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The first major battle for the 11th Light Dragoons in the Peninsula was at El Bodon. Lieutenant Wood was captured by the French in a cherry orchard.
On 15th August 1811 a patrol of the 11th Light Dragoons under Lieutenant Frederick Wood was surprised and captured by the French. Tradition has it that the men were in a cherry orchard and were not paying full attention to their military duties. The nickname The Cherrypickers was, however, always proudly borne by the 11th Hussars in later years. The first major battle for the 11th was on 25th September, when, at El Bodon, they held the heights against repeated French attacks. Outnumbered, by some accounts by ten to one, the regiment charged over twenty times against the French attackers, suffering casualties of 10 killed and 21 wounded.
