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{{Quotebox
{{Quotebox
| bgcolor = #FFFFF0
| bgcolor = #FFFFF0
| quote = Nelson is the bravest cat I ever knew. I decided to adopt him and name him after [[Horatio Nelson|our great Admiral]].<ref name= "Sky News">{{Cite news |last=Craig |first=Jon |date=28 December 2016 |title=Political cats: Who really runs the country? |work=[[Sky News]] |url=https://news.sky.com/story/political-cats-who-really-runs-the-country-10710370 |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref>
| quote = Nelson is the bravest cat I ever knew. I decided to adopt him and name him after [[Horatio Nelson|our great Admiral]].<ref name= "Sky News">{{Cite news |last=Craig |first=Jon |date=28 December 2016 |title=Political cats: Who really runs the country? |work=[[Sky News]] |url=https://news.sky.com/story/political-cats-who-really-runs-the-country-10710370 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305113402/https://news.sky.com/story/political-cats-who-really-runs-the-country-10710370 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref>
| source = [[Winston Churchill]]
| source = [[Winston Churchill]]
| align = left
| align = left
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[[Winston Churchill]] decided to adopt Nelson, a black<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 1940 |title=Feline protocol |pages=4 |work=[[The Montgomery Advertiser]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/414364283/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> [[Stray animal|stray]], when he witnessed him chasing off a large dog from [[Admiralty House, London]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Riley-Smith |first=Ben |date=27 December 2016 |title=Forget Larry and Palmerston, the original Number 10 cat rivalry revealed: Nelson vs The Munich Mouser |language= |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/27/forget-larry-palmerston-original-number-10-cat-rivalry-revealed/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |issn=}}</ref> Impressed by his bravery, Churchill named the cat after the British admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Dockter |first=Warren |date=27 January 2015 |title=Pigs, poodles, and African lions - meet Churchill the animal-lover |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/winston-churchill/11370727/Pigs-poodles-and-African-lions-meet-Churchill-the-animal-lover.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> Following Churchill's appointment as prime minister in 1940, Nelson moved into [[10 Downing Street]] from Admiralty House sometime during the summer.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 June 1940 |title=Mr. Churchill's cats |pages=3 |work=[[The Birmingham Mail]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/784769551/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 1940 |title=Downing Street ponders knotty feline problem |pages=12 |work=[[The Miami News]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/298483281/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Amelia |date=21 July 1940 |title=This is Mrs. Winston |pages=8 |work=[[Sunday Sun]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/798100058/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> Opponents of Churchill speculated that he would not bring Nelson to Downing Street, suggesting that Churchill did not like cats; this was refuted by Churchill's friends as a "gross aspersion".<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 1940 |title=Downing Street worried about its official cats |pages=26 |work=[[The Windsor Star]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/501165544/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> Nelson and the previous prime minister [[Neville Chamberlain]]'s cat, nicknamed the ''[[Munich Mouser]]'', did not take a liking to one another, with the rivalry between the pair later compared with that of the 21st century mousers [[Larry (cat)|Larry]] and [[Palmerston (cat)|Palmerston]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Day |first=Christopher |title=Churchill’s feline dynasties |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/churchill-s-feline-dynasties/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |website=The History Press}}</ref> Churchill would reportedly entertain guests with stories of Nelson's bravery.<ref name=":1" />
[[Winston Churchill]] decided to adopt Nelson, a black<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 June 1940 |title=Feline protocol |pages=4 |work=[[The Montgomery Advertiser]] |agency=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/414364283/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> stray, when he witnessed him chasing off a "huge dog" from [[Admiralty House, London]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Riley-Smith |first=Ben |date=27 December 2016 |title=Forget Larry and Palmerston, the original Number 10 cat rivalry revealed: Nelson vs The Munich Mouser |language= |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/27/forget-larry-palmerston-original-number-10-cat-rivalry-revealed/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304182052/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/27/forget-larry-palmerston-original-number-10-cat-rivalry-revealed/ |archive-date=4 March 2023 |issn=}}</ref> Impressed by his bravery, Churchill named the cat after the British admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Dockter |first=Warren |date=27 January 2015 |title=Pigs, poodles, and African lions {{endash}} meet Churchill the animal-lover |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/winston-churchill/11370727/Pigs-poodles-and-African-lions-meet-Churchill-the-animal-lover.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527030240/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/winston-churchill/11370727/Pigs-poodles-and-African-lions-meet-Churchill-the-animal-lover.html |archive-date=27 May 2023}}</ref> Following Churchill's appointment as prime minister in 1940, Nelson moved into [[10 Downing Street]] from Admiralty House sometime during the summer.<ref name="Miami-News">{{Cite news |date=13 June 1940 |title=Mr. Churchill's cats |pages=3 |work=[[The Birmingham Mail]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/784769551/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 1940 |title=Downing Street ponders knotty feline problem |pages=12 |work=[[The Miami News]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/298483281/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Amelia |date=21 July 1940 |title=This is Mrs. Winston |pages=8 |work=[[Sunday Sun]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/798100058/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> Opponents of Churchill speculated that he would not bring Nelson to Downing Street, suggesting that Churchill did not like cats; this was refuted by Churchill's friends as a "gross aspersion".<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 1940 |title=Downing Street worried about its official cats |pages=26 |work=[[The Windsor Star]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/501165544/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> Commenters also wondered whether Nelson and the previous prime minister [[Neville Chamberlain]]'s cat, nicknamed the ''[[Munich Mouser]]'', would get along:


{{Blockquote|text=How, it is asked, will the "Munich" cat react to "Nelson"? Will it follow Mr. Chamerlain next door to his new home at No. 11, leaving the field at No. 10 to "Nelson"? Or will it refuse to abdicate and call for a showdown in his majesty's court of justice?<ref name="Miami-News" />}}
⚫
During the Christmas season of 1941, the United States gifted Churchill a large number of items, including [[catnip]] for Nelson.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bolles |first=Blair |date=13 January 1942 |title=Gifts for Churchill rain on White House |pages=15 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/841284440/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 January 1942 |title=Bundles for Briton |pages=4 |work=[[Star Tribune]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/181857929/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 July 1943 |title=Gifts for Churchill |pages=2 |work=Didsbury Pioneer |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/782508459/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> In February 1942, [[Quentin Reynolds]], an American journalist, reported that Nelson had demonstrated his "faithfulness" to Churchill by jumping into his lap when called;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lyons |first=Leonard |date=17 February 1942 |title=Why Churchill's cat is so faithful? |pages=4 |work=[[The Sun Times]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/727651279/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023}}</ref> Churchill's daughter [[Mary Soames|Mary]] claimed that Nelson only did so because they were to have [[Salmon as food|salmon]] for lunch.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Quentin |date=12 February 1942 |title=Churchill's cat |pages=17 |work=[[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/573462232/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023}}</ref> Reynolds also described a dinner with the Churchills and Nelson in a book published that year, where Churchill recited parts of Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 July 1942 |title=Premier "Hamlet": cosy family dinner at the Churchill's |pages=4 |work=[[Liverpool Echo]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/797591056/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023}}</ref> On 2 May 1944, at the [[1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference|Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference]], Nelson was trapped in a [[fridge]] whilst attempting to get "an extra helping of milk",<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1944 |title=Appetite traps Churchill's cat |pages=1 |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/171527919/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> but was soon released unharmed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1944 |title=Churchill's cat out of picture |pages=18 |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/314808678/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref> During meetings with Churchill's [[war cabinet]], Nelson would sit close to Churchill, acting as a "prime ministerial [[hot water bottle]]".<ref name= "Sky News"></ref>

The cats did not take a liking to one another, with the rivalry between the pair later compared with that of the 21st century mousers [[Larry (cat)|Larry]] and [[Palmerston (cat)|Palmerston]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Day |first=Christopher |title=Churchill’s feline dynasties |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/churchill-s-feline-dynasties/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304182052/https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/churchill-s-feline-dynasties/ |archive-date=4 March 2023 |access-date=6 September 2021 |website=[[The History Press]]}}</ref> Churchill reportedly regularly entertained guests with stories of Nelson's bravery.<ref name=":1" />

⚫
During the Christmas season of 1941, the United States gifted Churchill a large number of items, including [[catnip]] for Nelson.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bolles |first=Blair |date=13 January 1942 |title=Gifts for Churchill rain on White House |pages=15 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/841284440/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 January 1942 |title=Bundles for Briton |pages=4 |work=[[Star Tribune]] |agency=[[Time (magazine)|Time Magazine]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/181857929/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 July 1943 |title=Gifts for Churchill |pages=2 |work=[[Didsbury Pioneer]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/782508459/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> In February 1942, [[Quentin Reynolds]], an American journalist, reported that Nelson had demonstrated his "faithfulness" to Churchill by jumping into his lap when called; Churchill's daughter [[Mary Soames|Mary]] claimed that "Nelson isn't really that faithful", and "he [was] only being nice" to Churchill because they were to have salmon for lunch.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lyons |first=Leonard |date=17 February 1942 |title=Why Churchill's cat is so faithful? |pages=4 |work=[[The Sun Times]] |agency=[[New York Post]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/727651279/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> Reynolds also described a dinner with the Churchills and Nelson in a book published that year, at which Churchill recited parts of Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 July 1942 |title=Premier 'Hamlet': Cosy family dinner at the Churchill's |pages=4 |work=[[Liverpool Echo]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/797591056/ |url-access=limited |access-date=12 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> On 2 May 1944, at the [[1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference|Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference]], Nelson was trapped in a [[fridge]] whilst attempting to get "an extra helping of milk",<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1944 |title=Appetite traps Churchill's cat |pages=1 |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |agency=[[United Press International|UP]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/171527919/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> but was soon released unharmed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1944 |title=Churchill's cat out of picture |pages=18 |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |url=https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/314808678/ |url-access=limited |access-date=11 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] and [[The Wikipedia Library]]}}</ref> During meetings with Churchill's [[war cabinet]], Nelson would sit close to Churchill, acting as a "prime ministerial [[hot water bottle]]".<ref name= "Sky News" />


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 13:39, 15 July 2023

Nelson
Cartoon of Nelson from Edwin Cox's Private Lives comic, 1941
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
In role
c. July 1940 – ?
Serving with the Munich Mouser (1940–1943)
MonarchGeorge VI
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Clement Attlee
Preceded byMunich Mouser
Succeeded byPeter II
Personal details
ResidenceAdmiralty House
10 Downing Street
OccupationMouser

Nelson (fl. May 1940 – May 1944) was a cat who served as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office during the wartime coalition government as a pet of Winston Churchill. In the summer of 1940, after Churchill became the prime minister, Nelson moved from Admiralty House to 10 Downing Street, where he had a rivalry with his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain's cat, the Munich Mouser.

Life and career

Nelson is the bravest cat I ever knew. I decided to adopt him and name him after our great Admiral.[1]

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill decided to adopt Nelson, a black[2] stray, when he witnessed him chasing off a "huge dog" from Admiralty House, London.[3] Impressed by his bravery, Churchill named the cat after the British admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson.[4] Following Churchill's appointment as prime minister in 1940, Nelson moved into 10 Downing Street from Admiralty House sometime during the summer.[5][6][7] Opponents of Churchill speculated that he would not bring Nelson to Downing Street, suggesting that Churchill did not like cats; this was refuted by Churchill's friends as a "gross aspersion".[8] Commenters also wondered whether Nelson and the previous prime minister Neville Chamberlain's cat, nicknamed the Munich Mouser, would get along:

How, it is asked, will the "Munich" cat react to "Nelson"? Will it follow Mr. Chamerlain next door to his new home at No. 11, leaving the field at No. 10 to "Nelson"? Or will it refuse to abdicate and call for a showdown in his majesty's court of justice?[5]

The cats did not take a liking to one another, with the rivalry between the pair later compared with that of the 21st century mousers Larry and Palmerston.[3][9] Churchill reportedly regularly entertained guests with stories of Nelson's bravery.[4]

During the Christmas season of 1941, the United States gifted Churchill a large number of items, including catnip for Nelson.[10][11][12] In February 1942, Quentin Reynolds, an American journalist, reported that Nelson had demonstrated his "faithfulness" to Churchill by jumping into his lap when called; Churchill's daughter Mary claimed that "Nelson isn't really that faithful", and "he [was] only being nice" to Churchill because they were to have salmon for lunch.[13] Reynolds also described a dinner with the Churchills and Nelson in a book published that year, at which Churchill recited parts of Shakespeare's Hamlet.[14] On 2 May 1944, at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, Nelson was trapped in a fridge whilst attempting to get "an extra helping of milk",[15] but was soon released unharmed.[16] During meetings with Churchill's war cabinet, Nelson would sit close to Churchill, acting as a "prime ministerial hot water bottle".[1]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Craig, Jon (28 December 2016). "Political cats: Who really runs the country?". Sky News. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Feline protocol". The Montgomery Advertiser. The Washington Post. 24 June 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  3. ^ a b Riley-Smith, Ben (27 December 2016). "Forget Larry and Palmerston, the original Number 10 cat rivalry revealed: Nelson vs The Munich Mouser". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b Dockter, Warren (27 January 2015). "Pigs, poodles, and African lions – meet Churchill the animal-lover". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Mr. Churchill's cats". The Birmingham Mail. 13 June 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  6. ^ "Downing Street ponders knotty feline problem". The Miami News. 16 June 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  7. ^ Robinson, Amelia (21 July 1940). "This is Mrs. Winston". Sunday Sun. p. 8. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  8. ^ "Downing Street worried about its official cats". The Windsor Star. 7 June 1940. p. 26. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  9. ^ Day, Christopher. "Churchill's feline dynasties". The History Press. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  10. ^ Bolles, Blair (13 January 1942). "Gifts for Churchill rain on White House". The Buffalo News. p. 15. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  11. ^ "Bundles for Briton". Star Tribune. Time Magazine. 21 January 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  12. ^ "Gifts for Churchill". Didsbury Pioneer. 22 July 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  13. ^ Lyons, Leonard (17 February 1942). "Why Churchill's cat is so faithful?". The Sun Times. New York Post. p. 4. Retrieved 12 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  14. ^ "Premier 'Hamlet': Cosy family dinner at the Churchill's". Liverpool Echo. 6 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 12 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  15. ^ "Appetite traps Churchill's cat". The Philadelphia Inquirer. UP. 3 May 1944. p. 1. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
  16. ^ "Churchill's cat out of picture". Tampa Bay Times. 3 May 1944. p. 18. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com and The Wikipedia Library.
Honorary titles
Preceded by Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
1937-1940/1943 		Succeeded by
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