Can this really be his signature?{COMPLETED}

[polidor]

Is the Will not a copy (produced by a clerk) rather than the actual document that he would have signed?
The initial after his name probably refer to a military regiment. etc.

Am adding another 'scan' showing the words " Horse Guards" in bottom left hand corner --perhaps the initials after his signature refer to that??

I might just post in the Forces section and ask if it was normal for an officer to sign on behalf of another soldier--what do you think? 

It's just something that's been bugging me as i know from his will and other info i have that the John C in both the will and army papers are one and the same man but being of a 'slightly' pedantic nature [ i do like to tidy my ancestors up !! poli

[johnxyz]

Given the known 11 Light Dragoons, I would read the characters after "sergeant" as 11 LD, with the D  cropped when the image was taken. 

[johnxyz]

I've just re-read the whole thread. The first place I'd look for a signature is the parish records for a marriage, assuming you know where it is. That should give you a signature or a mark.

[polidor]

I've just re-read the whole thread. The first place I'd look for a signature is the parish records for a marriage, assuming you know where it is. That should give you a signature or a mark.

My brain always 'clicks in' after someone else suggest it 

This is a copy of the marriage i received from Norfolk just a week ago and it DOES seem he signed only with an  'X' so it would appear that neither of the signatures were written by him but then--perhaps he learnt to write later on

[newburychap]

It seems he may have learnt to write while in the army and perhaps was taught to spell his name by someone who didn't know the correct spelling.  After leaving the army he could have learnt how to spell it properly.  This would explain the signature on the discharge papers and the baptismal entry for his daughter - Copperwhite was his mistake.

[polidor]

Thank you to all who responded to this post of mine regarding John's signature.

I guess there are several possible answers really and i'll just have to accept that it is one of those 'if-what-why-could it be' endings.
I love all my Copperwheats really , truly i do,  but some of them like this john, my 3rd Gt Grandfather, do cause me a few headaches.  poli

[bill_eastoe]

Another possible suggestion, even if he was literate, is bureaucracy. If he was owed money on discharge then if the paperwork said his surname was Copperwhite, officialdom being what it is, they couldn't possibly pay someone named Copperwheat.

Mind you, if he owed them money I'm sure they could make the necessary correction.