Recent research has found the record of a Bramford man who was at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
At the stated age of 15, William Death, enlisted in the 1st (Kings) Dragoon Guards on the 5th March 1805. At the time the Dragoons would have been stationed in Ipswich. The war with Napoleon had started just two years before and the Battle of Trafalgar was yet to come later in the year that William made the journey to Ipswich and take the “Kings Shilling”.

A boy soldier

Although his age was stated as 15, other records indicate that William was actually 17. It seems that the Army records followed a convention at the time of rounding down ages to the nearest multiple of 5. This was used extensively (but not always consistently) in the 1841 Census.

Promotion

Dragoons were originally a mounted infantry but evolved into a light cavalry unit so William would have been trained in horsemanship as well as the skills of an infantryman.
From the 4th March 1805 William served as a Private in the Regiment but classed as “underage”. Many young boys on entering the army were trained as musicians, buglers, drummers and tailors. Three years later he continues as Private, now presumably eligible for active service, for just over 5 years when he was promoted to the rank of Trumpeter on the 25th July 1813. This may have reflected the skills he learned as a boy soldier. Trumpeters and drummers were given enhanced pay in recognition of the extra skills and the important duties they had to perform on the battlefield.

Trumpet or bugle calls were a vital command system in battles at this time. Shouting and screaming men and horses, the explosions of guns, cannon shells and small arms made verbal communication impossible. The smoke from black powder meant visibility was down to that of a thick fog. The incredible danger from musket balls, sabres, cannon balls and kicking horses made full attention vital. Only the sound of the trumpet was able to communicate between cavalry squadrons, each of which had a trumpeter.
There were over 40 different bugle calls used in the field, all to command horses. Formations were controlled by calls known to the cavalrymen and made easier to remember by the addition of words in songbooks.
It was in this role that William travelled with his regiment to Flanders to join Wellington’s army in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.

A Waterloo Man

Waterloo Medal

The 1st Kings Dragoons played a significant part in the battle and sustained heavy losses but William, fortunately, was among the survivors. In 1816 the Prince Regent conferred the Waterloo medal for all those who took part in the battle.

Voluntary demotion

After the defeat of Napoleon, the British army was scaled down and William faced being discharged. To avoid this he resigned his rank of Trumpeter on the 25th August 1821 and reverted to Private again. However, he regained his rank on the 10th May 1826.

Three monarchs

Every Waterloo man was credited with two years extra service and so it was on the 2nd September 1836 that William had completed 30 years and 183 days in the army. However, he continued to serve for 67 more days until the 8th November 1836 when he was finally discharged. By this time, he had served under three monarchs; George III, George IV and William IV.
Even then he was discharged for “disability” which was specified in the report as rheumatism attributed to a broken collar bone while on duty in Manchester and his general service in the army. He was awarded an army pension – in effect becoming a “Chelsea Pensioner”.

Later life

Whether William ever came back to Bramford in his time as a serving soldier is not known but a “Settlement Examination” that exists in the Sussex Record Office states that William was born in Baylham but lived with his father, Thomas, in Bramford for much of his childhood. This record also tells us that William was born on 4th April 1788 and had worked for William Turner of Baylham until he enlisted. Later census records confirm his age but continue to record his birth parish as Bramford, as does his army record. It’s probable that having lived in the village from a very young age he assumed he was born here but later learnt his true birthplace. William’s birthplace is confirmed by his father’s own Settlement Examination statement.
What is also interesting is that the Settlement Examination was carried out while William was in the Lewes “House of Correction”, or gaol, and on the same day that he had married Maria Spurgen, on 27th June 1808. However, his marriage was not, it seems the voluntary affair that we might have expected as the records in Lewes reveal. *

Under the Old Poor Law, the parish was responsible financially for illegitimate children, but could reclaim their costs from the father. Maria Spurgen will have “belonged to” (legally settled in) the Lewes parish where she got married and which paid for the settlement examination.
If an unmarried woman was identified as pregnant she was taken before a magistrate and swore on the bible who the father was. There was no defence to this: if she swore it was you, you were responsible. You then owed £40 to the woman’s parish. Your options were (1) to pay the parish £40, the cost of raising the child until it could support itself; (2) to marry the girl at the parish expense and take responsibility for her and her offspring; or (3) to go to jail as a debtor, £40 being more than a labourer’s annual wage, until you were able to repay your debts, which of course you could never do as you didn’t earn anything in jail. The Lewes House of Correction had a range of treatments for its inmates but the hardest labour and the worst conditions were reserved for those with such debts – they were treated significantly more harshly than other criminals.

When the parish identified you as the problem they physically seized you and made you an offer you couldn’t refuse. William Death will have initially declined, but after a spell in the House of Correction reconsidered his options. Deciding after all to marry Maria (for which the parish will have paid for the licence, the ring and the clergyman) the key thing for the parish was to establish where he was legally settled. William would go back to his regiment and Maria may have been “deported” to Bramford where the parish would have been responsible for her and the child’s maintenance until William returned. However, it seems fairly certain that Maria followed her new husband around in his military career as later records reveal.

William and Maria appear in the 1841 Census both aged 50 and with two children, Sarah 15 and Mariah 12. (As mentioned before the age of a person over 15 in the 1841 census were rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5). William was working as a Watchman and they are living in Edenfield, Lancashire.
The 1851 Census finds William and Maria in Toxteth, Liverpool aged 63 and 59 respectively. They appear to be living with Edward Death and family – most certainly their son. Interestingly, Edward was born in Ireland which, no doubt, would have been included in William’s tour of duty as a soldier. William is described as an engine driver and Chelsea Pensioner. Edward was also an engine driver.

William’s career as an engine driver is confirmed by his appearance (and Edwards) in a list of employees of the London & North Western Railway (1847 – 1853). Williams earlier job in 1841 as Watchman could well have been on the railways.
By 1861 William is a lodger in West Derby, Liverpool but now, aged 73, is married to Margaret, aged 48. William is a Chelsea Pensioner. (The death of a Maria Death was recorded in West Derby in 1852 and a marriage is recorded, in the same district, between William Death and Margaret Martin in 1853)
William died in 1864.

*Information regarding the Lewes House of Correction and Poor Law administration kindly provided by John Kay of the Lewes History Group