John George Woodford
Sir John George Woodford , KCB , KCH (born February 28, 1785 in Chatam , † March 22, 1879 in Derwent Bay , Keswick , Cumbria ) was a British officer and as such a participant in the Battle of Waterloo . He is considered the first battlefield archaeologist .
Life
John George Woodford was born the youngest son of Colonel John Woodford and his second wife Susan Fane, Countess of Westmorland. His older brother was the future Field Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford , GCB , KCMG (born June 15, 1782 in London ; † August 26, 1870, ibid.). He also had three half-sisters: Susan Drummond, Elizabeth Lowther, and Lady Mary Fludyer.
Woodford took on as Lt.-Col. the 1st Foot Guards took part in the Battle of Waterloo, where he acted as extra- aide-de-camp of the Duke of Wellington . After the end of the campaign, he remained stationed in northern France as the commander of the British occupation army until around 1818.
Investigation of the Azincourt battlefield
During this time he and a group of about 60 other people visited the north-west French village of Azincourt , where on October 25, 1415 the legendary Battle of Azincourt between the troops of Henry V on English and those of Charles VI. had taken place on the French side. Woodford searched for the battlefield and for evidence of what had happened. He carried out excavations and found, in addition to mass graves , artifacts such as arrowheads, gold coins and rings, all of which he documented. He recorded his impressions and discoveries in a diary and in numerous letters to his brother Alexander. The diary and some artefacts were destroyed in the fire of the so-called “Pantechnicon” in London in 1876; only letters with drawings to his brother are still in the estate of the English politician and collector Roger Newdigate (1719–1806). Exactly where Woodford dug and where he found the mass graves is unknown today.
Woodford mapped what he believed to be the battlefield. This card is still preserved today. In addition, he arranged for the human remains found to be buried in the churchyard on one of the outer walls of the local church of Saint-Nicolas.
When he died at the age of 94, Woodford was the last British officer to take part in the Battle of Waterloo.
literature
- John Fisher Crosthwaite: Brief Memoir of Major-General Sir John George Woodford, KCB: A Paper Read to the Keswick Literary & Scientific Society, March 29th 1880. 1881.
Web links
- Charlotte Argue: An insight into Battlefield Archeology - an interview with Tim Sutherland. In: The Post Hole, No. 34, January 2014 at theposthole.org
- Medieval Mysteries: The Vanishing Armies of Azincourt. Video (44 min. 28 sec.) At ZDFinfo
Individual evidence
- ^ Waterloorollcall
- ↑ The Illustrated London News 1879.
- ↑ Anglo-Allied Army ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on waterloo1815.de
- ^ William Townsend, Jackson Gun: The Harrow school register 1571-1800. Longmans, Green and Co. 1934, p. 147.
- ^ Warwickshire County Record Office: Correspondence and other papers of Sir Alexander George Woodford
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Woodford, John George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British officer and battlefield archaeologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 28, 1785 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chatam |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 22, 1879 |
| Place of death | Derwent Bay , Keswick (Cumbria) , Cumbria |