# Talk:Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood

Was he a life or hereditary peer? There's no page at Baron Collingwood, but I didn't think people were normally created life peers that far back...? ugen64 04:16, Sep 8, 2004 (UTC)

Asking while I'm typing... you can look now. :-) According to life peer it could not have been a life peerage, he just died without heirs, not uncommon if you scan some of the other peers. Stan 04:43, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Are we certain about this fact, or is this just the 1911 Britannica reporting things according to log books? It was common practice to enter young children into the books so they could earn sufficient sea time for promotion. They never actually sailed, though - relatives paid a nominal stipend that was pocketed by the captain in exchange for pretending they were there. --Stephan Schulz 12:29, 21 October 2005 (UTC)

It's possible I suppose, one would need a thorough biographer to discover the fraud, don't have such on hand. In The Wooden World (p. 298), N.A.M. Rodger says the evidence suggests it was unusual to get away without the six year's experience required of a lieutenant. Given the semi-organized schooling on board, and the competitive nature of the promotion structure, there was every reason to get a child to learning the secrets of sextant and rigging as soon as possible, and be ready to pass the exam below age 20 if the opportunity arose. Stan 13:13, 21 October 2005 (UTC)
In The Command of the Ocean, Rodger discusses the makeup of the Napoleonic Navy: "A sample of 4,474 men from ships commissioning at Portsmouth in 1804–5 shows ... the median age was twenty to twenty-four, and the ages ranged from three boys of ten, to one man over sixty-five". Gdr 17:23, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

For what its worth, Tom Pocock in his biography of Nelson, also confirms that Collingwood went to see at the age of 11. Dabbler 23:46, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

The prose in this article needs to be cleaned up (it is excessively flowery even by 1911 standards) and changed to a more neutral POV.  David 23:35, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

It needs to be updated to modern English, but I would not call it unusual for 1911. NPOV? Do you have any particular areas on mind?--Anjouli 09:07, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
I'm particularly concerned about the lavish praise of Collingwood and others, as well as a general pro-British-Empire triumphalism.  A mechanical rewrite, without the need for any extra research, should be able to fix those problems.  David 14:19, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
OK, I have made a first rewrite to improve the language and clean-up the article into a more 21st century version. Be Bold! Dabbler 18:43, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
Thanks for all your work on that.  I'm not sure whether there's an official process involved, but as the person who first flagged the article, I have no objection to removing the cleanup tag.  There are still some logical inconsistencies (if Collingwood was already post-captain, why was Nelson in command of his ship [as opposed to the whole fleet], and how could Collingwood succeed him?  surely he returned home again after 1803, since he lived long afterwards; etc.), but those are all present in the original article, and we can fix those at leisure.  David 20:34, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
I think Collingwood took over Badger from Nelson not Hinchinbroke and may not have been posted at the time. I am also unsure if he actually took part in the Nicaragua disaster with Nelson. Will look into it further. 
Dabbler 23:46, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
Surprisingly enough it is true that Collingwood was continually at sea from 1803 until his death. It was a hard service and his sense of duty kept him in the Mediterranean even after he became sick. Dabbler 23:53, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Collingwood was born in 1748, not 1750- even his portrait at Royal Grammar School used to carry this error- so he was thirteen, not eleven, and really did go to sea at that age like many others. 
As a pupil many years ago, I was curious how little the school made of its greatest son, but reflecting how young he left, it shows what a powerful educational machine the Royal Navy was. Read the quality of his and Nelson's prose, and weep

Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 2 external links on Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110817231647/http://hmscollingwoodofficersassociation.co.uk/admiral.php to http://www.hmscollingwoodofficersassociation.co.uk/admiral.php
Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100123182604/http://www.collingwood2010.co.uk/ to http://www.collingwood2010.co.uk/
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 20:19, 15 August 2017 (UTC)

Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20141026180123/http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=1125 to http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=1125
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 02:18, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Nominator: Coldupnorth (talk · contribs) 08:09, 29 July 2025 (UTC)
Reviewer: Sturmvogel 66 (talk · contribs) 00:25, 24 September 2025 (UTC)
I'll get to this shortly--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 00:25, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

@Sturmvogel 66  Thank you for beginning the GA review. I am on holiday at the moment but return home on the 29th September so if there's a hold and any actions/concerns/queries I will respond to these on Monday. Thanks again! Coldupnorth (talk) 15:32, 24 September 2025 (UTC)
No problem--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 16:28, 24 September 2025 (UTC)
Thanks, I am back from my holiday now, so can edit as needed over the coming days/weeks. Cheers Coldupnorth (talk) 11:21, 29 September 2025 (UTC)
Will do--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 12:51, 29 September 2025 (UTC)
Images properly licensed
Don't capitalize ranks unless they immediately precede a name
Link ranks on first use
Link Mediterranean Fleet, Napoleonic Wars, brigade
Give Nelson's full name and rank
More later--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 19:34, 29 September 2025 (UTC)
Y Done, thank you. Coldupnorth (talk) 07:52, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
@Sturmvogel 66 Do you have some further changes required to reach GA? Thank you Coldupnorth (talk) 09:22, 13 October 2025 (UTC)
though would later be declared bankrupt missing "he"
What size/rating was HMS Gibraltar? Always provide one or the other when introducing a ship for the first time
Link master's mate and decapitalize it. Same with Royal Commissioner
Link Portsmouth, Kent, Commander, brig, paid off
Italicize the name of the Portland on its second use. Same with Amelia and Lowestoffe. Italicize ship names every time they're mentioned
ship's Captain Commander Haswell decapitalize Captain
friendship with Captain Horatio Nelson Don't use rank and first name of people you've already mentioned
Captain Wilfried Collingwood rephrase to something like "newly promoted brother Wilfried"
daughter of acquaintance missing "his"
Down to major command--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:54, 13 October 2025 (UTC)
Y Done, thank you @Sturmvogel 66 I have attempted to apply similar corrections to the remaining sections. Coldupnorth (talk) 07:43, 14 October 2025 (UTC)
it was found the ship Passive voice
The Barfleur would sail wrong tense and this is a problem elsewhere as well. Just use simple past tense for the most part.
Collingwood directed sailing of the ship from the quarterdeck during the main action Why is this notable? This is what flag captains are supposed to do
Don't use seasons in respect towards our antipodean readers; use early, late or mid-
Link tack
The Battle of St. Vincent para is particularly bad regarding the overuse of a ship's name in quick succession. Mix it up with some synonyms like "the ship" or "the 3rd rate" or some such.
And watch the lack of italicization of ship names. I've done a few for you. More later.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:39, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
Y Done. I have amended the quarterdeck statement and tried to improve wording throughout. I've added months for seasons and corrected tenses. Again thank you @Sturmvogel 66, I appreciate your review. Coldupnorth (talk) 09:00, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
You're quite welcome!
Link Commodore and decapitalize it
Link Rear-Admiral and to the whole, Red, White, Blue system
He remained on service until May 1802 when he was allowed to sign off his ship and return home for leave.Clarify that this was because of the Peace
Italicize Venerable, Royal Sovereign,
Royal Sovereign raced ahead of the other ships as she was the swiftest ship because of her new copper hull.[97] Having drawn considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet, she was the first engaged and was targeted by six enemy ships. You've already told the reader about the coppering, so combine these sentences without that bit
Name the Spanish admiral and his ship
Spanish ship was on the verge of sinking almost before another British ship had fired a gun I'm dubious that this is true as it took a hell of a lot of punishment to sink a first or second rate. What does Adkins say about this?
allowing for the surgeon to better treat leg wounds Explain this better.
The issue was that cloth would often be forced into a wound as the bullet/fragment penetrated the clothing. Cotton, wool, etc., would tear, but silk was stronger and could be more easily removed from the wound.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 17:54, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
Still need to fix this--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 13:47, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
Now reads (with references) "Collingwood was wounded in the battle by a splinter that gashed his leg. However, he was wearing silk stockings, as he advised others to also wear, so his leg wound was treated successfully. The problem with such wounds was that cloth would often be forced into a wound as the bullet/fragment penetrated the clothing. Cotton, wool, etc., would tear, but silk was stronger and could be more easily removed from the wound." Coldupnorth (talk) 17:33, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
but the loss of Nelson "as well as" or "and" instead of "but"
more later.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 14:59, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Y Done @Sturmvogel 66, I checked Adkins and yes, the situation is described there somewhat less dramatically. I have attempted to improve the leg wound explanation. Cheers. Coldupnorth (talk) 17:03, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
Add the gun count/rate of Santa Ana and capitalize Alava's rank.
break out at sail to Italy ?
Link Port Mahon and Menorca
line ships ships of the line
Down to memorials--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 17:54, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
Earwig says 59% copyvio, likely because of the extensive quotations in the evaluation section--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 17:57, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
Y Done Thanks @Sturmvogel 66, I have reduced the Thackery quotation as that was the main source of the high %. Other main matches are all quoted sources. Coming in at 40% with the reduced quote. I could reduce further but all our referenced, quoted as required. Happy to amend further as necessary Coldupnorth (talk) 18:56, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
Don't sweat the Earwig results; I'm not concerned--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 19:13, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
Ok, thanks. Had a pass through memorials and added a few missing references. Coldupnorth (talk) 07:40, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
Link the Antwerp campaign and the 3rd Battle of Krithia
What's a members society?
Your Further reading section is misnamed since it contains books you reference and others that you don't. Split the ones like Adams and Adkins into a bibliography section, and the ones that you don't into the further reading section.
Be sure to alphabetize them
And rewrite the bit about silk inline with my explanation--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 13:47, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
Y Done @Sturmvogel 66 References now in a bibliography section and the rest in a further reading section. Members society sentence now reads "The Collingwood Society is a special interest group, open to public membership, dedicated to his memory." Have rewritten the silk bit as per above. Let me know if it needs further refinement please.
Coldupnorth (talk) 17:36, 19 October 2025 (UTC)