ladycashasatiger:Major-General Sir Henry Wyndham, William Salter, 1834-1840, NPGHenry Wyndham (1790-
ladycashasatiger:Major-General Sir Henry Wyndham, William Salter, 1834-1840, NPGHenry Wyndham (1790-1860) was the second son of the 3rd Earl of Egremont. A captain of the Guards at Waterloo, he was among the ‘Heroic Five’ involved in closing the gates of Hougoumont. According to his niece, that event haunted him to such an extent that he never closed a door for the rest of his life and would often sit in draughty rooms. Two years previously, on the victorious battlefield of Vittoria, Henry had made a remarkable discovery upon opening the deserted coach of King Joseph: over 200 paintings from the Spanish Royal Collection, including Old Masters, cut from their frames. 165 of these would later form the ‘Spanish Gift’ that is the highlight of the Wellington Collection at Apsley House. Perhaps to commemorate this, Henry’s father commissioned a painting of the Battle of Vittoria by George Jones which now hangs in the family seat of Petworth House. -- source link