Frenchman’s Watch

A Breguet watch was a gift worth having. Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), although Swiss by birth, had been apprenticed to a master watchmaker at Versailles. When he had completed his apprenticeship, he set up business in Paris. He soon became recognized as the greatest watchmaker of the day, and was patronised by leading public figures, including Napoleon.

The Battle of Salamanca, when famously (and somewhat inaccurately) Wellington’s army ‘defeated 40,000 men in 40 minutes”, was a turning point in the Peninsular War. The 5th Division, to which the 2/30th belonged, played a leading part in this victory. They sustained a long, steady advance on the French in support of the 3rd Division and General le Marchant’s heavy cavalry. Two French infantry squares were overwhelmed by the 5th Division’s attack, and this may have been the point when Sergeant Ward succoured a wounded Frenchman. Alternatively, he may have come across the wounded man at the end of the battle, as the French were in retreat.

John Ward was 22 years old and a labourer from Dunton, Buckinghamshire when he joined the 30th Foot in October 1803 from the Army of Reserve. This hastily raised force was a stopgap measure to increase the size of the army after the collapse of the Peace of Amiens. Ward served with the 2nd battalion where his advancement was rapid. Within a year he had been made corporal, and a year later he was promoted to sergeant. He then became one of the original colour sergeants of the battalion in 1813. He missed Waterloo because he spent 1815 as an assistant provost marshal, which was a further acknowledgement of his fine qualities. When the 2nd battalion was disbanded in 1817, he was transferred to the 1st battalion in India. Four years later he was serving as quartermaster sergeant and in 1824 he was commissioned as quartermaster. He finally retired in 1847 after 44 years with the regiment.

There is a final sting in the tail. The watch later proved to be a fake, perhaps a compliment to Breguet, that his timepieces were so desirable and carried such kudos that they were worth faking.