NAM.2016-08-2-1

Captain William Siborne (1797-1849), 1830 (c). Miniature portrait in watercolour on ivory, after Samuel Lover (1797-1868), 1830 (c). William Siborne was commissioned into the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment in 1813. Promoted lieutenant in 1815, he was reduced to half pay from 1817 when the regiment was reduced to one battalion. In 1824 he transferred to the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment and was appointed Assistant Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, in 1826. In 1830 Captain Siborne obtained official approval for his suggestion that a model be constructed of the Battle of Waterloo. He took leave from the Army and undertook an eight-month survey of the battlefield. He then sent a circular letter to surviving British officers who had served at Waterloo. The model was completed in Ireland in 1838 and shipped to England in 39 sections. It was assembled for public display in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. Although the model attracted an estimated 100,000 visitors, paying one shilling each, receipts did not cover Siborne's costs. He was left seriously in debt. The model was presented to the National Army Museum in 1975.

Waterloo, Battle of, 1815 (Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo 1815)