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George was born on 12 December 1827, the youngest son of Sir James Webster-Wedderburn and Right Hon. the Lady Frances Caroline Annesley, in Paris, France.
George was baptized in Brussels. His godparents were the Duchess of Richmond (wife of the 5th Duke) and the Marquis de Lally-Tollendal. On December 3, 1847 George became an ensign in the 53rd Foot. In January 1849 he transferred to the 24th Foot (a regiment later virtually annihilated at Isandhlwana), with whom he served in the Punjab Campaign of 1848-49, under Sir Hugh Gough, during the Second Sikh War. George was present at the Battle of |
Gujerat (medal & clasp) on February 21, 1849. There, Gough, with 24,000 men and 84 cannon, stormed Shir Singh's fortified camp of 50,000 Sikh soldiers. The Sikhs were pushed from their position, leaving 2,000 of their men killed or wounded. Gough reported 96 of his own men killed, and 682 wounded. The Sikhs surrendered on March 12, 1849, and the Punjab was annexed to British India.
He was promoted to lieutenant on December 21, 1849, and on October 7, 1851 he was transferred to the 76th Regiment of Foot, the "Immortals" (later the 2nd Battalion, West Riding Regiment). |
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Caroline was born on 18 November 1827, the daughter of William Dixon and Cecilia Pierina Gironci, at Corfu. Caroline Dixon (and not Caroline Teresa Dixon, as has been printed elsewhere) was baptized in Corfu by the garrison chaplain Rev. George Winnock. As a child she was given the nickname "Picciola" by her mother. It is a regional Italian nickname meaning "small change", or "small fry". In 1840, at a time when her father Capt. William Dixon was unsure of his future, Caroline was adopted by her uncle Fred | and aunt Maria in Worthing. Fred and Maria had no children, and, when the time came, Caroline would inherit from them as if she had been their own daughter. It was through Fred and Maria, good friends of Lord John Somerset, that Caroline got to meet Lord John's nephew George Webster-Wedderburn. In 1853 the Rev. Henry V. Wright, garrison chaplain at Corfu, married the young couple. |
| Frances Caroline Valentia | Born 27 Jan 1854 | Nova Scotia | Married Paul Frederick Straube | ||
| Lucy Blanche Isabel | Born 29 Sep 1855 | Nova Scotia | |||
| Maria Frederica Rosa | Born 12 May 1857 | Hants | |||
| Annie Edith | Born 27 Jul 1858 | Gibraltar Married Edw. Geoffrey Howard St George Wakefield | |||
| Georgina Henrietta Cecelia | Born abt 1860 | Kent | |||
| Alice Ellen Annesley | Born abt 1862 | India | |||
| Maude Gertrude Annesley | Born 11 Jan 1871 | Newcastle under Lyme | Married Henry Alexander Hadden, William Henry Rider, Major H. B. Brownlow | ||
| George Gordon Gerard Trophime de Lally-Tollendal Webster-Wedderburn | |
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b: 12 Dec 1827 Paris, France son of Sir James Webster-Wedderburn and Right Hon. the Lady Frances Caroline Annesley |
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| Caroline Dixon |
b: 18 Nov 1827 c: 23 Dec 1827 Holy Trinity, Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece daughter of William Dixon and Cecilia Pierina Gironci |
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3 Mar 1853 Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece George Gordon Gerard Trophime de Lally-Tollendal Webster-Wedderburn Caroline Dixon |
| Frances Caroline Valentia Webster-Wedderburn |
b: 27 Jan 1854 c: 19 Apr 1854 Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon Died 10 Sep 1932, in Fiji |
| Lucy Blanche Isabel Webster-Wedderburn |
b: 29 Sep 1855 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Canada daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon Died on 6 May 1896 |
| Maria Frederica Rosa Webster-Wedderburn |
b: 12 May 1857 Winchester, Hants daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon |
| Annie Edith Webster-Wedderburn |
b: 27 Jul 1858 Gibraltar Died 9 Jul 1943, in Storrington, Sussex daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon |
| Georgina Henrietta Cecelia Webster-Wedderburn |
b: abt 1860 c: 16 Jun 1860 St Nicholas, Rochester, Kent daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon Died Sep 1860, in India |
| Alice Ellen Annesley Webster-Wedderburn |
b: abt 1862 c: 16 Jun 1860 India daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon Died in India, 1863 |
| Maude Gertrude Annesley Webster-Wedderburn |
b: 11 Jan 1871 Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire daughter of George Gordon Gerard Wedderburn and Caroline Dixon Died on 6 Nov 1930 in Peckham, London |
| 1871 Census | RG10-2831 | 3 April 1871 | Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire | ||
| King Street | |||||
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George W. Wedderburn Caroline (Wife) Frances Lucy Maria Annie Maude Plus 3 Servants |
Age 43 Age 43 Age 17 Age 15 Age 13 Age 12 Age 3 Mo. |
Army Captain Scholar Scholar Scholar Scholar |
France Corfu Nova Scotia New Brunswick Winchester Gibralter Newcastle under Lyme |
Brit. Subject Brit. Subject Hants Staffordshire |
12 Dec 1827 18 Nov 1827 27 Jan 1854 29 Sep 1855 12 May 1857 27 Jul 1858 11 Jan 1871 |
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After his marriage in 1853 George was posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in British North America, and sent to command Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, with a detachment of 15 men and a non-com. This small force was destined to be the last garrison at Fort Anne. George and Caroline lived across the road from the Fort, at the Dunvegan House (later the Queen Hotel), the men being quartered in the Fort. Their eldest child, Frances, was born at Fort Anne.
There were so many desertions that only six privates and the non-com were there to march out when the detachment was ordered to leave, by boat, for St John's, then on to Fredericton, New Brunswick, where Caroline and young Frances had already gone. The night trip out was eventful. George stopped a water fight between the mate of the boat and the non-com in which a woman passenger and her child were soaked. He put the wet couple in his cabin, and slept on the main cabin table. Lucy, their next child, was born in Fredericton. By 1857 the family was back in England, at Winchester, where Maria was born, and in 1858 they were in Gibraltar, where Annie was born. On Feb. 2, 1858, George was promoted to captain in the 7th (Royal) Regiment of Fusiliers. |
He and the family were back in England in 1860, at Medway Terrace, Rochester, Kent, to help Caroline's brother Col. Henry Dixon administer the estate of their father, Capt. William.
In the early 1860s George was back in India with the 1st Battalion of his regiment. He was in the North West Frontier War of 1863, during the Umbeyla Campaign, serving with the Yusafzai Field Force, consisting of 9,000 men under Sir Neville Chamberlain. The expedition marched on October 20, 1863 against the Pathan tribal sect known as the Hindustani Fanatics. After some hard fighting in the mountains the Pathan stronghold at Malka was destroyed. George was present at the defense of the Sungahs, at the Umbeyla Pass, and at the storming of the Conical Hill and the destruction of the village of Lalloo, at the foot of the Bonair Pass, on December 15, 1863, which ended in the complete rout of the enemy and the submission of the hill tribes on December 17, 1863 (medal & clasp). George's Indian Service Medal, marked "Umbeyla", was issued in 1869. In 1864 George returned to England. From July 15, 1866 to December 31, 1867 he was Instructor of Musketry in the |
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depot battalion of the 7th Fusiliers at Omagh, in Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the home of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and a very important British Army barracks. On January 1, 1868, by now an acting major, he was appointed Staff Officer of Pensioners at Manchester. He bought a house, The Beeches, on the Liverpool Road, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, which is where his last daughter, Maude. was born. On July 5, 1872 George was |
officially promoted to Brevet Major.
By 1875 he was in ill health, and in May made application to sell out. He was visiting his friend, the Rev. Thursby in Northants when he died, before the paperwork had gone through. His will, drawn up on January 30, 1873, was proved in London on September 16, 1875, leaving everything to Caroline. |
| George Gordon Gerard Trophime de Lally-Tollendal Webster-Wedderburn | |
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Died on 20 Aug 1875, Age 47, at Abington Abbey, Northamptonshire 1875 3Q Northampton 3b 10 |
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Times, Thursday, Aug 26, 1875 Deaths
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STAFFORD 16 September Probate
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The formalities involved in selling his commission were completed in 1876, and the value of the commission was paid to his widow, Caroline, who then moved to West Hill, Sydenham, to be near her sisters and brother.
On Feb. 21, 1877 Caroline sold 3 Union Place, in Worthing, Fred and Maria's old house that had been left to her. Her sitting tenant, Mrs. Mary Roy, bought it for 2,900 pounds. Caroline then moved to 8 Park Avenue, Norwood, and then to Mathan Road, East Molesey. Late in 1891 she moved to 31 Coleherne Road, Earls Court, London, then in 1897 around the |
corner to 45 Penywern Road, where she died in 1899.
Throughout these moves, one after the other of her daughters had left home - Frances and Maria to become nurses, Lucy died, and Maude got married. Only Annie remained with her to the end. Caroline's will, drawn up on March 18, 1897 (while still at Coleherne Road) was proved in London on July 5, 1899. Everything went to her surviving daughters, and to her only grandchild - Betty Valentia Hadden. |
| 1881 Census RG11-626 | 4 April 1881 | Norwood, Lambeth, London | |||
| 8 Park Avenue Villas | |||||
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Caroline Webster Wedderburn (Widow) Lucy Webster Wedderburn Maria Webster Wedderburn Annie Webster Wedderburn Maude Webster Wedderburn Fanny Hellier (Boarder) Plus 1 Servant |
Age 46 Age 25 Age 23 Age 22 Age 10 Age 47 |
Annuitant Scholar Annuitant |
Corfu (Ionian Isl.) Nova Scotia Winchester Gibralter Newcastle under Lyme Rochester |
Greece Canada Hants Staffordshire Kent |
abt 1834 29 Sep 1855 12 May 1857 27 Jul 1858 11 Jan 1871 abt 1833 |
| 1881 Census | RG11-987 | 4 April 1881 | Ramsgate, Kent | ||
| 14 Wellington Crescent | |||||
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Amelia P. Armitage (Widow) Henry R. (Son) James R. (Son) Thomas R. (GSon) Frances C. V. Wedderburn |
Age 52 Age 24 Age 23 Age 9 Age 27 |
Gentleman of Private Means Gentleman of Private Means Scholar (Visitor) |
London Sydney Sydney Jersey Nova Scotia |
Australia Australia Chan. Islands Canada |
abt 1828 abt 1856 abt 1857 abt 1871 27 Jan 1854 |
| 1891 Census RG12-615 | 6 April 1891 | East Molesey, Surrey | |||
| Mathan Road | |||||
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Caroline W. Wedderburn (Widow) Lucy W. Wedderburn Annie W. Wedderburn Maude W. Wedderburn Plus 1 Servant |
Age 56 Age 35 Age 32 Age 20 |
Annuitant |
Corfu Fredericton Gibralter Newcastle under Lyme |
Iohian Isl. Nova Scotia Staffordshire |
abt 1834 29 Sep 1855 27 Jul 1858 11 Jan 1871 |
| Caroline (Dixon) Webster-Wedderburn | |
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Died 3 May 1899, Age 64, at 45 Penywern Road, Earls Court, London 1899 2Q Kensington 1a 123 |
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| WEBSTER-WEDDERBURNE - On the 3rd May, at 45 Penywern-road, S.W., Caroline, widow of the late George Webster-Wedderburne, 7th Royal Fusiliers, and daughter of the late Capt. William Dixon, R.A. |
| 1901 Census | RG13-37 | 1 April 1901 | Brompton, Kensington, London | ||
| 19 Philbeach Gardens | |||||
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Annie Webster Wedderburn May Dixon (Cousin) Plus 1 Servant |
Age 42 Age 37 |
Florist Florist |
Gibralter Sydenham |
Kent |
27 Jul 1858 13 May 1861 |