More than 200 years after the Battle of Waterloo ended Napoleon Bonaparte's ambitions and brought the Napoleonic Wars to a close, a handful of remarkable artefacts continue to tell the human stories behind the famous victory. Among the most fascinating items in the Household Cavalry Museum are the skull cast of Corporal of Horse John Shaw, the prosthetic leg of the Marquess of Anglesey, and the captured Imperial Eagle of the French 105th Regiment.

John Shaw: Waterloo's Fighting Hero

The plaster cast of John Shaw's skull is one of the museum's most unusual objects. Born in Nottinghamshire in 1789, Shaw grew into a towering cavalryman of the 2nd Life Guards and became one of Britain's most celebrated prize fighters. His boxing career was repeatedly interrupted by war, first in Spain and later when Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815.

At Waterloo, Shaw took part in the famous charge of the Household Brigade against French cavalry and infantry. Renowned for his strength and courage, he reportedly cut down numerous French cuirassiers before becoming isolated during a French counterattack. Even after his sword broke, he continued fighting until he was overwhelmed and killed.

“Old Shaw, the Life Guardsman, why, he’s the model of the British Army itself. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d give a fifty pun’ note to be such a figure of a man.” - Inspector Bucket speaking of Corporal John Shaw of the 2nd Life Guards in Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Shaw quickly became a national hero. His remains were later returned to England, and casts of his skull were produced as mementoes of one of Waterloo's most famous soldiers. Today, his story remains a powerful symbol of bravery and sacrifice.

‘Shaw, the Life Guardsman, and a French cuirassier’, painted by Sir John Everett Millais. Millais was reportedly inspired to paint this scene at Waterloo by the author Sir Walter Scott, who had idolised Shaw ever since meeting him through their mutual acquaintance Benjamin Haydon during Shaw’s art modelling days. (Household Cavalry Museum Reserve Collection)

The Leg That Made Medical History

One of the best-known Waterloo artefacts is the prosthetic leg of Henry Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, later the Marquess of Anglesey. During the closing stages of the battle, a French cannonball shattered his right leg while he was riding beside the Duke of Wellington.

The injury led to one of history's most famous exchanges:

"By God, sir, I've lost my leg!"

"By God, sir, so you have."

Uxbridge survived a painful amputation without anaesthetic and later became one of Britain's most distinguished military figures. His severed leg was buried near Waterloo, where it became an unlikely tourist attraction for decades.

Determined to regain mobility, Anglesey commissioned an advanced prosthetic limb with articulated joints. Known as the "Anglesey Leg," it became one of the most influential prosthetic designs of the nineteenth century and remained a model for military prosthetics for generations.

The Eagle of the 105th

The third Waterloo relic tells a story not of loss but of triumph. Displayed in the Household Cavalry Museum is a magnificent gilded eagle that once crowned the standard of the French 105th Regiment of the Line. Captured during the battle and brought back to Britain as a trophy, it remains one of the most significant battlefield prizes won by the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.

To understand its importance, one must appreciate what the eagle represented. In 1804, shortly after becoming Emperor of France, Napoleon adopted the eagle as the symbol of his regime. Inspired by the aquila standards carried by Roman legions, these gilded eagles embodied honour, loyalty, and military pride. Every regiment entrusted with one was expected to defend it to the death. The loss of an eagle was considered a disgrace of the highest order. Following Napoleon’s first abdication in 1814, the restored Bourbon monarchy ordered existing eagles destroyed. When Napoleon returned to power during the Hundred Days, new eagles were hastily commissioned. The Eagle of the 105th belonged to this final generation. Though less refined than earlier examples, they carried immense symbolic value for the soldiers who marched beneath them.

Only two French Imperial Eagles were captured by British forces at Waterloo. One belonged to the 45th Regiment and is today displayed at Edinburgh Castle. The other was the Eagle of the 105th. Its capture occurred during the dramatic charge of the Union Brigade led by Major General Sir William Ponsonby. As British cavalry crashed into d’Erlon’s advancing corps, fierce hand-to-hand combat erupted across the battlefield.

Captain Alexander Clarke Kennedy of the 1st Royal Dragoons claimed to have personally killed the eagle bearer and seized the standard. Corporal Francis Styles later asserted that he deserved equal credit, having carried the eagle to safety after it fell from the dead French soldier’s grasp. The dispute over who deserved recognition continued long after the battle, but the essential fact remained: the eagle had been taken.

For the British Army, the capture represented more than a battlefield trophy. It was a symbolic victory over Napoleon’s military system itself. Just as Roman soldiers would have defended their aquilae with their lives, French troops regarded their eagles as sacred emblems of honour and identity.

The Eagle of the 105th remains preserved today not simply because it is beautiful, but because it represents one of the most dramatic moments of Waterloo. Its image lives on in the traditions of the Blues and Royals, where it appears both in the regimental cipher and on the distinctive badge worn on the left arm of the uniform.

Regimental cipher of the Blues and Royals, incorporating the Eagle of the 105th.

Today, the eagle stands as a lasting symbol of the victory that ended the Napoleonic Wars and remains one of the most important trophies captured on the battlefield.

Remembering Waterloo

The skull of John Shaw, the leg of the Marquess of Anglesey, and the Eagle of the 105th each represent a different aspect of Waterloo: sacrifice, survival, and victory. Together, they provide a fascinating glimpse into the human stories behind one of history's most famous battles and demonstrate why Waterloo continues to capture the imagination more than two centuries later.