Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The unique Peninsula, Waterloo and Burma campaign group of four awarded to Colour-Sergeant Cottrell Little, 44th Foot

Military General Service 1793-1814, 3 clasps, Fuentes D’Onor, Badajoz, Salamanca (C. Little, Serjt. 44th Foot); Waterloo 1815 (Serj. Cottrell Little, 2nd Batt. 44th Reg. Foot) fitted with contemporary silver bar suspension inscribed ‘Peninsula & Ava’; Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Ava (Color Serjt. C. Little, 44th Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming; Forlorn Hope Medal for the Storming of Badajos 6th April 1812 (C. Little 44th Regt. of Foot A Volunteer in the Leading Column of Attack at the Assault of Badajos) fitted with silver clip and straight bar suspension, edge bruising and contact marks, the Waterloo better than good fine, remainder nearly very fine or better (4) £15000-20000

From the Collection of Napoleonic War Medals formed by the late R. W. Gould, M.B.E.

Ex Orpen-Smellie Collection.

The Forlorn Hope Medal was in the Hyde Greg collection in 1879 and in the Whitaker collection by 1890. Whitaker’s collection was dispersed by Spink from 1959 onwards. Little’s medal was acquired by Orpen-Smellie from Spink for £100 on 23 March 1964, to be reunited with his three campaign medals recently purchased through Baldwin’s from the Elson sale on 24 September 1963 for £357. Whilst Little’s Forlorn Hope Medal has been on record for more than 125 years, nothing more is known about the circumstances of its award. He was certainly at Badajoz where the regiment were indeed distinguished in the storming but no list survives of the names from the 44th.

The Forlorn Hope Medal is of the pattern instituted by the 52nd Foot in January 1820 for members of the storming parties at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz and St Sebastian. Little’s medal has been adapted by the struck wording ‘The Officers 52nd Regiment to ... 52nd Regiment’ being removed from the reverse and the regimental designation ‘LII’ removed from between the bugle cords on the obverse. The date ‘6th Apr. 1812’ is engraved above the bugle as usual.

This is an extremely rare combination of M.G.S., Waterloo and Army of India medals to the 44th Foot, which was claimed by only one officer and five men. Little was a Sergeant in Captain William Burney’s company at Waterloo, he being the only officer to get these three medals (with a South Africa 1834-53 and Knight of Hanover in addition).

Cottrell (Cottral on papers but signs as Cottroll) Little was born in the Parish of St Paul’s, Dublin, on 23 April 1792. He enlisted into the 44th Foot on 13 August 1805, and was discharged on 24 August 1826, his constitution being broken by long service. His discharge papers state: ‘This man has been in the Field with his Regiment in almost every action that it was engaged in & at all times conducted himself as a gallant soldier.’

He served as a Private 7 years 208 days; Corporal 299 days; Sergeant 7 years 166 days; Colour-Sergeant 4 years 69 days; served in the East Indies, November 1822 to August 1826, 3 years 40 days, and allowed 2 years additional for Waterloo. Total service 22 years and 12 days. Little became an out-pensioner at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, w.e.f. 24 September 1826, on a pension of one shilling eleven pence halfpenny per day, to reside at Strablane. His pension was reduced to one shilling per day in 1830 in view of having wrongfully been credited with 3 years 8 months service ‘under age’. He was refused an increase in pension in August 1854, and refused an in-pension in September 1857. Sold with copied discharge papers and other research.