Sir Thomas Reade (1782 – 1 August 1849) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, known also as a collector.Sir Thomas Reade (Biographical details)
- British Museum In 1799, at the age of sixteen, he ran away from home to enlist in the Army and participated in campaigns in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and America, as well as postings across Europe. Major Reade served as Deputy Quartermaster General at the 1814 Siege of Genoa. He was knighted in 1815. When

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was defeated and exiled to

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, Reade was one of his principal guards. He married Agnes Clogg on 8 September 1824. He was appointed

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

on 10 May 1836. On 29 April 1841, he convinced

Ahmad I ibn Mustafa Ahmed I ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد باشا باي), born 2 December 1805 in TunisIbn Abi Dhiaf, ''Présent des hommes de notre temps. Chroniques des rois de Tunis et du pacte fondamental'', vol. IV, éd. Maison tunisienne de l'édition, ...

, the bey (ruler) of Tunis, to abolish the slave trade. Reade was also a scholar and antiquarian and collected a range of artefacts, much of which are held in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

today. Reade was responsible for seriously damaging the

Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga The Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga (Mausoleum of Atban) is an ancient mausoleum located in Dougga, Tunisia. It is one of three examples of the royal architecture of Numidia, which is in a good state of preservation and dates to the 2nd century BC ...

in 1842 for the purposes of stealing the monument's Libyco-Punic inscription. The team commissioned to remove the inscription did it in such a maladroit way that the two upper floors of the mausoleum collapsed as a result. Reade died at his residence in Tunis on 1 August 1849. He is buried (or has a memorial) in

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...

Parish Church with a tomb sculpted by

Thomas Gaffin Thomas Gaffin (1819–1869) was a 19th century sculptor of Irish descent. Life He was born in Swinford, County Mayo in Ireland, the son of Edward Gaffin (1780–1855), a sculptor and stone mason. The family left Ireland and moved to Londo ...

.''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851'', by Rupert Gunnis. p. 160

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, Thomas 1782 births 1849 deaths British Army officers People from Congleton