Chilean Navy pays tribute to Admiral Cochrane

Wreaths were laid by HE The Ambassador of Chile, Mr Roland Drago, and by Admiral Jonathan Woodcock OBE, Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff of the Royal Navy.

The wreath laying ceremony was conducted by Sub-Dean of Westminster, the Reverend Professor Vernon White.

The 15th Earl of Dundonald read Psalm 107, 1-9, 23-32.

Admiral Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860) had a truly remarkable career as a naval officer and a politician. One of the Royal Navy's most audacious and feared commanders during the Napoleonic Wars, he went on to command the Chilean, Brazilian and Greek navies, helping these countries in their fight for independence.

His life and exploits served as inspiration for the naval fiction of 20th-century novelists C.S. Forester, who created the character of Capt Horatio Hornblower around him; and Patrick O’Brian, who drew on Cochrane’s tactics for his naval stories featuring Captain Jack Aubrey (played by Russell Crowe in the film Master and Commander).