William Skinner

Lieutenant-General William Skinner (1700 – 25 December 1780) was Chief Royal Engineer of Great Britain from 1757 until his death in 1780. He is best known for his work on the fortifications of Menorca and Gibraltar although he considered his work on Fort George to be his "monument".

Life Skinner was born in St. Kitts in 1700; his parents Thomas and Elizabeth died when he was young and he was adopted by his aunt, Mrs Lambert. She remarried Captain Talbot Edwards, chief engineer in Barbados and the Leeward Islands, who was later appointed Deputy Chief Engineer of Great Britain. He was educated in Paris and Vienna.

Career Skinner was accepted as a practitioner engineer on 11 May 1719. The next few years were spent working on defences in Devonport, Menorca and Gibraltar; his survey of the peninsula proved of great value during the 1727 Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar where he was rewarded with additional pay for his achievements. He was promoted steadily serving eventually as Director of engineering in Gibraltar. There appears to have been no long term damage as O'Hara was given the rank of field marshal in 1763.

Skinner died in Greenwich still working on Christmas Day 1780. His widow, Margaret, and his granddaughter both received exceptional annuities as there was some regret that Skinner had not been as well as he might have been. Despite spending huge sums his personal wealth at his death was a single house and a £500 annuity. Skinner's son was drowned in 1861 but his grandson, William Campbell Skinner was a successful American engineer.