William Fawcett

General Sir William Fawcett (1727 – 19 March 1804) was a British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces from 1781 to 1799. During this period Fawcett was the highest authority in the British army, and the most influential officer on the headquarters staff.

Military career

William Fawcett descended from an old family of Yorkshire gentry. He was educated at Bury Grammar School in Lancashire, William Fawcett was commissioned into the 33rd Foot in 1748. In 1758 he was despatched to the War in Germany where he became an Aide-de-Camp to the Marquess of Granby.

He was appointed Adjutant-General to the Forces in 1781: in this role he was involved in introducing Regulations for the Heavy Infantry and then for the Cavalry. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council on 23 January 1799. He died on 19 March 1804; and his funeral was honoured with the presence of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York, Clarence, Kent, and Cambridge.

Family In 1749 he married Susannah Brook and together they had eight children. Following her death on 7 April 1783 he married Charlotte Stinton (d. 1805): they had no children.