The Military General Service Medal awarded to Sergeant Daniel Banfield, 8th Foot, who was ‘wounded in action in Upper Canada’ and ‘served nine years in North America’

Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Martinique (Danl. Banfield, Serjt. 8th Foot) small edge bruise, otherwise very fine £1,800-£2,200

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals Relating to the War of 1812.

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Lord Cheylesmore Collection 1930; Collection of John Darwent, Dix Noonan Webb, April 2004.

Daniel Banfield was born in the Parish of St Finbar’s, Cork, and enlisted at Cork into the 8th (King’s) Regiment of Foot on 29 October 1804, aged 17, for unlimited service. He served a total of 11 years 164 days, of which 7 years 218 days as a private, 242 days as a corporal, and 3 years 69 days as a sergeant. He was discharged to Kilmainham Hospital at Cork on 11 April 1817 in consequence of ‘general bad health and icterus (jaundice)’, his conduct as a soldier noted as ‘very good’ and the he was ‘wounded in action in Upper Canada’. After a period as an out-pensioner, he then enlisted into the 10th Royal Regiment of Veterans at Cork on 25 December 1819, aged 32, for unlimited service. He served 1 year 90 days before the battalion was disbanded and he was discharged on 24 March 1821. He next enlisted into the 3rd Veteran Battalion as a private on 25 December 1821, being promoted to corporal in June 1823 and to sergeant in October 1823. He was reduced to private and transferred to the 83rd Foot on 25 July 1825. Over the course of the next nearly eight years Banfield was tried by court martial on six occasions, frequently being imprisoned for one month at a time and the sentence often being accompanied by ‘the loss of beer money for one year’ or ‘the loss of additional pay for two years’. He was finally discharged from the 83rd Foot on 10 May 1833, having served a total 24 years 362 days, including ‘nine years in North America’. The Regimental Board held the opinion ‘that his conduct has been that of an extremely bad and troublesome soldier during the last four years.’

Sold with copied discharge papers from his various units.