General Sir Thomas William Browne Brotherton (10 December 1782 – 20 January 1868) 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.

Early life

Thomas was the son of William Browne Brotherton and his wife, Mary.''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812''

Military career

Brotherton entered the 2nd or

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

as an ensign in 1800, was promoted to lieutenant and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1801, and transferred to the 3rd or

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1803. With the guards he served under

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British people, British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Gov ...

in Egypt in 1801, and under

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

in 1805. On 4 June 1807 he exchanged into the

14th Light Dragoons The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 192 ...

. With it he served almost continuously in the Peninsula from 1808 to 1814. He was in Sir John Moore's retreat to Corunna; he was present at Talavera, at the actions on the Côa, at Bussaco,

Fuentes de Oñoro Fuentes de Oñoro is a village and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Salamanca (province), Salamanca, western Spain, part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located from the ...

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

, where he was wounded,

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, the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, the

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front i ...

, and the

Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by th ...

, where he was severely wounded and taken prisoner. Brotherton

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

speaks of Brotherton's employment in the Estrella, of his valuable reports, of his conduct at the Côa, and how he was exchanged after the

battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil in ...

. He was made major by brevet on Wellington's special recommendation on 28 Nov 1811, promoted major in his regiment on 26 May 1812, promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel and appointed CB in 1817. In 1830 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the king and promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, in 1841 he was promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and in 1844 he became inspector-general of cavalry. In 1849 he was made colonel of the 15th hussars, in 1850 he was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and in 1855 he was advanced to KCB. In 1859 he became colonel of the 1st dragoon guards, in 1860 he was promoted to full general and in 1861 he was advanced to GCB.

Marriages

Brotherton was married firstly in 1819 to Louisa Anne Straton (1802–1847), the daughter of General John Warde Straton. By this marriage he had issue an only son, John William Brotherton, who died on 1 September 1878. In 1865, at the age of eighty, he was married to his second wife, Thomasina Hare, the daughter of the Rev. Walter Hare. Lady Brotherton died, aged 68 years, on 31 May 1895.

Death

Brotherton died in January 1868, aged 85, at his son's house near

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up Ar ...

, now known as Upper Court. He is buried in the churchyard of St. Andrew's Church, Cobham. He left effects of more than £29,000 ().Principal Probate Registry, ''Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England'' (1868), pp. 138–139.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brotherton, Thomas William 1782 births 1868 deaths 1st King's Dragoon Guards officers 14th King's Hussars officers 15th The King's Hussars officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Coldstream Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Scots Guards officers