Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Waterloo medal awarded to Brevet Major Brooke Pigot, 69th Foot, who was severely wounded in the head whilst defending the colours at Quatre Bras

Waterloo 1815 (Lieut. Brook Pigott, 2nd Batt. 69th Reg. Foot.) fitted with original steel clip and silver bar suspension, small edge bruise and light contact marks, otherwise good very fine £4000-5000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals to Welsh Regiments formed by the Late Llewellyn Lord.

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Brooke Pigot was born at Southwell, Nottinghamshire, in 1789, and was commissioned Ensign in the 69th Foot on 21 July 1810, aged 20 years 9 months; Lieutenant, 14 May 1811; Captain, 29 August 1826; retired on full-pay, 30 October 1840; Brevet Major, 28 November 1854.

Lieutenant Pigot served in Holland, Belgium and France from December 1813 to January 1816, including both actions of Merxem, and bombardment of the French fleet at Antwerp. Was severely wounded in [the head] in the action of 16th June at Quatre Bras. Served in the East Indies from 1818 to 1825, in the West Indies from 1831 to 1838.

‘... in the midst of the confusion thus created [the enemy] captured and carried off one of the Colours, in defence of which Major Lindsay, Lieutenant Pigot, and Volunteer Clarke highly distinguished themselves and were desperately wounded.’

In a letter written to Major-General Siborne in July 1844, and published in Waterloo Letters, Captain Pigot wrote: ‘I was wounded at the same time with Major Lindsay; he commanded No. 1, I commanded No. 2. Poor man, the loss sustained by the Grenadier, Nos. 1 and 2, Companies was greatly attributable to him, halting those Companies, making them face to right about, in open Column, and commence firing upon the Cuirassiers. But for that we should have got into square, as it was those Companies [that] were really cut down. Poor man, to the day of his death he regretted having done so, but at the time he did it for the best.’

Brevet Major Brooke Pigot died at Exeter, Devon, on 12 January 1856. Sold with copied research.