Why ‘Waterloo in 200 Objects’?
January 27, 2015 - Alwyn Collinson in News & Blog Posts
Welcome to the Waterloo 200 blog! This article will be the first of many this year, featuring all the latest news from the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. We'll also be featuring new items every week in our series, Waterloo in 200 Objects. But why did we choose to use these 200 Objects?
Waterloo must be one of the most commemorated events in British history. We hear the word a lot – in street names, slang, and song lyrics. From Waterloo Station to the many Duke of Wellington pub signs, echoes of the famous Battle are all around us. But few of us think about the history that lies behind the word. Waterloo was a colossal battle, finally ending over 20 years of destructive war across Europe. It changed the lives of many thousands of people, and was seen by those who lived through it as the defining event in their lives. It’s the stories of these people, soldiers and civilians, from Dukes to scavengers, that we want to tell.
We’ve selected 200 incredible items, each of which has a story to tell. It might be a story of personal heroism, like the French Eagle standard captured by the extraordinarily brave Sergeant Ewart. It might be inspiring, a story of artistic creation, like the Waterloo Chair. Or it might be a gory tale of corpse-robbers, like these gruesome Waterloo Teeth (you can see them grinning above). We’ll reveal new objects as we approach the anniversary of Waterloo on the 18th June, letting you discover the exciting ways that the Battle is being remembered as they happen.
Eagle standard of the 45th French Regiment. Copyright Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum.
Some are from private collections, and have never been seen by the public before. Without the Waterloo 200 project, I would never have seen the extraordinary Captain Holmes’ Vertebra. Others are in museums that you can visit during 2015, to appreciate these Objects in their full glory. We’ve got comprehensive listings of all the events and collections you can see across the country.
During 2015 and beyond, we’ll be bringing you more objects, articles and videos that take you beyond the street signs and pub names. You can learn what it was like to live through one of the greatest battles in history, and discover how Waterloo has shaped the world today.
