A fine Peninsula War veteran’s Waterloo Medal 1815, original steel clip and ring suspender awarded to Private Edward Hudd, 1st Battalion, 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot who saw service during the Peninsula War and was wounded during the assault on the Sarra redoubt during the Battle of Nivelle on 10th November 1813. He would later be present at the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815 where he served with Captain James McNair’s Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot. The largest battalion at the Battle of Waterloo, it suffered 38 killed and 168 wounded out of a total strength of 1,130 men and officers.
Waterloo Medal 1815, original steel clip and ring suspender; (EDWARD HUDD. 1ST BATT. 52ND REG. FOOT.)
Condition: contact wear to the obverse in one area alongside the monarch’s nose, otherwise Good Very Fine
Edward Hudd was born in Bristol. Gloucestershire in the year 1784 and would go on to see service during the Peninsula War where he would be wounded during a bayonet charge at the Redoubt of Sarra on 10th November 1813 during the Battle of Nivelle. Serving with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot – he advanced under heavy artillery and musket fire, despite the strength of the French works, the battalion rushed the redoubt at Sarra with the bayonet, overrunning the defenders in a short, sharp assault.
The capture of the Sarra redoubt was crucial, as it broke open the French left-centre and allowed the rest of Wellington’s army to roll up Soult’s line. The storming of Sarra was one of the most famous feats of the 52nd in the Peninsula War.. Their rapid bayonet charge against a heavily fortified enemy position demonstrated the aggressive spirit and discipline of the Light Division. It directly contributed to the Allied Victory at the Battle of Nivelle, forcing Soult’s army to retreat further into France.
Hudd would later be present at the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815 where he served with Captain James McNair’s Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot.
At Waterloo The 52nd were assigned to Lt-Gen Hill's II Corps, as part of the 2nd Division's 3rd Brigade, under General Adam. As a response to Napoleon's movements, on 15 June, II Corps were posted west and southwest of Brussels, with a cavalry screen. Wellington's forward army engaged the French at Quatre Bras on 16 June, but he later fell back to remain in contact with his Prussian allies, who had retreated following the Battle of Ligny, and took position near the village of Waterloo.
The field at Waterloo was 5.5 km wide, with two parallel ridges running west to east, creating a shallow valley 1.4 km across. The Allies took position on the northern ridge. As the army prepared for battle on 18 June, the 2nd Division were initially held in reserve, placed in the centre left, behind Major-General Cooke's 1st Division. Following the French cavalry's battering of the British squares over the afternoon, Adam's brigade was brought up to reinforce the right. In this position the 52nd endured a heavy bombardment, of which Ensign Leeke of the 52nd reported afterwards "the old officers, who had served during the whole of the Peninsular War, stated that they were never exposed to such a cannonade as the 52nd squares had to undergo on this occasion for 2½ hours from French artillery ½ mile to the front". While the 52nd's squares stood waiting, British artillery fired over their heads.
Activity was happening elsewhere on the field, however, and as the battle drew to a close, Napoleon's Middle Guard launched an assault on the British line, to the 52nd's left, and were met by a number of regiments including the 1st Foot Guards, who repulsed the 3rd Chasseurs, but had to themselves retreat when the 4th Chasseurs moved forward to threaten their left. The 52nd, under Sir John Colborne, wheeled to the left, deploying parallel to the French column, and fired volleys against their left flank. William Hay, a Light Dragoon watching from the right, later recalled that "so well-directed a fire was poured in, that down the bank the Frenchmen fell and, I may say, the battle of Waterloo was gained." Seeing the 52nd begin an advance, Wellington reputedly ordered "Go on, Colborne, they won't stand!"; the battalion then advanced diagonally across the field. When this was later followed by a bayonet charge by all of General Adam's 3rd Brigade, the Guard broke, forced into full retreat. Having pursued the French down the escarpment of Mont St Jean, the 52nd crossed the valley floor (that at the start of the battle had separated the armies) and on the other side attacked a square of Old Guard (part of the personal body guard of Napoleon,) that had formed up to the British right of the inn La Belle Alliance and forced it to retreat.
The 1/52nd were the largest battalion at Waterloo, and one of the few British battalions operating at full strength. Of the 1,130 men and officers present, 168 were wounded and 38 killed.
It is unclear how or when Hudd died, but he did not claim a Military General Service Medal given to those individuals who were still alive upon the creation of the medal in 1848.
