What will happen to the foreign Tommies?

Channel 4 gave us a repeat of its 2010 historical documentary The Untold Battle of Trafalgar, writes Peter Rhodes.

This revealed that Nelson's 18,000 jolly Jack Tars at the epic battle were drawn from 25 different nationalities. The Royal Navy of 1805 was an equal-opportunities employer.

However, when peace came after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the navy shrank dramatically – and foreign sailors were the first to be discharged.

It is a timely reminder that almost 10 per cent of soldiers in today's British Army come from overseas.

Lose the lads from Fiji, Jamaica, South Africa, Nepal and Ghana and the army would be in deep trouble.

If peace breaks out any time soon, let's hope today's foreign soldiers are treated better than Nelson's unwanted heroes.