William Hiseland

Who was William Hiseland?

William Hiseland, sometimes spelt William Hasland or Haseland, was a long-lived English and later British soldier and reputed supercentenarian. In 1709, at the age of eighty-nine, he fought at the Battle of Malplaquet and was believed to be the oldest soldier on the field. He lived to become the last survivor of the English Civil Wars, which he had served in from 1642 to 1651.

Hiseland attained the rank of sergeant. In extreme old age he became a Chelsea pensioner, although he had to give up his place as an in-pensioner when he married at the age of 103. He is buried at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.