Frederick was born on 15 April 1811 in Shoreditch, London to Richard Wells (1771-1837) and Susannah Austin (1768-1828). He was baptised on 12 May 1816, aged 5 at St Leonard’s in Shoreditch.

The records indicated that Richard Wells was a dyer by trade, living and working in London. Several factors point to Richard being a man of means:

• He was able to educate his children at a time when schooling was not compulsory and expensive. Frederick could read and write very well and anecdotal evidence suggests that he spoke several languages, however this is more likely to be part of the folklore that surrounded Frederick’s life;

• Until Frederick joined the army in 1832, he is purported to have worked at the London Stock Exchange as a clerk. This also indicates a middle-class background; and

• His son Richard Thomas Wells (1841-1923) recollects his father saying that he had kept a pack of hounds in London and that there was money left for the Wells family at the Chancery and that he had seen the book. Unfortunately, no records have been found to support this.