Colonel Frederick Augustus Weatherley & Rupert Weatherley.

Colonel Weatherley Of Weatherley Horse took part in the Battle of Zlobani Mountain. He had with him his 15 year old son. Doe 's anyone have any information on his son. Did he survive or died.

Hi Impi.
It's Weatherley , and he Lt- Col F.A. died with his son R. Weatherley when attempting to try and save him , by memory
the son , R. Weatherley was only 15 yrs old .
cheers 90th.

i beleive that he also had an elder son who served with wolseley in the sekhkumi war

The point where Wetherley and His son was killed
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My photo taken in March, 2011

Just before the lower plateau dissapears from view, there is a small path down and a narrow gorge, with a trickling waterfall.

Hi All

Came across this article on the internet. It had a big section on Weatherley.
It is 28 pages long and in a PDF format.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks 1879graves. I shall print and read to-night. If his son was only 15 Years Old. Would that make him the youngest killed in the Zulu War.

Hi All,
Weatherley did in fact have two sons with him in the Border Horse, the youngest, Rupert appears, though not confirmed by a located birth date, to have been born circa 1865, so may actually been only 14! and was killed along side his father at Hlobane. He is listed on the Medal Roll as receiving the Medal 1879 with clasp, rank quoted as Sub-Lieutentant. The other son was Lieutenant Cecil Poulet Mountjoy Weatherley, born 8 March 1860 in England and one of only seven members of the Corps to survive Hlobane. After the war he later served with the British Army. His major claim to fame was that he was the first European to circumnavigate Lake Bangweulu in 1896. He died 27 July 1932 and is buried at Bournemouth East Cemetery, Dorset. He also was awarded the Medal 1879 with clasp.

Regards

Phill

Hi Phill

Many thanks for the information. I do have this little bit of info -
He died 27 July1932 and was rewarded by nearly 20 column inches of obituary in the Times, do you have a copy or access to a copy of his obituary?
or does any other forum member?

Hi 1879graves,
An interest fact which I will look into, unfortunately when I research the Times back dated obituaries I use Manchester Central Library which is being refurbished at the moment so unless there is something on the Web it might take some time.

Regards

Phill

Hi Phill and All

I have managed to get hold of Weatherley obituary from the Times.
Unfortunately it is too large to post on the forum and in a PDF format.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Below is a taster of the obituary.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi 1879graves,
Excellant find, will try to locate it in full myself. As an aside I did locate a reference in the London Gazette of 9 December 1914 which states the transfer with the position of temporary Captain of |Lieutenant C.P.M. Weatherley, late South Staffordshire Regiment to the Terrioral force of the Royal Bucks Hussars. This confirms his later connection with the British Army, along with his listing in the WO papers WO 32/8910.

Regards

Phill

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Frederick Augustus Weatherley had trained at the Dresden Military School for 4 years and held a commission in an Austrian Hussar regiment. When the Crimean War started he applied for a commission in the 4th Light Dragoons and went out to the war with the regiment. He also saw action in the Indian Mutiny with the 6th Dragoon Guards, fighting in more that a dozen battles. While in India he met his wife Maria, described by one officer as 'a flashy little woman who accompanied her husband on campaign, rode well, carried a revolver, and used her whip on the natives'. Weatherley, however, was described as a charming man who was fluent in French, German and Italian.
In 1868 he inherited great wealth, so he sold his commission and lived in Brighton where he commanded the 1st Sussex Volunteer Artillery. After 9 years he moved to South Africa with his wife, 2 sons and a daughter. In Pretoria, Weatherley was the unwitting dupe of a rogue calling himself Gunn of Gunn (an old Scottish title) who attempted to remove Sir Theophilus Shepstone from office and put Weatherley in his place, using a forged petition. Gunn also had an affair with Mrs Weatherley which resulted in a scandalous divorce.

At this time the invasion of Zululand was being prepared and Lt-Col Weatherley used his money to raise a troop of cavalry which came to be called the Border Horse. The troop numbered 138 men, including 8 officers, one of whom was the younger of his two sons, 14 year-old Rupert. They had no uniform as such so looked very much like a Boer commando. They joined Colonel Rowlands' column which trekked south to Utrecht, attacking native villages and capturing cattle. At Utrecht, Rowland's Column was disbanded and some of the Border Horse returned to Pretoria. Weatherley and the remaining 70 men, with the other mounted units, joined Evelyn Wood's column. They were then ordered to attack the abaQwalusi on Hlobane Mountain. This disastrous battle caused the deaths of many men, including most of the Border Horse. Whilst on top of the plateau, Weatherley and his men tried to escape pursuing tribesmen but were cut off by the main impi of 23,000 Zulus.

The Border Horse and Frontier Light Horse were riding together at this stage, caught between the abaQwalusi and the Zulu impi. There was nothing for it but to turn and ride through their pursuers. Weatherley had his 14 year-old son up on his horse, behind him. The ride through the abaQwalusi was a forlorn hope and they were stabbed repeatedly until they died, and their bodies were thrown into the valley below. The only survivors of the Border Horse were Captain Dennison and 5 others. One man, trooper Grandier, was captured but later escaped.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The Death of Weatherley
This poignant print of Colonel Weatherley desperately trying to save his son from the abaQwalusi tribesmen at Hlobane was published in the Graphic in 1879. They both died from multiple stab wounds.

Might not be a bad idea to edit the spelling of the name in the title in case anyone should be searching for info on Weatherley.

tasker224 wrote:

Might not be a bad idea to edit the spelling of the name in the title in case anyone should be searching for info on Weatherley.

Done!