Short tailed coatee, Lieutenant Colonel William Cludde, Shropshire Yeomanry, 1810 (c)

Scarlet wool with brown silk velvet facings and gilt buttons.

As volunteer units were raised to meet the perceived threat from revolutionary France, the Cludde family were among the notable families involved in raising auxiliary forces in Shropshire.

On the death of his uncle Edward Cludde in 1785, William Cludde inherited the Orleton Estate. In 1795, while Mayor of Shrewsbury, he raised and took command of a voluntary corps, 'The Wrekin Co. of Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry'. By 1798 there were two troops of the 'The First Corps of the Shropshire Gentlemen and Yeomanry'. Further expansion in 1814 resulted in Cludde becoming Lieutenant Colonel of the South Shropshire Yeomanry. He resigned in 1827 and died the following year.

An oil painting by an unknown artist in the collection of the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum shows Colonel William Cludde in the uniform of the Shropshire Yeomanry, standing next to his horse, holding a Tarleton helmet, 1795 (c).