THE SMALL BED OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON

As you may know, I live in the historical town Waterloo, where the Duke of Wellington an Anglo-Irish military commander and British politician signed the defeat of Napoleon and ended the battle of Waterloo in this house, which today is the Wellington museum.

The oldest inhabitants of Waterloo, when they were young boys, remember the times when the house was just open  and not yet a museum and they played inside and faked to sleep in Wellingtons bed !

Today it is protected behind the red cord and of course you have to pay an entrance fee. 



The bed seemed very small to me and I thought the boys who "slept" in there must have been not taller then a 10 year old or measure 1.50 m certainly not more.. Everybody looking at this bed laughed and said that such an important man was so small, but it is also true that people were smaller in the past and that's why the bed looks as if it was for a child.

Therefore I was quite surprised when I read that in fact, "Wellington was of “middle height, being about 1.79 m  (5.9 ft), but his shoulders were broad, his arms long, and his whole frame firmly knit, and capable of fatigue in an extraordinary degree"

I think the size is not so small for this time, Napoleon was 10 cm smaller only 1.69 m. (5.5ft)



His cape is also exposed



a bust of him



and a wax figure when he signed. Of course there are many other things to see.

It's still a mistery to me how Wellington could sleep in this small bed ? Did he sleep sitting as many people did because of the wiggs, but he never wore one, or did he fold himself and slept on one side ? Nobody not even Google could give me the answer. But he must have slept well in his small bed because he was 83 when he died !

If you are an Iron Duke enthusiast, you can drink in 53 pubs called the Duke of Wellington, as well as 37 that go by an unadorned "Wellington". And that’s just in England. The Duke of Wellington is the oldest licenced pub in Melbourne, and now serves a variety of gastropub food. And then of course there are the countless pubs called simply The Duke. Just don't feel the need to get a pint in each one !!


Linking to Linda Hills One Liner Wednesday

OUR WORLD - Wellington museum & Waterloo church

Click on logo to join other participants

I am very happy to announce that I was asked by Sylvia and Sandy who were so kind to decide to continue in the same spirit as "My World" to be member of the new Our World Tuesday team.

I created the new logo, I just wanted this meme to be continued, because it is so interesting to see our different worlds as we are such an international group and there are many things we don't know of each other and we can't find in books.

Since 36 years I now live in Waterloo "on" the famous Battle field, where Napoleon lost the war against Wellington in 1815. It had been a very bloody battle where Wellington lost around 15,000 dead or wounded, and Blücher some 7,000 and Napoleon around 25,000 dead or wounded.

Most of the wounded soldiers died not on the battle field but afterwards of gangrene as there was no medication for a treatment.



Front

The wounded soldiers where brought into the Waterloo Church which served as military hospital.


back



and beginning 20th century. The outside hasn't changed very much


Inside

I have been in this church many times for funerals and weddings but I had never noticed that there were so many English commemorative plaques hanging on the walls. I noticed them for the first time when I showed the church to my friend Sandra (Claudie) when she spent a week with me !











here are a few

Across the street is the Wellington Museum which had been his headquarter.





The garden is probably still the same, except the cat of course.



As all people at that time Wellington was quiet small. Today a 10 year old child could sleep in this bed for an adult it's to small.





His room and his coat. Unfortunately it was not allowed to take pictures, but we didn't know, so Claudie managed to take these 3 and I could at least make a picture of Wellington



sitting at his desk and writing military instructions



and also of his bust.

Although Wellington won the battle, when you come to Waterloo you will see much more things of Napoleon. Especially at the Waterloo lion. Everything from cups, plates, cuttlery statues to T-Shirts etc is with a Napoleon, therefore lots of tourist who don't know the history of the place think that Napoleon won the battle.

STEALING IN A MUSEUM ?

Today amongst other things I showed Claudie and her daughter the Wellington Museum in Waterloo. With the entrance ticket she also got a blue guide phone which gave her all explanations of the exposed things in the language of her choice.



Wellington and Claudie

Apparently she was so impressed by Wellington, that when we were already on the street she still had her and her daughter's guide phone in her hands. I asked her if she wanted to take it home as souvenir because she hadn't realized that she still had them. She returned to the Museum's reception and gave them back while her daughter and I laughed our heads off.