COLEFORD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.-Sculptor Dave Johnson will turn one of the Trafalgar Oaks which Admiral Lord Nelson wanted to be made into warships, into a piece of art. Johnson will start his work in Forest of Dean and then finished at the Westonbirt Arboretum Festival of Wood on 22 August. The work will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Many of the ships used at the Battle of Trafalgar were made from timber from trees in the Forest of Dean. In 1803 Nelson visited the forest and requested the Admiralty to make sure more trees were planted. These later became the Trafalgar Oaks.

The Queen has accepted an invitation from the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, to dine in HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship, on 21 October 2005, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Her Majesty will be accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh.

HMS Victory stands today as the world's oldest commissioned warship. Still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy, the Victory has seen over 200 years of almost continuous service.

Best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar, the Victory currently has a dual role as the flagship of the Second Sea Lord and as a living museum to the Georgian navy.

Launched in 1765 at Chatham Dockyard, the Victory was commissioned in 1778 and continued in active service for the next 32 years. In 1812 the Victory was retired from frontline duty and anchored in Portsmouth Harbour, on the south coast of England. For the next 110 years the Victory remained at her moorings in Portsmouth Harbour fulfilling a combination of practical and ceremonial roles.

In 1922, amid fears for her continued survival, the Victory was moved into Portsmouth's Royal Naval Dockyard and placed in No2 Dry Dock. Work then began on restoring the Victory to her 'fighting' 1805 condition.