John Hird, 1790 – 1873,
Private, 2nd Regiment of Lifeguards, Waterloo Medal, 18th June 1815
I am Leslie Leng and I have been researching the Leng family tree on and off for a number of years.
Retirement in 2012 allowed me to spend more time on the search and to begin to research our
extended family. My eldest son Richard was interested to know more about his maternal
grandparents, to be able to pass on the information to the next generation. His interest grew
considerably when his wife presented him with a beautiful boy in September 2014, Heston Lewis
Leng. I started with his maternal grandfather, Lewis Hird and I was able to follow the male line of the
family back to John Hird, born in Rotherham, Yorkshire in 1790.
John Hird is the great, four times grandfather of my children Richard, Michael & Caroline Leng, via
their mother, born Linda Hird, who was always told by her father Lewis Hird that there “was military
service in the Hird family”. I was inputting information to the tree when “Waterloo Medal” was
flagged up, I was intrigued. I looked at the source which was the Muster Roll for the 2nd Regiment of
Lifeguards at Waterloo 18th June 1815. The list included one Private John Hird but no other
information. I must admit I was not expecting this to be “our” John Hird and therefore did not save
the fact to my tree. I then continued inputting information from Census Records and surprise
surprise, John Hird was listed in 1851, 1861 and 1871 as a Chelsea Pensioner. I was beginning to get
excited, was this direct ancestor of my children engaged in battle on the field of Waterloo 18th June
1815? I knew that he lived to the wonderful age of 83 years and his residence was always recorded
as Chapeltown which was part of Rotherham then but is now Sheffield. I thought of looking at
Chapletown cemeteries, only 15 minutes away from my home but how many and where, check on
line. My first hit was on a “find a grave site” and there was a John Hird with a thumbnail photo. I
could not read the inscription. I looked up the churchyard location and found that the Church had
closed down due to structural problems, hopefully the cemetery was accessible. I arrived at the
churchyard and saw that the church had been converted into offices and that a section of the
graveyard was fenced off. I walked down to the end of the graveyard, nothing there. I walked back
and there it was, the headstone from the website. I walked very slowly towards the grave until I
could read the inscription, “He Served His King and Country on the Field of Waterloo”. That was a
wonderful big breath moment confirming the direct line to my children, it made all the hours
trawling though records, avoiding red herrings and hitting brick walls worthwhile. I took plenty of
photographs to make sure that I could type up the inscription later then I informed Richard who was
obviously excited. The next step was to search the Lifeguard service records and what joy, there he
was, his Discharge papers told the story.
“in consequence of having received five wounds at the battle of Waterloo, by one of which he has
lost the use of his left hand, is rendered unfit for further service, and is hereby Discharged;”.
John Hird was then, 27 years of age, 5ft 10 inches tall with brown hair, grey eyes, fair complexion
and by Trade a Grinder. I could never have expected this in my wildest dreams, maybe John Hird was
aiding and abetting?
Private John Hird, 2nd Regiment Lifeguards, I salute you and thank you for your courage and
selflessness on that fateful day at Waterloo 200 years ago. I plan to visit your resting place on June
18th 2015 with Richard Leng and your great, five times grandson Heston Lewis Leng.