| Collection | General Sir Frederick Augustus Wetherall |
| Admin History | Frederick Augustus Wetherall (1754-1842), the son of John Wetherall of Dublin, served as equerry and executor to Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn.
Wetherall had a distinguished military career. He entered the military as ensign of the 17th Regiment of the Foot in 1775, promoted to Lieutenant in 1776, and fought in the American War of Independence at the Siege of Boston, White Plains, Princeton, Brandywine and others. In 1781 he became Captain of a company of soldiers he had raised but in 1783 transferred to the 11th Regiment of the Foot stationed in Gibraltar. In 1790 he returned to North America and served as Aide-de-Camp and Comptroller of the Household of Prince Edward in Quebec and the West Indies, after the Prince had become Commander-in-Chief of North America (Wetherall resigned this position in 1800). In 1795 he became Lieutenant Colonel of Keppels Regiment in the West Indies during which he was captured by the French and held as a prisoner of war for nine months at Guadeloupe, after which he returned to Quebec as Adjutant General. He was promoted to Brevet Colonel of his own regiment in 1803 and in 1806 appointed Brigadier. He was subsequently posted to the Cape of Good Hope before transferring to Calcutta as Major General, but en route was captured again by the French as a prisoner of war, this time held in Mauritius for two months. For his part in the Conquest of Java in 1811 he was thanked by Parliament and awarded the Gold Medal, after which he returned to India.
In 1814 he became Lieutenant General and returned to Britain in 1815 and 1817 he married Elizabeth Ann Broad (1778-1846), widow of Major Richard Broad and daughter of William Mair. He had previously been wed to Elizabeth Mytton in 1781, but she had died in 1810 and the union produced one son, George.
Wetherall served as the last Governor of Blackness Castle from 1830 to 1837, after which he was promoted to Colonel of the 62nd Regiment of the Foot, and in 1840 Colonel of the 17th Regiment of the Foot. He was also awarded the Royal Guelphic Order in 1833.
Frederick Augustus Wetherall died at his home, Castlebar [Castle Bear] House, Ealing, on 18 December 1842. |
| Custodial History | Gifted to the Royal Archives at an unknown date. |