Who do you think you are?

 

Battle of Waterloo

Lloyd Webber

The new series of Who Do You Think You Are started at the end of May, and the person tracing their ancestry was Andrew Lloyd Webber (right). He found out that his 4x great uncle was Peregrine Maitland (below). The program mentioned that Maitland was at the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815. 

At the battle’s climax, Wellington called to Maitland who was the Major General of 1st (Guards) Brigade “Now, Maitland! Now’s your time!”. This was certainly Maitland’s time. This is where the program left Maitland, but in this article, we will see what became of the man.

After the battle, Maitland was Lieutenant General of Nova Scotia from 1828, a position that lasted until 1834 when Maitland returned to England. Maitland was also a first-class cricketer, playing for both Surrey and Hampshire. In 1854, Maitland died at his residence in Eaton Place, London. However, it wouldn’t be London where he was buried but in the village of Tongham in Surrey. So, why Tongham? The vicar at this time was Charles Garbett who was related to Maitland, and he allowed his burial (bottom left) to take place at St Paul’s church, Tongham. Other members of the Maitland family including, Lennox Arthur, who died in 1904 are also buried here.

Charles Garbett’s son, Cyril, became the Archbishop of York.

The Battle of Waterloo also saw the death of Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton (right). Wellington described Picton as “a rough foul-mouthed devil as ever lived”. Prior to the battle, the Duchess of Richmond held a ball, and it is from the ball, that Picton, still wearing his civilian clothes and top hat (right) went to battle, it is thought that his uniform had been lost!

Meanwhile, with Picton – the highest-ranking officer killed on the day – it was his name that was given to a new mailing coach, the General Picton (left), which commenced its service from Swansea to Carmarthen in May 1815, stopping off at Llanelly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It would be in that June, that General Picton arrived at the Red Lion¸ Coaching Inn situated at Pontardulais delivering the news of the allied victory.

Following the end of the campaign, the British Government issued the first campaign medal, the Waterloo Medal, numbering 39,000 given to every officer and solider of the British Army who undertook action in any of the battles of the Waterloo Campaign. Today, these medals depending on the provenance and history can be worth in the region of £10,000.

Today, the Red Lion Coaching Inn in Pontardulais, still stands just over the bridge over the river Loughor, but it is now a bridal shop (left).

Copyright - The Bay Magazine, July 2023

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