A NAPOLEONIC era silk flag for a British battalion of veterans will be sold by a Lichfield auctioneer.
The Georgian hand-embroidered banner for the 2nd Royal Veteran Battalion, circa 1804 to 1816, goes under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers on 24th August.
Guided at £1,000 to £2,000, the delicate 185cm x 177cm banner was uncovered following a house clearance.
The 2nd Battalion was a British Army unit formed during the Napoleonic Wars made up of army pensioners and invalids handling garrison, depot and administrative duties, thus freeing active, able-bodied soldiers for frontline combat.
Cataloguer Nick Smith said:
"First raised around 1802 at Plymouth as a Royal garrison battalion and renamed a Royal Veteran Battalion in 1804, it disbanded and re-formed eight times in different parts of the country.
"The 2nd Battalion also served overseas – in Australia in 1806, Madeira from 1809 to 1814, and Heligoland – an archipelago in Germany – from 1812 to 1815.
"Many original veteran battalions were disbanded around 1814 but some units – including the 2nd – were re-raised for brief service during the 1815 Waterloo campaign and the 2nd was finally disbanded in 1816."
The catalogue can be viewed online one week before the auction at www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auctions/auction-calendar.
