A MEDAL awarded to a man who survived being severely wounded during the Battle of Waterloo will go under the hammer next week.
The Waterloo Medal was awarded to Sergeant William Porteous, Royal Scots Greys, following his efforts in the battle in 1815.
William was “severely wounded” with eight lance wounds in different parts of the body.
His Commanding Officer would later describe William, who was born in Stenton, as “a worthy, good man, dreadfully wounded at Waterloo”.
The Waterloo Medal will be up for auction on Wednesday through London-based auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb.
William enlisted at the age of 17 on April 22, 1794.
According to the notes in the auction catalogue: “He was promoted to corporal in December 1802 and to sergeant in November 1804.
“He was a sergeant in Captain Barnard’s troop at Waterloo, where he suffered no less than ‘eight lance wounds in different parts of the body’, in addition to his left elbow joint becoming anchylosed from another wound.
“His wounds were treated at Brussels between June and September 1815, and he was discharged to pension at Chelsea Hospital on October 30, 1816.
“His papers carried the following commendation from his commanding officer, Lieut. Colonel Isaac Clarke: ‘A worthy, good man, dreadfully wounded at Waterloo, a loss to the regiment.’”
The medal is fitted with a contemporary silver clip and bar suspension and is described as having “some contact wear to the obverse, otherwise very fine and better”.
The medal, which comes with copied discharge papers, is expected to be sold for between £7,000 and £9,000.
Nimrod Dix, deputy chairman of Dix Noonan Webb, said: “It is quite remarkable that Sergeant Porteous survived so many wounds and examples like this are very few and far between, especially one to probably the most famous regiments for Waterloo, which makes it a desirable prize indeed.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here