July 8, 1977

REDDITCH'S Bordesley Meadows were the scene of a major event in European history recently - the routing of the French forces following the Battle of Waterloo.

Capturing the effects of a fight to the death were 40 members of the Sabre Society.

The skirmish showed the kind of fighting which occurred after the battle as French troops were hounded to Paris.

The real Battle of Waterloo in 1815 involved more than 300,000 British, French, Prussian and Dutch troops.

On the meadows, factory workers, architects, bus drivers and bank managers all lined up in the authentic uniforms of the crack First Foot Guards and 42nd (Black Watch), the 60th Rifles and the feared French 100th Line Regiment.

Making things go with a bang during the hour-long show - staged for TV - was a 170-year-old Howitzer field cannon.

The re-enactment of the original skirmish 'somewhere near Paris' included the robbing of dead and dying bodies which often took place at the time.