Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare group of three awarded to Shoeing Smith William Roberts, Royal Horse Artillery, who served with the 2nd Rocket Brigade and had the Swedish medal for Bravery for the battle of Leipsic, and was present with Major Whinyates’ (2nd Rocket) Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery at the battle of Waterloo; on its reduction in 1816 the 2nd Rocket Troop was transferred to the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers

Waterloo 1815 (Shoeing Smith W. Roborts (sic), Royal Artillery Drivers.); Royal Horse Artillery Medal for Vittoria and Leipsic 1813, silver, unnamed, 29mm, fitted with rings and silver bar suspension (Balmer R119); Sweden, Kingdom, Bravery Medal 1809, silver, for Valour in the Field, unnamed, 30mm, pierced with small ring for suspension, the first with edge bruise, otherwise nearly very fine and rare (3) £3,000-£4,000

Palmer Collection, Glendining’s, June 1919; ‘Served in Rocket troop and had Swedish Medal’ (E. E. Needes’ notes refer).

William Roborts/Roberts is confirmed as a Shoeing Smith in Major Whinyate’s (Rocket) Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, at Waterloo and is understood to have been attached to the 2nd Rocket Brigade in Germany under Captain R. Bogue but this supposition is based purely on the provenance and composition of these medals and has not been confirmed in official records. The fact that his medal is named to him as a Shoeing Smith in the Royal Artillery Drivers but is shown on the medal roll as being in the Rocket Troop R.H.A. would seem to bear this out (see also extract from Duncan’s history below). The only other William Roberts in the Royal Artillery Drivers at Waterloo was a Collar Maker whose medal was in the Cleghorn Collection of 1872 and in the Whitaker Collection of 1890, as recorded in Needes’ notes.

The Rocket Brigade (later designated The Rocket Troop) left England for Germany in August 1813 and played a distinguished part in the Battle of Leipsic, 16-18 October. It was the only unit of the British Army present, and was attached to the bodyguard of the Prince of Sweden. Rockets had to be fired at close range to achieve any real success.

The battle of Leipsic lasted three days but the Rocket Brigade were not called upon until the third day, 18 October 1813, when Captain R. Bogue, commanding the Brigade, approached General Wintzingerode, commander of the allied army advance guard, and requested an opportunity to engage the enemy. His request was granted and he took the brigade to Paunsdorf where he successfully defeated 5 French battalions and caused them to surrender to his force of 200 gunners. He was then ordered to take his brigade to Sellerhausen. But they came under heavy fire from enemy artillery and skirmishers. Here, Bogue was killed by a musket ball from a French rifleman that entered his head just below the eye causing instant death. He was buried in the churchyard at Taucha 4 miles away and two years later a stone monument was erected over his grave. The Crown Prince of Sweden, commander of the allies, posthumously conferred the knighthood of the Swedish Royal Order of the Sword on Captain Bogue, and sent his widow a gift of 10,000 dollars. Lieutenant Strangways, who succeeded to the command of the Rocket Brigade after Bogue’s death, also received the Order of the Sword and various men of the Brigade received gold and silver bravery medals.

‘Among the many heart-breaking reductions which exasperate the Artillery student, perhaps none are more distressing, than the reduction of the 2nd Rocket Troop in 1816. The 1st Rocket Troop had never been out of England; the 2nd had done good service at Leipsic and Waterloo. Neither of them had had a long existence; but one had had a stirring, glorious history. On the 16th May, 1815, the following order had been issued:—“His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, has been pleased to command that the Rocket Troop of Royal Artillery, which was present at the Battle of Leipsic, be permitted to wear the word ‘Leipsic’ on their appointments, in commemoration of their services on that occasion.” And to the same troop the reward fell, given to those who had been at the Battle of Waterloo. Yet, when the pruning-knife came to be used, the troop which had earned these honours was selected for reduction; and, as if adding insult to injury, the word ‘Leipsic’ came actually to be worn by the surviving troop, which had never been on active service at all! On its reduction, the officers of the 2nd Rocket Troop were transferred to the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers.’ (Captain Francis Duncan’s History of the Royal Artillery refers).

Sold with copied extract from the notes compiled by E. E. Needes in the first half of the last century and listing the provenance of the Waterloo Medals to ‘Shoeing Smith W. Roborts’ and ‘Collar Maker Will. Roberts’, and with copied discharge papers for Collar Maker Roberts. Papers for the Shoeing Smith have not been found but the medal roll notes ‘Discharged’ against his name.

It is probable that the Swedish Bravery Medal is an old cast copy