A VERY RARE 71st FOOT
(HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY)
MILITARY GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL
[TOULOUSE] & [VITTORIA]
& WATERLOO MEDAL

(Officially Impressed,
Matching Pair with Full Papers & rolls.)

To:
Private JOHN COOPER 71st FOOT REGIMENT.
(HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY)
Served in famous Captain Henderson's Troop.

[BIOGRAPHY]
John Cooper was born in 1795 and was a Scotsman from Glasgow. He had previously been employed as a weaver. He was a short lad of only 5ft 4.5" with fair hair, blue eyes & a pale complexion. He enlisted into the 71st Foot (Highland Light Infantry) at Glasgow on 4th January 1811 aged 16.
Amazingly his papers confirm that he had agreed to serve for "Life"
. In the event, and due to "Reductions of The Establishment" (The army seriously slimmed down when peace finally broke out after the battle of Waterloo) he actually served for *10 years & 237 days (*army service time only counted after the age of 18 ) Thus he had actually been in the army for 12 years 237 days !
He was finally discharged aged about 27 on 18th August 1821

[DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMY IN 1821 & MARCHING MONEY OF FIVE SHILLINGS] Upon finally leaving the army on 29th August 1821 he was given "marching money". This consisted of 5/- shillings ( of "1 Shilling & 8 Pence for every ten miles for the 30 miles from Chatham to London ) and that the funds for 'free passage' had been provided at "The Public Expense"

[THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO & THE HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY] At the Battle of Waterloo the 71st Regiment, Highland Light Infantry, comprised 810 men and was one of the largest infantry units involved. It sustained 1 officer killed & 14 wounded with 24 men killed & 160 wounded with 3 missing. This was a high casualty total and actually represents a greater number than that of all but a few of the guards & cavalry units. This therefore is a Highly Desirable & Very Rare Surviving Pair of Medals. Two rare survivors which have come down to us in truly remarkable condition. As these two medals were issued 35 years apart not many of the Waterloo men lived long enough to claim and receive the retrospectively awarded MGS for their previous service in the Peninsular War. Indeed, most of the 'theoretical' surviving original pairs are now seen as singles having been split up. The MGS is known as 'The Dead Man's Medal" as few of the men who fought in these early actions were still alive in 1848 to claim it. Both medals are in Superb EF condition with total originality.

A SERIOUSLY RARE PAIR with rare surviving papers & medal rolls.A "must have" pair for the serious MGS-Waterloo collector.


(SOLD)