q98…, thank you. I agree, however, soldiers in those days were morally able to withstand more than our 2021 Comrades. I have multiple images of Waterloo Courts-Martial pages from Kew, and nearly all of them mention 300 lashes. Naked, tied to a scaffold of halberds while controlled by the Drum Major, and delivered by a Drummer. Following the punishment, the Drummers were reported as being splattered from head-to-foot in blood.
The sad thing with these two trials were that they were unjust and both men were almost certainly scapegoats for a long list of tactical errors by a senior officer. It’s all in my book, and I intend recovering their unjustly confiscated Waterloo Medals via an MoD Court of Appeal next year.
Shaun…, absolutely great. That’s all new because I’ve been without an Ancestry membership for quite some time.
You added a ‘?’ to your last phrase. With a name like that, surely there couldn’t be another in the battalion. In the meantime, the dates you provide fit well, meaning that for the battle, he’d have been 24-years old, a typical age for an NCO. As I mentioned earlier, before demob, his Regimental Adjutant wiped his slate clean, providing him with a service record indicating ‘trustworthy and sober,’ tallying with his restriction of gin. Rare for a soldier in those days ! However, I'm surprised by the demob date. That tells me a lot.
In fact, there were two men punished that day, the other was his Sergeant, Thomas Corbett. Thomas left the Army but George remained. Both were also deprived of their titles as ‘Waterloo Men,’ (no medals) Waterloo Money, no promotion and restriction of privileges. (that could have also included gin – I believe ‘restriction of gin’ in those days was also a punishment)
However, back to my question, do you think the restriction of privileges could have influenced a soldier’s pension and bed at the hospital ?
Thank you…, Iain.
