Sunday 13 October 2024

Sergeant William Lawrence

 
There's this amazing gravestone in the graveyard of St Nicholas' Church, Studland. The grave of Sergeant William Lawrence of the 40th Regiment of foot. Born in Briantspuddle 1791. William had one hell of a life. A child of 14 when he first saw war on the other side of the world, he served with honour in some brutal battles, and to be a member of the Forlon Hope, well, that's some heroic shit right there. When he returned to Studand after the Napoleonic War with his French wife they became the landlords of the Wellington Inn which stood just up the hill on the other side of the road from, and was later replaced by, the Bankes' Arms. Hell of a life.

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