A DESIRABLE & HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT
“WATERLOO MEDAL”
To:
Pte WILLIAM HODGIN
2nd Bn GRENADIER GUARDS
A SERIOUSLY WOUNDED DEFENDER at HOUGOUMONT FARM.
WILLIAM HODGIN was seriously wounded in the left thigh during the vicious hand to hand fighting at HOUGOUMONT FARM in the orchard & during the famous action of the “CLOSING OF THE GATE”
A pivotal action of The Battle of Waterloo.
(BIOGRAPHY) 1786 - 1st March 1853 (67)
Private William Hogden was born in Killwick, near Skipton in Yorkshire in 1786. (Seen here on an Edwardian postcard of 1907 with a recent picture of the local church.) He was by trade a weaver, and having also been a member of 1st West Yorkshire Militia. He volunteered for enlistment into 1st Foot Guards at Rochester, Kent on 16th April 1813 at age 27.
BATTLE OF WATERLOO18th JUNE 1815He then fought at The Battle of Waterloo with 2nd Bn under Lt/Col Harding, where aged 29 he took part in the famous action at HOUGOUMONT FARM with 2nd GRENADIER GUARDS where his unit experienced very large casualties in the orchard & while defending and closing the famous farmyard gate against the French.
William was seriously wounded in this famous action with “Loss of his left thigh”.
(Note) we often see this “lost thigh” wounding description, which we feel actually indicates that the man almost certainty lost his leg.
This serious wounding eventually led to his discharge ten months after the Battle at age 30 on 26th April 1816 when he’s seen receiving a Chelsea out pension while living in the Halifax district of Yorkshire.
At the time of his discharge he was serving with Lt/Col Davies’ company.
His actual service was of 3 years & 5 days, plus the usual 2 years added for service at Waterloo, making a total of 5 years & 5 days.
His description upon discharge was;
5ft 8.25” tall, black hair, grey eyes, fresh complexion.
He died in the Halifax district aged 67 on 1st March 1853, which for a man of his period and who had experienced a tough life wasn’t a bad lifespan.
During the famous action at HOUGOUMONT FARM the 2nd Bn GRENADIER GUARDS experienced their finest hour.
A GROUP OF EARLY GUARDSMEN
(The men of the Crimean War in this picture would look almost identical to the men who fought at Waterloo)
GENERAL MIGUEL DE ALAVA
(who's privately presented Waterloo Medal we currently have in stock) and who had served as a Spanish liaison officer on Wellington’s staff in the Peninsula, had attached himself to the Duke for the Waterloo campaign. Alava was able to claim the unique distinction of having fought against Britain at Trafalgar and with Britain at Waterloo. While acting as ADC to Wellington he drew attention his to the importance of Hougoumont Farm, and suggested that it should perhaps be more heavily defended.
‘Ah,’ replied the Duke, ‘I’ve put Macdonell into it........
You don’t know Macdonell.’..... (Do You!)
[THE ACTION AT HOUGOUMONT FARM]
Two farms dominated the battlefield; La Haye Saint and Hougoumont. Both were substantial affairs, with thick high walls and plenty of outbuildings and attached orchards, and they were quite obviously going to be useful in the forthcoming battle. Wellington planned to use the farms as forward strongpoints to break up and disrupt French attacks across the shallow valley.
Hougoumont was predominantly manned by British Guardsmen (these were the days when the Guards were the élite fighting troops), consisting of the light companies of 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, and the 2nd Battalion, Third Guards. The two light companies of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, First Guards, were positioned in the surrounding orchards and grounds. In addition to the British troops, there were the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Nassau Regiment, with detachments of jägers (riflemen) and landwehr (militia) from the 1st (Hanoverian) Brigade. The farm was in overall command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonnell of the Coldstream Guards.
The quality of the troops garrisoned in the farm gives a hint as to the importance Wellington placed on the outpost. He fully expected that it would draw Napoleon's troops in an attempt to silence it rather than having to attack past it with the garrison firing away at them. These attacks would give Wellington what he needed the most, a breathing space to allow the Prussians to join him. In the event, the Iron Duke was proved quite correct in his assumptions.
Napoleon's aim was almost the reverse of Wellington's, in that he intended his attacks on the the farm to draw the Allied reserves and attention to the right of the battlefield so that the French attacks could then be made on the weakened centre and left. The battle for Hougoumont proved to be a very costly miscalculation.
The attack started either at 10:00am or about 11:30am, depending on which account you read (part of the discrepancy may be down to the opposing sides having their watches set at their own local time), with an artillery bombardment and an attack by the French 1st Brigade of the 5th Division which cleared the exposed orchards and grounds but drew the attentions of the British artillery which threw the attack back and killed the 1st Brigade's commander, Maréchal de Camp Bauduin. The artillery then became embroiled in an artillery duel with their opposite numbers (rarely a successful or efficient venture at this stage of warfare) and this allowed the French to redouble their attacks on Hougoumont.
One such attack resulted in a famous encounter which Wellington later described as being the incident on which the entire battle hinged. A small group of French soldiers of the 1st Brigade of the 6th Division managed to break into the farm courtyard.
Led by Sous-Lieutenant Legros, who was swinging a pioneer's axe (*see picture at left), they broke the gate and poured in, with the rest of the 1st Brigade behind them. At that point, Lieutenant Colonels Macdonnell and Wyndham, Ensigns Gooch and Hervey and six other Guardsmen (including Corporal James Graham, described as the "bravest man in the army" in the regimental tribute and awared a special medal for his deeds at Waterloo) charged the French and somehow managed to force the gates shut again, trapping both Legros and around 30 other Frenchmen inside. These were killed to a man except for a disconsolate drummer boy who had bravely entered with the others.
The farm managed to hold out for the remainder of the battle, thanks in part to the successful defence of a sunken approach road through which the Allies managed to slip supplies and ammunition. By the end, when the Prussians arrived and the battle turned, the French had committed 14000 men to its unsuccessful capture and, although they rotated fresh troops throughout the day, the British had never had more than around 3500 troops committed at any time. Casualties were proportionate (1500 Allied to 5000 French) but the distraction had almost certainly cost Napoleon both the battle and the war, thus ending his career.
(THE MEDAL) A Rarely Seen Example With Service Papers
As with all Waterloo medals issued to surviving recipients, they are all individually different. Time and proud wearing has insisted that one individual medal is never the same as the next.
The medal is an excellent and greatly attractive, original & uncleaned example in About EF condition with a lovely battleship grey colour.
Some general & common edge bumps. The original “steel clip" suspension has survived, and as normal the ring is an old replacement.
This medal was clearly very seldom, if at all, worn by the recipient, which is a very unusual situation as many of the old soldiers proudly wore their medals every day on their jackets, thus with many arriving in very worn condition. The wearer of a Waterloo Medal rarely had to buy a pint in a pub as the beer was normally free for a man who would tell his story of the Battle. Having lost his leg as a young man we can understand why he did not perhaps wish to re-live the battle.
ONE OF THE "ULTIMATE" WATERLOO MEDALS TO A SERIOUSLY WOUNDED SURVIVOR OF THE FAMOUS DEFENCE OF HOUGOUMONT FARM.
A MOST IMPORTANT MEDAL & A GREAT ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION.
SOLD
WILLIAM HODGIN was seriously wounded in the left thigh during the vicious hand to hand fighting at HOUGOUMONT FARM in the orchard & during the famous action of the “CLOSING OF THE GATE”
A pivotal action of The Battle of Waterloo.
(BIOGRAPHY) 1786 - 1st March 1853 (67)
Private William Hogden was born in Killwick, near Skipton in Yorkshire in 1786. (Seen here on an Edwardian postcard of 1907 with a recent picture of the local church.) He was by trade a weaver, and having also been a member of 1st West Yorkshire Militia. He volunteered for enlistment into 1st Foot Guards at Rochester, Kent on 16th April 1813 at age 27.
BATTLE OF WATERLOO18th JUNE 1815He then fought at The Battle of Waterloo with 2nd Bn under Lt/Col Harding, where aged 29 he took part in the famous action at HOUGOUMONT FARM with 2nd GRENADIER GUARDS where his unit experienced very large casualties in the orchard & while defending and closing the famous farmyard gate against the French.
William was seriously wounded in this famous action with “Loss of his left thigh”.
(Note) we often see this “lost thigh” wounding description, which we feel actually indicates that the man almost certainty lost his leg.
This serious wounding eventually led to his discharge ten months after the Battle at age 30 on 26th April 1816 when he’s seen receiving a Chelsea out pension while living in the Halifax district of Yorkshire.
At the time of his discharge he was serving with Lt/Col Davies’ company.
His actual service was of 3 years & 5 days, plus the usual 2 years added for service at Waterloo, making a total of 5 years & 5 days.
His description upon discharge was;
5ft 8.25” tall, black hair, grey eyes, fresh complexion.
He died in the Halifax district aged 67 on 1st March 1853, which for a man of his period and who had experienced a tough life wasn’t a bad lifespan.
During the famous action at HOUGOUMONT FARM the 2nd Bn GRENADIER GUARDS experienced their finest hour.
A GROUP OF EARLY GUARDSMEN
(The men of the Crimean War in this picture would look almost identical to the men who fought at Waterloo)
GENERAL MIGUEL DE ALAVA
(who's privately presented Waterloo Medal we currently have in stock) and who had served as a Spanish liaison officer on Wellington’s staff in the Peninsula, had attached himself to the Duke for the Waterloo campaign. Alava was able to claim the unique distinction of having fought against Britain at Trafalgar and with Britain at Waterloo. While acting as ADC to Wellington he drew attention his to the importance of Hougoumont Farm, and suggested that it should perhaps be more heavily defended.
‘Ah,’ replied the Duke, ‘I’ve put Macdonell into it........
You don’t know Macdonell.’..... (Do You!)
[THE ACTION AT HOUGOUMONT FARM]
Two farms dominated the battlefield; La Haye Saint and Hougoumont. Both were substantial affairs, with thick high walls and plenty of outbuildings and attached orchards, and they were quite obviously going to be useful in the forthcoming battle. Wellington planned to use the farms as forward strongpoints to break up and disrupt French attacks across the shallow valley.
Hougoumont was predominantly manned by British Guardsmen (these were the days when the Guards were the élite fighting troops), consisting of the light companies of 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, and the 2nd Battalion, Third Guards. The two light companies of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, First Guards, were positioned in the surrounding orchards and grounds. In addition to the British troops, there were the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Nassau Regiment, with detachments of jägers (riflemen) and landwehr (militia) from the 1st (Hanoverian) Brigade. The farm was in overall command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonnell of the Coldstream Guards.
The quality of the troops garrisoned in the farm gives a hint as to the importance Wellington placed on the outpost. He fully expected that it would draw Napoleon's troops in an attempt to silence it rather than having to attack past it with the garrison firing away at them. These attacks would give Wellington what he needed the most, a breathing space to allow the Prussians to join him. In the event, the Iron Duke was proved quite correct in his assumptions.
Napoleon's aim was almost the reverse of Wellington's, in that he intended his attacks on the the farm to draw the Allied reserves and attention to the right of the battlefield so that the French attacks could then be made on the weakened centre and left. The battle for Hougoumont proved to be a very costly miscalculation.
The attack started either at 10:00am or about 11:30am, depending on which account you read (part of the discrepancy may be down to the opposing sides having their watches set at their own local time), with an artillery bombardment and an attack by the French 1st Brigade of the 5th Division which cleared the exposed orchards and grounds but drew the attentions of the British artillery which threw the attack back and killed the 1st Brigade's commander, Maréchal de Camp Bauduin. The artillery then became embroiled in an artillery duel with their opposite numbers (rarely a successful or efficient venture at this stage of warfare) and this allowed the French to redouble their attacks on Hougoumont.
One such attack resulted in a famous encounter which Wellington later described as being the incident on which the entire battle hinged. A small group of French soldiers of the 1st Brigade of the 6th Division managed to break into the farm courtyard.
Led by Sous-Lieutenant Legros, who was swinging a pioneer's axe (*see picture at left), they broke the gate and poured in, with the rest of the 1st Brigade behind them. At that point, Lieutenant Colonels Macdonnell and Wyndham, Ensigns Gooch and Hervey and six other Guardsmen (including Corporal James Graham, described as the "bravest man in the army" in the regimental tribute and awared a special medal for his deeds at Waterloo) charged the French and somehow managed to force the gates shut again, trapping both Legros and around 30 other Frenchmen inside. These were killed to a man except for a disconsolate drummer boy who had bravely entered with the others.
The farm managed to hold out for the remainder of the battle, thanks in part to the successful defence of a sunken approach road through which the Allies managed to slip supplies and ammunition. By the end, when the Prussians arrived and the battle turned, the French had committed 14000 men to its unsuccessful capture and, although they rotated fresh troops throughout the day, the British had never had more than around 3500 troops committed at any time. Casualties were proportionate (1500 Allied to 5000 French) but the distraction had almost certainly cost Napoleon both the battle and the war, thus ending his career.
(THE MEDAL) A Rarely Seen Example With Service Papers
As with all Waterloo medals issued to surviving recipients, they are all individually different. Time and proud wearing has insisted that one individual medal is never the same as the next.
The medal is an excellent and greatly attractive, original & uncleaned example in About EF condition with a lovely battleship grey colour.
Some general & common edge bumps. The original “steel clip" suspension has survived, and as normal the ring is an old replacement.
This medal was clearly very seldom, if at all, worn by the recipient, which is a very unusual situation as many of the old soldiers proudly wore their medals every day on their jackets, thus with many arriving in very worn condition. The wearer of a Waterloo Medal rarely had to buy a pint in a pub as the beer was normally free for a man who would tell his story of the Battle. Having lost his leg as a young man we can understand why he did not perhaps wish to re-live the battle.
ONE OF THE "ULTIMATE" WATERLOO MEDALS TO A SERIOUSLY WOUNDED SURVIVOR OF THE FAMOUS DEFENCE OF HOUGOUMONT FARM.
A MOST IMPORTANT MEDAL & A GREAT ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION.
SOLD