Charles Wale was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 General and the last British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 governor of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

 between about 1812 and 1815 He became Colonel of the 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's) Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1831 and was given the governorship in recognition of his capture Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

 from the French. He was later knighted for his service.

Early life and family

His father was Thomas Wale

Thomas Wale

Thomas Wale was a Cambridgeshire gentleman born at Risby, Suffolk on the 7 September 1701 and died in 1796. He is notable for having left a significant quantity of documents collated throughout his life which constituted the book My Grandfather's Pocket Book. His documents provide a unique insight...

 and his mother Louisa Rudolphina Prediger Raften (who came from Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

). Charles's older sister Mary married a Thomas Pemberton of Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

. Wale attended Wisbech Grammar School

Wisbech Grammar School

Wisbech Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire for students ages 11 to 18. Founded by the Wisbech Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379, it is one of the oldest schools in the country. The present headmaster is N.J.G. Hammond, a member of the Headmasters' and...

 and later studied in London.

He began his military career in 1779 with the 88th Foot under Colonel Keating. He initially served in Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 and in 1780 became a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the 97th. With his new regiment he sailed to Gibraltar with Vice-Admiral George Darby

George Darby

Vice Admiral George Darby was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby III Esq. , of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland.-Early career:Darby joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer...

's fleet in 1781 and participated in the latter part of the defence of Gibraltar during the Great Siege of Gibraltar

Great Siege of Gibraltar

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...

. He later went onto serve in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

 and the Cambridgeshire Militia

Cambridgeshire Militia

The Cambridgeshire Militia was a militia regiment in the United Kingdom from 1759 to 1881, when it was amalgamated into The Suffolk Regiment.The regiment was organised in 1759. It was embodied in 1778, at which time it was ranked the 31st regiment of militia, and remained active for five years...

. In 1799 he participated in the expedition to The Helder

Hélder

Hélder is a given name in Portuguese.In particular, footballers named Hélder include:*Hélder Cristóvão, often just called Hélder*Hélder Postiga...

. He also served again in Jamaica and in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

.

Marriage and children

Charles married Louisa Sherard in 1793. She died in 1896. They had six children. Charles married a total of three times. He had twelve children including author the Reverend Henry John Wale

Henry John Wale

Henry John Wale was an English author, soldier and church minister. He came from Little Shelford near Cambridge and was the son of General Sir Charles Wale. He served in the Crimea....

 M.A. and Frederick Wale (1822–1858) who was present at the relief of Lucknow

Lucknow

Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....

 and command of the 1st Sikh irregular cavalry ('Wale's horse').

Monuments

The following summary of the life of Charles Wale comes from the Charles Wale Memorial in All Saints parish church, Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire:

"Sacred to the memory of General Sir Charles Wale KCB Colonel of HM 33rd Regiment of Foot Born 16 August 1765 Died 20 March 1845
Aged 81 Years He was the youngest son of Thomas Wale of this parish. He entered the army in 1779 and served at the siege and bombardment of Gibraltar by the French and Spaniards in 1801-1802-1803 and subsequently in Holland, Ireland & India. In February 1810 at the head of his brigade the Royal York Rangers he decided the capture of the island of Guadeloupe from the French by carrying in person the almost inaccessible heights of Matauba for which service in which he was severely wounded he received a medal and was made governor of Martinique till the peace 1814 when for his services during the war he was made Knight Commander of the Bath. True to the device and motto of his ancestors he displayed in bold relief the courage and energy of a Christian whose only shield and hope is salvation by the cross. Sr Charles Wale was thrice married. Firstly — to Louisa daughter of Revd Castel Sherard by whom he had issue five children Thomas Sherard who died unmarried at Surinam 1821 Charles and Philip Newton and Louisa who died in infancy
and Alexader Malcolm Vicar of Sunninghil Berks (who in 1835 married Caroline Ardrighetti and had issue four daughters), The said Louisa died at Shelford 1806. Secondly — in 1808 to Isabella daughter of Revd Geo. Johnson BD Prebendary of Lincoln and had issue Isabella Martha married in 1834 to Sherlock Willis Esq The above named Isabella Wale died at Barbados 1810, Thirdly — in 1815 to Henrietta daughter & coheiress of Revd Tho: Brent by whom he had issue six sons Cha. Brent born 1817 Rob. Gregory 1820 George Henry & Frederick twins born Geneva 1822 Arthur 1825 and Henry John 1827 and four daughters.

A family record

The Wale Family may hold a record for the longevity over three generations, as described below in the journal Notes and Queries:

A LINK WITH THE PAST.—Mrs. Richard Dill of Hove celebrated her 100th birthday on 27 December 1923. She is the daughter of General Sir Charles Wale, K.C.B., who was born in 1762, and died in 1845, at the age of 83; her grandfather Mr. Thomas Wale was born in 1701 and died in 1796 at age of 95. These three lives therefore compass a period of-222 years. Has any family a record exceeding this ? That anyone living in 1923 should be able to say that her grandfather was born in the reign of William' III seems a sufficiently remarkable fact to appear in the records of "N & Q". Further particulars of Mrs. Dill's family were published in The Sussex Daily News for 24 December. GERALD LODER.

Other sources

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