Sgt. William Lawrence

40th  Foot

There is no doubt that certain soldiers are watched over by a guardian angel, enabling them to cheat death by a fraction of an inch in battle. Such a soldier was William Lawrence, who carried the Colours of the 40^th Foot at Waterloo. During his eventful military career between the years of 1805 and 1819 he had numerous brushes with death, no less than SEVEN. These he described in his book “The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence”.

 

Whilst a night sentry outside Badajoz in 1811 he was disturbed by the enemy taking pot shots at him. They had been attracted by reflections of the stars or the lights of the town off his large brass cap plate…...

 

“I took the loading rod from my musket, stuck it fast into the ground, and placed my cap upon it. Then I put on my head my slop and foraging cap and went about ten yards away.” In the morning he returned to his cap to find that “…two shots had been put through it, which might have been a bit awkward if my head had been inside”.

 

The following year during the siege of Cuidad Rodrigo he had a miraculous escape when hit full on the chest by a cannon ball……

 

“I was in the breastworks when a six pounder struck the convent, rebounded and caught me in the chest. Luckily for me it was nearly spent, but it knocked me down. It was some time before I recovered my breath and then only after my comrades poured some rum and water down my throat. My chest was much discoloured and swollen afterwards, and I was unwell for nearly a week.”

 

His luck continued at the storming of Badajoz. He volunteered for the forlorn hope, which was the storming party, usually consisting of about 100-120 men, who would dash for the breach in the walls of the town, heading the general assault. These men were not expected to survive, although obviously some did. Guess what? Lawrence was one of the survivors, although he did receive several wounds. One musket ball would have caused him serious injury had its momentum not been reduced by passing through his canteen first. It should have been much worse. Lawrence’s comrade, Private “Pig” Harding, was killed, hit by no fewer than seven musket balls.

 

At Pamplona in 1813 Lawrence unwisely crept forward and tried to pick off a French officer. All he succeeded in doing was to make a target of himself and he was shot at…...

 

“…the bullet taking the butt end off my musket. I turned to run off and another shot hit the knapsack on my back. I got beyond the reach of the enemy’s shot without any injury, but it was a close thing. When I opened my knapsack, I found that the ball had gone through the leather, through my thickly folded blanket, and had only been stopped by the sole of a shoe. There it was lying as flat as a halfpenny and about the same size.”

 

Later that year during a skirmish in the Pyrenees Lawrence became stuck in a very thick thorn hedge whilst being chased by a large body of the enemy. He was helped out by a Sergeant of his regiment……

 

“…but I was scratched all over and had left the back of my uniform behind”. As the two men ran off, the Sergeant was shot down and a musket ball also hit Lawrence, but…... “the shot rebounded off the ground and struck the brass breastplate fixed on my crossbelt, which probably saved my life.”

 

At the battle of Waterloo, Lawrence had two extraordinary escapes from death. Here is the first…...

 

“an enemy shell cut our deputy sergeant major in two, then went on to take off the head of William Hooper, one of my grenadiers. It exploded in the rear no more than a yard from me, the impact hurling me six feet into the air. The tail of my sash was completely burned off and the handle of my sword was singed black, but fortunately the only injury it did me was to take a small piece of skin off the side of my face. Another narrow escape.”

 

He described his second remarkable escape as follows :-

 

 “About 4 o’clock I was ordered to the colours. Now I was as used to warfare as anyone, but this one job I did not like at all. That day alone 14 sergeants, and officers in proportion, had been killed or wounded in the duty and the staff and colours were almost cut to pieces. Nevertheless, I went to work as boldly as I could. That task will never be blotted from my memory. I am an old man now, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was with a Captain and he was so close to me that his right side was touching my left. Within a quarter of an hour a cannon-shot came and took his head clean off.”

 

At Waterloo one in every three men of Lawrence’s regiment were killed or wounded. Lawrence wasn’t one of them. Not only did he survive his eventful military service, but he lived to a ripe old age, eventually dying at his home in Dorset in 1869, aged 79. His survival of so many scrapes is even the more remarkable as he was a tall man and must, therefore, have presented a bigger target to his French enemies!

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