Orders, Decorations and Medals

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Kirkee and Poona (Wm. Whitehead, Eur. Regt.), short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, good very fine £2000-2400

William Whitehead was born in London in 1797. The Register of Enlistments states he was a Tailor from the Parish of St. Giles, Middlesex, whereas the Register of Discharged Soldiers states he was a Grocer from the nearby Parish of St. Anne, Soho. He attested on 26 July 1816 for unlimited service, aged 19 years. He was received at the East India Recruit Depot at Brompton Barracks, Chatham, on 29 August 1816. Allocated for Bombay, he embarked on the Inglis for India on 21 December 1816. With the European Regiment he served in the Third Mahratta War, being present at the battle of Kirkee, 5 November 1817 and the capture of Poona, 11-16 November 1817. He was discharged in 1822 as a result of a ‘swelling and injury to his foot’. Sold with copied research. Approximately 88 clasps awarded to European recipients.