A Collection of Napoleonic War Medals

George Buckley, Royal Staff Corps

Military General Service 1793-1814, 6 clasps, Talavera, Barrosa, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Toulouse (George Buckley, Royal Staff Corps.) small edge bruise, otherwise better than very fine £1200-1400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Napoleonic War Medals.

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Provenance: Sotheby, May 1895; Dix Noonan Webb, June 1994.

Of the 60 medals claimed by the Royal Staff Corps, only 6 had the clasp for Talavera, 10 the clasp for Barrosa, and 16 that for Ciudad Rodrigo. Only three medals were issued with 6 clasps, that to Buckley being a unique combination to the Corps. At the capture of Badajoz, they assisted in placing the ladders for the escalade of the Castle and took part in the storming of one of the Bastions. A Sergeant was one of the first to enter the breach at Ciudad Rodrigo in 1812, and four officers led columns into action across the river Bidassoa in 1813.

George Buckley was born in the Parish of Bridport, Dorset, and enlisted himself into the newly formed Staff Corps at Hounslow Heath on 22 September 1800, aged 20, for unlimited service. His papers note that he was absent by desertion from March to September 1808, after which he participated in most of the battles and sieges that his Corps served in with distinction. He served a total of 25 years 163 days and was discharged on 4 March 1826, ‘being unfit for further service’. Sold with copied attestation and discharge papers.