Nottinghamshire poet celebrates life of Byron on 200th anniversary of his death

Byron lost his life on April 19, 1824 at the age of 36 while supporting the Greek people in their fight for freedom from oppression by the Turks.

His body was brought back to England and he was buried in at Hucknall Parish Church

Clive said he was constantly asked, as part of celebrations of the poet's life, if he would repeat a talk he gave to the now-disbanded Newstead Abbey Byron Society in 2017 about 'Byron And The Sea'.

He continued: "I replied that I would be very pleased to oblige but my wife, Patricia, gently reminded me that since then, because of health problems, I am no longer able to give the talk."

Instead, to coincide with the bicentenary, Clive has had the talk published as part of an illustrated booklet.

This also includes poems by Byron with a maritime theme, maps showing the routes of Byron's grand tour and final departure to Greece, portraits of the poet and an ode by Clive himself entitled Sea Images.

Clive became known as ‘bard of the North Sea’ after a long and eventful career as a crane operator on North Sea oil rigs.

In the booklet he writes: "Byron loved the sea, it was his natural element. He excelled as a swimmer despite not having full flexibility of both legs due to what is claimed to have been a club foot.

"He was well versed in sailing, although he once nearly got shipwrecked on a small Turkish ship of war when caught in a storm."