Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau ia i Halifax, Nova Scotia, te tama matua o Captain John Willshire me Mary, tamahine a William Linden o Dublin. Ko tana papa, he hoia ano hoki, i hoko i te komihana a Thomas i te 38th Foot i te 6 noa iho ona tau. I uru atu ia ki te ope taua i nga West Indies i te tau 1798, ka hoki ki Ingarangi ka haere ki nga kura i King's Lynn me Kensington. I whakatairangahia ia hei rangatira i te tau 1804, ka uru atu ki te ope taua i Amerika ki te Tonga ka uru ki te whakaeke ki Buenos Aires. Kātahi ka haere ia me te rārangi ki Portugal i te tau 1808, i reira i whawhai ai ia i
Ko Roliça, ko Vimiero, ko Coruña. I te tau 1809 i mahi ia i te Whakatairanga o Walcheren, i mate ai tona papa.