William Lechmere [SEP] conflict
William Lechmere
William Lechmere (1752 – 12 December 1815) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Lechmere joined the navy and saw service during the American War of Independence, having been promoted to lieutenant in 1774, and then to commander in 1782. He was given his own ship, a sloop, and served off the North American coast for the remainder of the war, until paying off the ship in 1785. He spent
the title was inherited by his cousin and, as of 2017, the title is held by the latter's son, the eighth Baronet, who succeeded in 2010 and was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 2016.
The Lechmere family has been settled in Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, since the 11th century. Other members of the family include Sir Nicholas Lechmere, a Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of King William III and Member of Parliament for Bewdley, and his grandson Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere, Solicitor-General