Fawcett, Sir William

FAWCETT, SIR WILLIAM. (1727–1804). British officer. Born in Halifax, England, on 30 April 1727, Fawcett enlisted in the army in 1748, serving first as an ensign in the Thirty-third Foot before joining the Third Foot Guards on 26 January 1751, a regiment with which he remained until 1779. Fluent in French and German, he began in 1754 to translate foreign military manuals for use by the British army. Fawcett's editions became the essential works studied by most British officers at the time. In 1757 he purchased the rank of lieutenant and the following year went to Germany as aid-de-camp to General Granville Elliot and then the marquess of Granby. Fawcett brought the news of the 1760 victory at Warburg to George II, receiving the rank of lieutenant colonel as a reward on 25 November 1760. Granby named Fawcett adjutant general in 1766, leading to a number of additional positions, including lieutenant governor of Pendennis Castle in 1770, brevet colonel on 25 May 1772, and governor of Gravesend in 1776. In 1775 he traveled through Germany negotiating the treaties that rented troops for use in America. His son William, also of the Third Guards, was made aide-decamp to the Hessian contingent. Fawcett was promoted to major general on 29 August 1777 and to lieutenant general on 20 November 1782. He then set about completely restructuring the training methods of the British army in response to the harsh lessons learned during the American Revolution and is generally credited with preparing the military for the challenges of the long war with France. He was made a knight of the Bath in 1786 and full general on 14 May 1796, retiring in 1799. He died at his home in Westminster on 22 March 1804.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Houlding, J. A. Fit for Service: The Training of the British Army, 1715–1795. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.