Shoulder belt plate, officer, 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment, 1810 (c)

Oval, brass and white metal shoulder belt plate, with the regimental number, '59', in the centre, within a laurel wreath device, surmounted by a crown.

Raised in 1755, this infantry regiment served with the Army until the 1881 Childers Reforms, when it was amalgamated with the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment to form the East Lancashire Regiment. In 1806, 1st Battalion took part in the recapture of the Cape of Good Hope. The following year, it moved to India for four years. It then helped capture the Isle of France (Mauritius) in 1810, before taking part in the invasion of the Franco-Dutch-held island of Java in 1811. In 1808, 2nd Battalion joined the Peninsular War (1807-14), serving at Corunna (1809) before being evacuated to Britain. The following year, it took part in the abortive Walcheren Expedition to Holland. It returned to the Peninsula in 1812, fighting at Vitoria, San Sebastian, Bidassoa, Nivelle and the Nive in 1813.