Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The rare and remarkable Peninsular, Waterloo and Bhurtpoor group of three awarded to Troop-Sergeant-Major John Lakin, 16th Lancers, who was wounded in the leg at Fuentes d’Onor in May 1811, in the side at Burgos in 1812, and was noted in regimental records ‘for distinguished conduct in the field’; he later served as a gamekeeper and gatekeeper at Windsor Great Park, and lived in the reign of four monarchs

Military General Service 1793-1814, 5 clasps, Talavera, Fuentes D’Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nive (J. Lakin, T. Serjeant M. 16th Light Dragoons) the clasp for ‘Nive’ mounted upside-down; Waterloo 1815 (Corp. John Laken, 16th or Queen’s Light Drag.) fitted with replacement bar suspension; Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Bhurtpoor (Troop Serjt. Major J. Lakin, 16th Lancers) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, heavy edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise good fine and better (3) £14,000-£18,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals formed by the late Ron Wright.

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Only 10 men of the 16th Light Dragoons got all three of these medals. This is the only known surviving such group apart from the one to Thomas Armstrong held by the regimental museum. Broken groups are known to four others (one of whom also got a L.S. & G.C. medal) and four remain lost/whereabouts unknown.

John Lakin was born in the Parish of Sutton, Birmingham, Warwickshire, and enlisted at Birmingham for the 16th Light Dragoons on 19 July 1805, aged 18 years, for unlimited service. He was promoted to Corporal in July 1815, to Sergeant in October 1821, and to Troop Sergeant-Major in July 1824. Discharged at Meerut, India, in October 1827, Lakin returned to England for his final discharge on 22 May 1828, in consequence of ‘being inactive from corpulency’. His discharge papers record that he was ‘wounded in the leg at Fuentes d’Onor, and in the side at Burgos 28 Octr. 1812’, whilst the regimental history of the 16th Light Dragoons records him as having been distinguished in the Peninsula:

‘The following N.C.O.’s and privates were noted for distinguished conduct in the field:-
Sergt.-Major Blood, Sergts. Baxter, Drawbridge, Greaves, Malony, Kearney, Blythe, Ashworth, Lincoln, Collins, Jolly, and Lakin; Corporals Cox and Yates; Privates Hurst, Fitzpatrick, Michel, Castans, Arthur, Weedon, Daly, Bulpot, and Pemberton.’

John Lakin died from ‘natural decay’ at Queen Anne’s Lodge, Windsor Great Park, on 23 February 1877. An obituary notice published in The Windsor Gazette & Eton College Journal on 3 March 1877, gave the following information:

‘Sudden Death of a Waterloo Veteran - On Friday last week Mr John Lakin, keeper of the lodge to Queen Anne’s-ride, died suddenly at the advanced age of 89 years. Mr Lakin when a young man joined the 16th Lancers, then commanded by the Earl of Harcourt, and first saw active service in India, for which he received a medal (Bhurtpoor). He fought through the Peninsula campaign under the Duke of Wellington, was present at the crowning victory of Vittoria, at Salamanca, Fuentes D’onor, and the bloody fight of Talavera; and finally he took part in the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo, receiving a sword stab in the leg and a gunshot wound in the side, but he was not placed hors de combat, and fought till the French were utterly routed. The deceased had medals and bars which tell of the glories he participated in. He attained the rank of sergeant-major and at the age of 40 years, in 1828, he was discharged with a pension from the Chelsea Hospital. After leaving the army the deceased came to Windsor, and entered the service of George III, as gamekeeper in the Great Park. As gamekeeper and gatekeeper he served under that monarch, George IV, William IV, and her present gracious Majesty. He was 43 years the keeper of Queen Anne’s-ride lodge, where he died last Friday. Mr Coroner Marlin held an inquest on the body at the Windsor Castle Inn, King’s-road, on Monday. The evidence went to show that the deceased had enjoyed on the whole very good health, and there had been no necessity to call in any medical man for a number of years. On the Thursday he appeared in a better state of health than usual, but when his daughter-in-law went to see him next morning he said he did not feel very well. He took a little breakfast and had beef-tea for dinner. After dinner he said he would try to go to sleep, but when his daughter-in-law went upstairs to see him, between three and four o’clock, she found him dead. Mr Surgeon Pearl was sent for. He stated that he found several marks on his arms and one on his side, but he did not think that they were caused by violence. It was explained by relatives of the deceased that he had to be carried up and down stairs by his son, and he “Tumbled about” a good deal. The Doctor thought Mr Lakin had died from natural decay, and the jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.’

And from the Evening Post of 28 February 1877:

‘A WATERLOO VETERAN. Mr John Lakin, a Waterloo veteran, has just died at Queen Anne’s Gate, Windsor Great Park, in his 90th year. He took part in the whole of the Peninsular war with the 16th Lancers, and attained the rank of sergeant-major. He was afterwards appointed by the late Lord Harcourt as keeper in Windsor Great Park, a post he filled until the day of his death - upwards of fifty years. In fact, he was the oldest royal servant of her Majesty. He lived in the reign of four sovereigns, and he had often said with pride that he had addressed them all personally - viz., George III, George IV, William IV, and her Majesty.’