Inside the bravery of the 11-year-old boy at the Battle of Trafalgar as his medal sells for £19,000 at auction
THE heroism of an 11-year-old boy at the Battle of Trafalgar has emerged as his medal was sold at auction.
William Pilch was on board the ship involved in some of the fiercest fighting during the 1805 victory over the French.
A family friend of Admiral Lord Nelson, he was allowed to volunteer for the Navy aged ten.
He served aboard HMS Bellerophon, a 74-gun ship affectionately known as the Billy Ruffian.
At Trafalgar, it was one of the first English vessels into action, cutting through the enemy lines.
It then collided with the French 74-gun Aigle, whose captain ordered his men to board the Bellerophon.
During the hand-to-hand fighting, 27 of the English crew were killed, including its captain, John Cooke.
William, one of the youngest participants in the battle, was unscathed as the Aigle sheered away and fled.
He was later promoted to lieutenant, having seen action on HMS Defiance at the Battle of Les Sables-d’Olonne in 1809, then fighting the French on HMS Valiant in 1812.
After leaving the Navy, he entered the coastguard service and died in Broadstairs, Kent, in 1864.
His Naval General Service medal, with a Trafalgar clasp, was sold by a private collector through London-based Spink & Son.
It went for £19,000, with buyer’s fees taking the final figure paid to £23,560.