Video: Battle of Waterloo veteran remembered at Shropshire church

The plaque, which has been placed in the graveyard at All Saints' Church, Claverley, bears an inscription in memory of Thomas Steventon, a First Royal Dragoons veteran who lived in Hopstone until his death, aged 75, in 1857.

Mr Steventon was a cavalryman who was born in Brewood, and served with the First Royal Dragoons for 20 years, fighting in the Peninsular Wars and the Battle of Waterloo.

Claverley Memories Local History Society had commissioned the plaque because the inscription on Mr Steventon's sandstone grave was becoming more difficult to read.

Due to the nature of the soft rock from which it is made, further cleaning of the grave would have risked erasing the inscription completely.

Sue Burns, chairman of the society, said that they had wanted to make sure that the memory of Mr Steventon was not lost.

She said: "We thought we would honour Thomas because the grave's sandstone is wearing away so we wanted to make sure people would remember because it can get forgotten."

Mr Steventon was a Private with the First Royal Dragoons, which under the leadership of Captain Alexander Kennedy Clark, captured one of two French Eagles during the battle of Waterloo.

He was awarded two medals for his service, including the Waterloo Medal, with three clasps to represent the battles he had fought in.

Mr Steventon's grave is one of 12 in Shropshire known to belong to Waterloo veterans.

An exhibition about Mr Steventon's life is also on display inside the church for the next two weeks.

The exhibition also includes information about the Battle of Waterloo, as well as William Croydon, a veteran who is buried in an unmarked grave at Worfield.

The service, which took place on Saturday, was attended by Paul Rigley of the Waterloo Veterans Association, and members of Claverley Memories Local History Society.

Local vicar, the Rev Garry Ward, also delivered a reading at the unveiling.