Visits from Russians

'As we passed through the Russian Fleet the sailors stared at us - so unlike English sailors, with their lips covered with dirty red moustachios, some in hairy caps, some in green jackets, and some in none. When they laughed, they looked like animals. Their ships appeared to be strongly built.' Benjamin Haydon describing a visit to Portsmouth by a Russian Squadron in 1809. The Russians were frequent visitors during this period. They made use of the medical facilities nearby at Haslar hospital and took on copious supplies of beer to the delight of the local ecomony.