Military General Service Medal with clasp 'Guadaloupe'

We don't know anything about William's family or his early life.

He served in the 96th Regiment of Foot during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and had reached the rank of Corporal by 1809.

The 96th Regiment was stationed in the West Indies from 1806 onwards. Some members of the Regiment took part in the capture of the French island of Guadeloupe between the 28th January and the 6th February 1810; William was one of them. He was a member of Captain Adam's Company at the time.

The rest of William's life is a mystery. We do know that he was still alive in 1847 because this was the year that the Military General Service Medal began to be issued. It was only awarded to former soldiers who applied for it themselves.