19th century England.

Last Words of Horatio Nelson

Nelson's final words (as related by Victory's Surgeon William Beatty, based on the accounts of those who were with Nelson when he died) were "Thank God I have done my duty." According to Beatty, he repeated these words several times until he became unable to speak. It is unknown whether he was in a delirious state when repeating the sentence.

In his dying hours, Nelson was also attended by his chaplain, Alexander Scott; his steward, Chevalier; and the purser, Walter Burke. Their accounts have been available to Nelson's modern biographers. In those accounts, Nelson's last words were "Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub." This was a request to alleviate his symptoms of thirst, heat, and the pains of his wounds. (Pocock, Horatio Nelson, 1987, p.331.)

It is a common misconception that Nelson's last words were, "Kiss me, Hardy", spoken to the captain of HMS Victory, Thomas Hardy. Nelson did, in fact, say these words to Hardy a short time before his death, but they were not his last words as Hardy was not present at his death, having been called back on deck. Some have speculated that Nelson actually said "Kismet, Hardy", but this is unlikely, since the word kismet did not enter the English language until much later, although he may have heard the word used by a Turk. In Nelson's time, the word "kiss" also meant "touch" in the sense of any physical contact (not exclusively oral contact). Nelson may therefore simply have wanted Hardy to shake his hand or make some other physical gesture.

[Administrator]

Private Tommy Atkins

Tommy Atkins is a term used for English soldiers. The official origin is that the name was used in 1815 as a generic name on War Office forms. It became widely known during the 19th Century and during the Boer War, particularly after Rudyard Kipling published his poem, The Ballad of Tommy Atkins in Barrack-Room Ballads (1892).

Folkore states that Wellington himself chose the name for the War Office form, inspired by a dying veteran he encountered during the Battle of Boxtel in 1794. The man had three wounds, a sabre wound on his head, a bayonet wound in his chest and a bullet wound in his lungs. The man's name was Tommy Atkins, and his last words to Wellington were, "It's alright sir. It's all in a day's work."

There is some doubt as to the War Office form origin as the term appears in correspondence as early as 1743.


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