Private Joseph Chatwin was born in 1788 in Nottingham. He was 5 foot 5inches tall and had blue eyes, a fair complexion, fair hair and was a labourer by trade. On the 4th April 1809 at the age of 21 years, he volunteered into the 45th Nottinghamshire Regiment of Foot for limited service from the Nottinghamshire Militia. On the 27th August 1809, he served with the 45th in the Peninsula War of 1809-1814. He was present at the siege and capture of Badajoz on the 6th April 1812 and was taken to hospital after being wounded in the mouth and jaw. In October 1815, he was transferred to the 1st Royal Veteran Battalion and discharged and granted a pension at Chelsea on the 2nd July 1816.