A scarce British soldier’s relic from the Battle of Waterloo: a weighty pewter plate measuring 9.5 in. diameter and 1 in. thick, with leather strap (likely a replacement). Painted identification on edge of plate reads ‘JAMES SPRIGGS’ on one side, and ‘33 FOOT’ on the other, while hallmarks from manufacturer Thomas Townsend & Henry Compton are stamped on verso along with an ‘X’ device. Interestingly, the plate bears a small flip-up panel into which one could pour hot water into the plate to warm otherwise cold food! Spriggs was a seventeen-year-old laborer from Braintree, Essex who enlisted in Wellington’s 33rd Regiment of Foot May 4, 1813. He served for over three years before being discharged with a pension due to a gunshot wound to the left knee at Waterloo. Spriggs died in Sept. 1883 at the age of 89 and was one of the last survivors of the battle. The 33rd would serve in many British campaigns including Quatre Bras and Waterloo until its merge with the 76th in 1881. Very good condition.