Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Waterloo 1815 (Anthony Dunn, 2nd Batt. Grenad. Guards) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, contained in a fine contemporary red leather case, extremely fine and rare thus £4,000-£5,000

Dix Noonan Webb, March 2011.

Anthony Dunn was born at Coolbannagher, Queen’s County, Ireland, and enlisted into the Grenadier Guards at London on 20 August 1809, aged 25 years. He joined Lieutenant-Colonel Jones’ Company in the 3rd Battalion but later transferred to the 2nd Battalion. He served in Lieutenant-Colonel Cooke’s Company at Waterloo and was wounded at Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815. Private Dunn died, presumably as a result of his wounds, on 18 April 1816; his widow, Margaret Ford, received his share of the Waterloo prize money on 28 November 1820.
At Quatre Bras on 16 June, ‘the arrival of the British 1st Infantry Division (Guards Division, Cooke) gave Wellington sufficient strength to counter-attack and Jérôme, whose skirmishers were now west of Quatre Bras, was forced to retreat and give up possession of Bossu Wood to the British Guards. When the Guards and other allied units emerged from the wood, they were met with heavy fire from French infantry and an attack by 6th Lancer Regiment (and possibly the 1st Chasseurs) of the 2nd Cavalry Division (Piré), the Guards being caught in line and forced to flee back into the wood. This cavalry attack and taking the Bossu wood caused high casualties among the British Guards. There was some further skirmishing between allied light companies and the French voltigeurs and cavalry screen, but the battle was over. By 21:00, when the fighting stopped, the French had been forced to give up all of their territorial gains.’