Colonel Moreton John Wheatley (2 March 1837 – 13 May 1916WHEATLEY, Col Moreton John', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016) was a British

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer who was Bailiff of the

Royal Parks The Royal Parks of London are lands that were originally used for the recreation, mostly hunting, of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of The Crown, now managed by The Royal Parks Limited, a charity which manages ...

from 1879 to 1902.

Biography

Wheatley was born in 1837, the elder son of Thomas Randall Wheatley (c. 1799–1879) and Eliza Wheatley, of Gwersyllt park,

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

. His father had served in the Madras Civil Service, but was from a military family, the son of Major-General William Wheatley, of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Robertson Eliott Wheatley (1851–1913), of the Royal Artillery (Madras), and Lieutenant-Colonel W. F. Wheatley were younger brothers. He entered the army as a

second-lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...

in the Royal Engineers on 20 December 1854, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

the following month, on 13 January 1855. In 1856 he served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. Following appointment as adjutant on the staff of the Royal Engineers establishment at Chatham, he was promoted to captain on 18 December 1861. He received the brevet rank of major before 1864, was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 5 July 1872, and

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 12 October 1879. Following promotion 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 o ...

on 12 October 1883, he retired from active service in 1885. He was appointed Bailiff of the

in 1879, and served as such until he retired on reaching the age limit in March 1902. The Bailiff of the Royal Parks was responsible for the overall management of the Royal Parks of London, lands originally owned by the monarchy and officially designated public parks with the introduction of the Crown lands Act 1851. Among other duties, he was in charge of the keepers and civil officers in the parks, and he lived in a house inside Hyde Park. Shortly before his retirement as Bailiff, he was appointed a Companion (civil) of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) in the November 1901 Birthday Honours list, and invested by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

on 17 December 1901. He lived at Gwersyllt in Denbighshire, and died on 13 May 1916.

Family

Wheatley married, in 1864, Edith Frances Millett, younger daughter of Charles Millett, of Maiden Erlegh, Berkshire. They had three sons and one daughter, including: *Major Cyril Moreton Wheatley, DSO (1870–1942), of the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

*Mabel Edith Moreton Wheatley, who married Brigadier-General Richard Francis Johnson, CB, CMG, CBE (1852–1938), of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

.JOHNSON, Brig.-Gen. Richard Francis', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, Moreton John 1837 births 1916 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Engineers officers Bailiffs of the Royal Parks British Army personnel of the Crimean War