For sale, but not for dessert! Biscuit from Battle of Trafalgar to go under the hammer

The biscuit, which belonged to a crew member on board HMS Defence, is expected to make thousands of pounds as it goes under the hammer on May 9.

Brought back from the battle by Able Seaman Thomas Fletcher, the biscuit is a literal taste of history, being sold alongside Mr Fletcher’s other belongings at a Dix Noonan Webb auction.

The Battle of Trafalgar took place on October 21, 1805 – famously claiming the life of Admiral Lord Nelson.

Auctioneer Oliver Pepys says it is ‘incredibly rare’ to have an artefact like this fall into your hands.

He said: ‘It was in possession of the family for about 200 years and was then sold in 2005 to a collector.

‘With the collector now downsizing, the biscuit is coming to us for auction.

‘It was the one piece of evidence for Able Seaman Thomas Fletcher that he was at the Battle of Trafalgar – I think he knew just how significant the battle had been, and so kept it as a memory of that.’

The auction will be taking place at Dix Noonan Webb’s auction house in Mayfair, London.

Oliver Pepys said: ‘To have something like this is just spectacular.

‘We are used to dealing with medals but to have something like this is extremely rare – and adds a real human touch to our sale.

‘We deal with medals from this period quite regularly, but I have never encountered anything like this.