14 DAY TRIAL // A schoolboy from Norfolk, England, has turned his bedroom into a shrine dedicated to his hero, Admiral Lord Nelson.
Shae Williams from Costessey is a keen history fan and become fascinated by Lord Horatio Nelson after learning that he had also grown up in Norfolk. The nine-year-old boy started collecting items related to Nelson last summer, and since then he has gathered a lot of memorabilia, including a library of books about his hero and a piece of copper plating from the Admiral's flagship, the HMS Victory.
After collecting enough memorabilia, the history-mad boy decided to start up a museum in his own house. So, he covered his bedroom's walls with pictures and other items linked to Nelson and opened the smallest museum in Norfolk.
“My museum is the best because I’ve got original copper from the Victory, a DVD area which you can read, a shop and seabiscuits that you can eat for free,” the boy told EDP24. “I don’t really know why I like Nelson and the Victory so much, but I like learning about history.”
The Bawburgh School pupil even charges friends and family for visits, encouraging them to sign his visitors’ book. Those who want to see his impressive collection have to pay £2 ($3.36/€2.42) for adults, 50p ($0.84/€0.61) per child and £4 ($6.72/€4.85) for a family ticket.
Shae is saving the money from the entrance fees to buy an original piece of wood from the famous ship, which costs about £100 ($168/€121).
The boy's mother Karen says that Shea's obsession with Admiral Lord Nelson got so far that he even encouraged his parents to move out of their current home and buy a house in Lord Nelson Drive. Moreover, he plans to go to Ormiston Victory Academy next year.
After his mother wrote to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich to tell them about his son's outstanding interest in history, Shea received invitations for VIP visits to the museums.
Mrs. Williams is very proud of her son and his accomplishment and says that history takes over all parts of the family's life.
“It’s very sweet, he gets every visitor to sign the visitors’ book and he gets quite a few people coming in now. He had an open day this week and had about ten people in. We like to encourage Shae, because I’d rather he was doing this than playing on his Xbox,” she said.