Four medals belonging to heroic Waterloo general go for £7,800
A SET of medals belonging to a heroic general who fought Napoleon at Waterloo have smashed their estimate after selling at auction for £7,800.
The four individual honours, set in a single “unique” bar brooch, belonged to former British Army commander Lieutenant-General Rowland Hill, who was nicknamed “Daddy Hill” for the care he took over his men.
The “astonishing find” had been estimated to fetch between £1,000 and £2,000, but almost quadrupled that forecast when it went under the hammer at Derbyshire auctioneer Hansons yesterday.
The auction house’s owner, Charles Hanson, said “the rarity and historical importance of this item cannot be overstated”, describing the medals as an “astonishing find”.
Speaking about Lt Gen Hill, he added: “He was brilliant on the battlefield and yet humble, a commander renowned for looking after his men. He rarely swore, only uttering an expletive in the most trying of circumstances.”
A veteran of the Peninsula War against the French, Lt Gen Hill later fought at Waterloo in 1815 as the Allied powers under the command of the Duke of Wellington stopped a resurgent Napoleon’s march across the Low Countries.
Lt Gen Hill, born at Hawkstone Hall in Shropshire and educated at The King’s School, Chester, nearly had his military career cut short when he was struck on the head by a musket ball on campaign in Egypt in 1801.
At Waterloo he led a charge at the end of the battle against Napoleon’s feared Imperial Guard, and had been thought killed in the melee.
But he survived to rise to the highest ranks and, in 1828, succeeded Wellington as commander-in-chief of the British Army.
The general and former MP for Shrewsbury died at Hardwicke Grange, Hadnall, Shropshire, in 1842, aged 70.
During his career, Lt Gen Hill was awarded a clutch of medals – the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order (Hanoverian), the Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and the Sword (Portugal’s highest award) and the Peninsular Cross.
The brooch was commissioned from a jeweller by the general as a setting for his honours.
Mr Hanson said: “Lt Gen Rowland Hill was an extraordinary man.
“We are extremely proud to handle the sale of a medals brooch honouring and recognising his many acts of bravery.”
He was brilliant on the battlefield and yet humble. Charles Hanson, owner of Derbyshire auctioneer Hansons.