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Auction: 24002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 27

Military General Service 1793-1814, 4 clasps, Talavera, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria (John Richard, 14th Light Dragoons.), minor edge knocks, otherwise very fine

Clasp combination is nearly unique for the 14th Light Dragoons, only two other members of the regiment entitled to this same clasp combination.

'In Spain the Germans, the 14th Light Dragoons and perhaps the 12th under Fred Ponsonby were the only regiments that knew their duty and did not get into scrapes of every description', the Duke of Wellington in praise of the 14th Light Dragoons.

Please note that while the medal roll records his surname as 'Richard', and his medal is inscribed thusly, most contemporary documents list his surname as 'Richards'.

John Richards was born in 1779 in Tipton, Staffordshire, where he enlisted with the 14th Light Dragoons in 1801 and joined the Peninsular campaign in December 1808, landing in Lisbon with Colonel Samuel Hawker acting as commander. The unit became the only regiment to receive the "Douro" battle honour when, on 12 May 1809, two squadrons crossed the Douro River to block the French retreat thus helping Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley drive General Soult out of Oporto. They again saw action at Talavera where, along with the 48th Foot, they successfully stopped the final French attack on Wellesley's centre. The Regiment was later involved in an ill-advised charge under General Craufurd at Villar de Puerco before joining General 'Black Jack' Slade's Brigade in September 1910. We know that Richards was in General Hospital for much of July 1811, the circumstances of this stay are unclear, however, he was back with his Regiment for the Battle of Badajoz. They were present for the siege until 1 April 1812, and were subsequently the only British cavalry unit to receive the Badajoz Bar.

Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Ponsonby commanded the 14th Light Dragoons at Villagarcia where they defeated General Lallemand's cavalry and took over a hundred prisoners. They saw further action at Castrillo in July 1812 and routed two French Dragoon regiments and, not a week later during the Battle of Salamanca, together with German Hussars they engaged a French cavalry brigade and later pursued the fleeing French. They were involved in a particularly notable event at the Battle of Vittoria, in which they captured King Joseph Bonaparte's chamber pot and allegedly called it "The Emperor", being subsequently known as "The Emperor's chambermaids".

Richards was discharged at Portobello in 1818 due to his neck ulcer and the reduction of the Regiment. Census records reveal he spent the rest of his life living in Staffordshire with his wife Maria, who was present for his death there of pneumonia on 20 June 1852; sold together with copied research.

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Sold for
£1,400

Starting price
£800