Single Campaign Medals 782


The celebrated trio of Peninsula War medals awarded to the Hardy brothers of the 7th Fusiliers, the provenance of which can be traced back to the Lord Cheylesmore Collection of 1880:


Sergeant-Major John Hardy, who was wounded at the battles of Albuhera and Salamanca, distinguished himself at Badajos by fetching Colonel Spottiswode out of the breach, and was a Volunteer at the storming of St Sebastian - Sir Edward Blakeney ‘has often declared that I and my two brothers, who served with me in the same corps, were three of the bravest soldiers in the army’ Military General Service 1793-1814, 14 clasps, Martinique, Talavera, Busaco, Albuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, St. Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse (J. Hardy, Serjt. 7th Foot.) suspension claw re-fixed and two replacement rivets, edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise good fine and extremely rare


Corporal Peter Hardy, who was wounded in the neck at the capture of Martinique, twice by musket balls in the leg and thigh at the battle of Albuhera, and again in the arm at the battle of Salamanca - ‘he has always conducted himself in the most gallant manner in the field’ Military General Service 1793-1814, 13 clasps, Martinique, Busaco, Albuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, St. Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse (Peter Hardy, Corpl. 7th Foot.) light edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise very fine


Private James Hardy, the first of the three brothers to enlist and whose health upon discharge in 1824 was ‘much impaired by hard services’ Military General Service 1793-1814, 13 clasps, Martinique, Busaco, Albuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, St. Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse (James Hardy, 7th Foot.) two edge bruises and some light marks in both fields, otherwise good very fine (3)


£20,000-£30,000


Provenance: Eaton (later Lord Cheylesmore) Collection 1880; Cheylesmore Collection, Glendining’s, July 1930; later in the collections of Professor A. Leyland Robinson and John J. Barnett; Sotheby’s, November 1980; Glendining’s, December 1990.


The medals of both James and Peter Hardy, each carrying 13 clasps, were previously in the Stewart Mackenzie of Seaforth Collection (often referred to as the Seaforth Collection) of 1870. It is assumed that Lieutenant-Colonel H. F. Eaton then acquired these two medals to reunite the three brothers as shown in his printed catalogue of 1880. They have remained together ever since. The medal rolls only confirm these two men with 11 clasps, neither apparently entitled to clasps for Nivelle or Nive. The top carriage of Peter Hardy’s medal is mounted with four clasps. The medal roll confirms Sergeant John Hardy with all 14 clasps, one of only 12 M.G.S. medals issued with 14 clasps. The M.G.S. medals of John and James Hardy were each paired with a re-engraved Waterloo medal when sold in the Cheylesmore Collection at Glendining’s in 1930, but neither man is so entitled.


Sold with copied discharge papers for all three brothers.


John Hardy was born in the Parish of Swinton, Manchester, the youngest of the three Hardy brothers, and attested for the 7th Fusiliers at Doncaster on 26 April 1807, just two months after his two elder brothers had enlisted. He was aged 17 years 4 months, and a weaver by trade. He was promoted to Corporal on 23 November 1823, and to Sergeant on 25 March 1824. He transferred to the 1st Battalion 60th Rifles on 25 August 1824, was reduced to Private on 5 April 1825, but was quickly reinstated to Corporal later the same month and to Sergeant once more in the following month. He was finally discharged at his own request, on the ‘modified rate of pension’, on 11 May 1831, stating his intention to reside at Dublin.


His discharge papers give his service thus: ‘Copenhagen, Martinique, Talavera, Busaco, Pombal, Fuentes d’Onor, Albuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajos, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, New Orleans.’ He was ‘wounded - at Albuhera, on the left hip & the left jaw; at Salamanca, on the left knee - Distinguished himself at the Storming of Badajos, by fetching Colonel Spottiswode, aide de Camp to the Brigadier Genl., out of the breach - Volunteered for the Storming of St Sebastian.’


According to the footnote in Eaton’s catalogue, Hardy died [in Liverpool] at the age of 94, in 1876. Lieutenant-Colonel H. F. Eaton had clearly acquired his medal(s) shortly afterwards, and those of his two brothers, all three being listed in his printed catalogue of the collection in 1880.


Sold with ‘Statement of the Services of Acting Serjeant Major John Hardy, late of the 1st Battalion 60th (The King’s Royal Rifles), and formerly of the 7th Fusiliers’, dated 9 Court, M’Kee Street, Liverpool, 20th March, 1865, and printed by D. Marples of Liverpool. Here follows Hardy’s own account of his service:


‘Joined the 2nd Battalion 7th Fusiliers at Bexhill Barracks, 18th April, 1803 [sic] (I was then between 16 and 17 years of age), under the command of Colonel Sir William Myers; was sent to join the service companies of the 1st Battalion, then under orders for Copenhagen, under the command of Sir Edward Packenham, 1807.


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