H.M.S. Tardis (short story)

H.M.S. TARDIS was the seventh illustrated short story in the 1968 Doctor Who Annual. It featured the Second Doctor, Ben and Polly. It was a rare instance of the Doctor actively trying to change something about the known history of Earth.

Summary
The Doctor, Ben and Polly land on the HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar. In the lull immediately before the fight with the Redoubtable, they must prove to Flag Captain Hardy they are not spies or deserters. The Doctor proposes to his companions that they try to do a bit more than that. He tells Polly that he aims to change history, but neither Ben nor she believe he is capable of that. He tries to give Nelson specific advice to avert his death, but, in the end, Nelson dies, anyway. Still, Ben seems to have changed history a tiny bit, by encouraging Nelson to send a message to the whole British fleet: "England expects that every man this day will do his duty."

Characters

 * Second Doctor
 * Ben Jackson
 * Polly Wright
 * Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson
 * Flag Captain Thomas Hardy
 * Tom
 * Dickon
 * Quartermaster

Continuity

 * This is the first of two times the Second Doctor has direct contact with Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson. Though this occasion is at the very beginning of the second Doctor's life, the next instance, in PROSE: World Game, came after his trial in TV: The War Games.
 * The Doctor would later be present for the Battle of Trafalgar again during his both eleventh (COMIC: Rough Waters) and twelfth incarnations. (COMIC: Ghosts of the Seas)