Owen

Hi Jordan, no not private - you are on the open forum. I have just sent you a Private Message, so easier for you to reply to that. Basically, if you click on my name, above my avatar, on any of my posts within the thread, it will take you to my profile and you should see an envelope at the top with message written by it...that's the fella you need to send a PM. Owen

Yes, of course...standing by. Owen

If you can provide details of his full name and date of birth/death then I will have a look for you. Any other details would help, such as wife's name, where born/died. Owen

Paul, Another absolute gem. Makes my 'Private Smith, born, served in the stores and died of old age' medals seem very dull (no offence meant to any stores experts here)! Keep posting. Owen

Paul, Thanks for sharing the medal and Heise's fascinating story - it's amazing that so much detail of his military experiences survives to be found near and told. You can certainly pick your medals! I think the KGL were also well known for their singing! Regards, Owen

Paul, Seems we have similar interests - I also have a small collection to the early Victorian wars in India. For me it's the possibility, for the long service soldiers, to have served in the Napoleonic campaign, Waterloo, India (Army of India Medal) and into the Gwalior etc/Punjab/Sutlej battles...although only ever personally seen one group that spans this whole period. Makes for great research reading. The jewel in my collection (well my favourite anyway) is a Waterloo to an Ensign in the Royal Scots..one of only 2/10 Ensigns left alive and unscathed after QB and Waterloo...who went on to India after serving with the army of ccupation in France...to fight in the third Maratha war, at Seetabuldee and Nagpore (mentioned in a despatch) and then join a Detachment of the HEIC in reducing the Candeish hill forts, where he was wounded at the siege and storming of Malleygaum Fort (mentioned in the historical records of the Royal Scots). He suffered the privations of India, for years, before finding himself in the West Indies (Dominica), where the yellow fever got him in 1831, as a Lt. I also have both his original commissioning parchments (Ensign in 1814 and Lt in 1820), both without purchase. So he didn't live to claim his AoI medal (Clasp Seetabuldee and Nagpore). I also have an account of the voyage he took back to England (to recuperate after his wounds at Malleygaum)...with a mad and drunken sea Captain who verbally and physically abused his crew and passengers! He was hauled before the Sea Lords for his behaviour and fined. Sorry, went on a bit there! look forward to seeing some of your other medals. Owen

Paul, thanks for sharing, the Waterloo medal is my favourite campaign medal. What a fantastic medal you have there and quite the story. I really like the period ribbon and - like you - the 'personal accoutrements'. Yours, jealously, Owen!

For completeness, here is Hercules...a fine figure of a man!

Just found the father John Roberts in the 1911 Census where he describes himself as a retired Major General of the Indian Staff Corps. Back to the research! Ok, so the father of John Henry Roberts (the artist) was John Roberts, who served in the HEIC, with the 40th Regt of Native Infantry. He was an Ensign in 1855 when he married his wife Mary ((in India), a Captain in 1859 when his daughter Alice was born (in India) and a full Colonel, on 19 Sep 1861, when his son John Henry was born (in India). He retired in 1883 as a Major General with the Indian Army Staff Corps and died in England on 1922. He was clearly with the 40th NI during the period of the Indian Mutiny...the 40th NI mutinied at Dinapore on 25 July. Marched to Arrah where they took part in the Siege of Arrah (27 July – 3 August 1857). An 8-day defence, of a fortified outbuilding, occupied by a combination of 18 civilians and 50 members of the Bengal Military Police Battalion, against 2,500 – 3,000 mutinying Bengal Native Infantry sepoys from three regiments and an estimated 8,000 men from irregular forces commanded by Kunwar Singh, the local zamindar or chieftain. (Wikipedia). Whilst all the above is a diversion from the cards, as a collector of medals, it is good to know that the artist of these cards came from a military family and one connected to an era I collect to. Owen

That's really helpful, thank you for letting me know. To keep the military theme, I bought the 'Hercules' card, which I think is a tongue in cheek take on Army PT Instructors, then the Army Gymnastic Staff and now, of course, the Royal Army Physical Taining Corps. The 'weakling' is wearing the colours of the kit worn by Army PT Instructors and the crossed swords (albeit foils in the picture) is their emblem. Hercules The seller provides a bit more info on Roberts too, which is helpful. He was born in India and his father was a Major General in HM's Indian Army....can't be too hard to track down who his father was. thanks again, Owen

This doesn't look like an imperial French eagle - hard to see the detail and looks as though the top of the shield is missing,so not sure if a single or double headed eagle. It also appears to have a cross in the centre. The shape of the body/wings, together with the cross, look like a Prussian/Austrian eagle. This is wild guesswork with no intimate knowledge, however, as a starter for 10, the Vienna crest has similar eagle with cross at the centre....might be worth investigating: Coat of arms of the Austrian federal state of Vienna Owen

Thanks all, glad you like it! Yes, postcard sized...wish it was poster sized, but good things come in small packages my mum always said. Ahem, I had to look up gouache before buying it... What I would like to know is whether the design materialised into a postcard. I have googled it to death, but nada. Thanks, Owen

I bought this a while ago, couldn't resist it. It's an original WW1 gouache artwork design (for a Post Card), signed by the artist J.H.R. (John H. Roberts), and with artists stamp on the reverse (J. H. Roberts, The Studio, 12 Grand Avenue, Hove, Sussex). In addition to the 'Red, White and Blue' ....I think that the iconic imagery of the British Lion, standing on ‘the green grass of home’ upon the White Cliffs of Dover, facing the enemy, under a flying Union Jack, really captures the sentiment of First World War British home front sentiment; a strong sense of patriotism, keeping morale up and our island nation sense of history and invincibility. Or, maybe I am being over sentimental! Anyway, thought I would share it... BTW, gouache is a type of water-soluble paint that, unlike watercolour, is opaque so the white of the paper surface does not show through. Owen

John, Shout if you need need any help, I have membership of both Ancestry and FMP. Merry Christmas, owen

John, You have a belter! Troop Serjeant Major in the Kings Dragoon Guards...wow! I concur with the BMF links on the Waterloo medal. There is also an open source online copy of the historical records of the First, or King's Regiment of Dragoon Guards here: https://archive.org/stream/cihm_48393#page/n21/mode/2up Not sure if you have paid memberships of Ancestry/Fold 3? If so, you will find his Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Pensioners' Discharge Documents here: Levitt pension records (WO 119 at The National Archives, Kew). If you have membership of Find My Past, there are also pension records for him on there. Enjoy the research journey, but please let us know how you get on. Owen Edited to add: a book you might find interesting is: The Cavalry that Broke Napoleon: The King’s Dragoon Guards at Waterloo (By, Richard Goldsbrough)