IT is 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo was fought in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington combined with a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher. After his defeat he was exiled to St. Helena, or was that a misprint for St Helens.

Wellington travelled on the opening day of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830, and would have enjoyed the views from Rainhill to Newton.

However, the Rainhill Civic Society Heritage Group have provided a another Rainhill connection.

A spokesperson for the society said: “Historians tell us that Wellington’s victory against Napoleon was made possible because of the timely arrival of the Prussian troops led by Field Marshall Gebhard von Blucher.

"After the battle Marshall Blucher was rewarded with a title and estates in Silesia as well as a palace in Berlin.

"He became Prince Blucher von Wahlstatt. Marshall Blucher’s great, great grandson, who shares his name, is buried in St Bartholomew’s churchyard, Rainhill."

But how did this Rainhill links with the Battle of Waterloo comes to pass?

Well, in 1907, Evelyn Stapleton-Bretherton, daughter of Frederick and Isabella Stapleton-Bretherton of Rainhill Hall, met Gebhard Blucher.

They were married in August that year at a ceremony in Westminster Cathedral. They made their home in London and socialised with the crowned heads of Europe.

On one of these occasions, the Kaiser invited Evelyn to travel to Germany to launch his new battleship which was to be called ‘Blucher’ in honour of her husband’s ancestor. Evelyn recorded the event in her memoirs and described her mixed feelings when, later during the First World War, the ship was sunk by the British navy.

The society added: “Sadly for Evelyn and her husband, the ‘Great War’ put an end to their glittering life in England and from 1914 to 1918 they were interred in Berlin, separated from Evelyn’s parents and ten brothers and sisters.

"In 1916 when his father died, Gebhard inherited the family estates in Silesia (later Poland) and the title Prince Blucher. Evelyn became a Prussian princess. After the war, some of Gebhard’s property was confiscated by the German government and Prince and Princess Blucher returned to live quietly in England.

Gebhard died in 1931 and Evelyn arranged for his burial in St Bartholomew’s churchyard, Rainhill.

“Sadly the Stapleton-Bretherton family was devastated by the war and in 1920 their estates in Rainhill were sold by auction. Rainhill Hall was sold to the Jesuits and became Loyola Hall - a retreat house.

"Evelyn continued to live in England until her death in 1960. She is buried with her husband in the churchyard at St Bartholomew’s.”