THE spirit of Lord Nelson, Britain’s great naval hero was alive and well in Harwood in 1993.

Led by John Ryle, a group of more than a dozen men enjoyed their second annual celebration of Trafalgar Day with a tour of six pubs from Harwood to Tottington with union flags.

The day was rounded off with a barbecue at John’s home in Harwood where they tucked into a roasted pig.

John had been celebrating Trafalgar Day every year since his childhood.

His passion for Nelson and his most famous battle never faded and for several years he could be seen touring the pubs in Harwood on his own to mark Trafalgar Day on October 21.

He said: “A lot of people thought it was amusing and use to laugh at me dressed in top hat and carryi8ng the flag but a couple of years ago some people said they would join me and it grew from there.

“Last year was the first time we did it together and we will carry on every year. It is a great do and everyone thoroughly enjoys themselves.”

John, who has two sons in the Royal Navy, insisted that the celebrations were not simply and excuse for a pub crawl.

“We do this because the day should be celebrated and we are all proud to be English,” he said.

“While the politicians are busy debating whether Trafalgar Day should be a national holiday we are just getting on with it.”

The men recently visited Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory docked at Portsmouth where they got the VIP treatment with the ship to themselves and dined beneath Nelson’s cabin.