The Duke of Wellington and Field Marshall von Blücher defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, on this day in 1815. My 3rd great-grandfather, Elias Standen was there. He was a sergeant-farrier with the Royal Horse Artillery. I’ve posted about him before.
The battle began at around 11:30 am and lasted for over nine hours. The initial attack by the French was successful, and they managed to break through the center of the Allied line. However, the Allies managed to regroup and counter-attack, and the French were pushed back.
The battle was intense and brutal, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. One notable casualty was Lord Uxbridge. The myth is that his leg was blown off whilst he was mounted and beside Wellington. He is reported as crying out “By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg!”, to which Wellington replied “By God, sir, so you have!” There are other more plausible versions of this tale.
The French army was repeatedly repulsed by the Allies, and by 7 pm, the battle was over. The French army was defeated, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate for the second time.
I discovered my ancestor Elias whilst researching my family tree to see if the spy, Sir Anthony Standen, was a relative of mine. I was so thrilled to discover that he was. It added a tangible connection and helped me feel myself into his character as I wrote The Spy who Sank the Armada.
I’m descended from Anthony’s younger brother Edmund. During my research on Ancestry I discovered that Edward’s wife’s name was Dennis. Apparently Dennis was quite a popular woman’s name at the time. I decided that I would have to rename her Denise, for the sake of the modern reader.
We can’t be sure that Sir Anthony had children, but since he disobeyed King James’s order and left England for Rome, I feel certain that he must have had a love interest there. Therefore I gifted him with children so that his James Bond skills can be passed through the generations. I have therefore written more books in the series. Perhaps one day I’ll get as far as Waterloo, and Elias can meet his distant cousins.