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Auction: 20001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - conducted behind closed doors
Lot: 11

Waterloo 1815 (Thomas Broad, 2nd Batt. 3rd. Reg. Guards.), original steel clip and split-ring suspension, good very fine

Thomas Broad was born at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire circa 1786. After civilian employment as a labourer, he enlisted into the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Foot Guards on 7 July 1804. He does not appear on the M.G.S. Roll, and his discharge papers do not suggest Peninsular service. He served as a Private in Lieutenant-Colonel D. Mercer's Company during the Waterloo Campaign. As a Centre Company, Mercer's Company did not take part in the initial defence of Hougoumont at 11.30 a.m., but it did march down from the ridge at 2.00 p.m. to support the two 1st Foot Guards Light Companies (under Lord Saltoun) in Hougoumont's Great Orchard. At 2.15 p.m., the 2nd Brigade of Foy's 9th Division, comprising six battalions (some 3,000 men) swept into the Great Orchard and were kept at bay by the tiny force of Guardsmen (around 300 men, including Broad). Seeing the crisis, Colonel Hepburn of the 3rd Foot Guards brought the remainder of the regiment (minus the Colours, kept on the ridge for safety) down to Hougoumont, enabling Saltoun's exhausted men to retire. At 2.45 p.m. Hepburn led the 3rd Foot Guards in a spirited charge which completely retook the Great Orchard. When the French cavalry began their mass advance at 4.00 p.m., Hepburn unleashed accurate enfilading fire which thinned their ranks considerably. At Waterloo the 3rd Foot Guards had a 23% casualty rate, losing 239 officers and men killed or wounded. Todd received prize money for the subsequent capture of Paris. He was discharged on 29 November 1820 due to 'Aneurysm of the femoral artery', possibly linked to an earlier amputation. He served 16 years and 146 days with the Colours; sold with copied discharge papers.

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Sold for
£2,100

Starting price
£1200