General William Twiss, (1745 – 14 March 1827), was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Royal Engineer The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, responsible for the design of many military defences. Probably born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1744 or 1745, Twiss worked in the ordnance office at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

from 1760, before becoming overseer of works at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Receiving a commission in the army in 1763. Returning to England, he commenced work on the defences at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

, before accompanying General Sir John Burgoyne's army to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1776, where he was responsible for a number of defensive programmes. He returned to England in 1783. Over the following years, Twiss oversaw the construction of various defences, including the chain of Martello Towers along the Kent and Sussex coastline. Twiss also accompanied the army on expeditions to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Twiss was made

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1805, and in 1809 became colonel-commandant of Royal Engineers Corps. 1825 saw him made full general.Alastair W. Massie, 'Twiss, William (1744/5–1827)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 200
retrieved 28 May 2008
/ref> After retiring, Twiss lived at

Myrtle Grove Myrtle Grove can refer to: * Myrtle Grove, Bingley, United Kingdom * Myrtle Grove, Youghal, Republic of Ireland * Myrtle Grove, Florida, U.S. * Myrtle Grove (Easton, Maryland), home on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places * Myrtle Grove, No ...

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley railwa ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. He died 14 March 1827, aged 82, and is buried in the church of All Saints, Bingley. Twiss married Elizabeth Wood (1740/41–1835), in 1775. They had one daughter, Katherine Maria (1776–1827). He is commemorated in the naming of Twiss Road in

Hythe, Kent Hythe () is a coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the district of Folkestone and Hythe on the south coast of Kent. The word ''Hythe'' or ''Hithe'' is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place. History The town has m ...

Engineering projects

Twiss's engineering projects include: * Coteau-du-Lac canal,

* Royal Military Canal, running from Hythe to Rye *English South Coast Defences especially the Martello Towers,

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...

and the Western Heights complex in Dover, and the

Shorncliffe Redoubt Shorncliffe Redoubt is a British Napoleonic earthwork fort. The site is approximately 300 feet by 300 feet and is situated on the Kentish Coast in Sandgate, Kent. History In 1793, the French Revolution reached its climax when the Revolutionar ...

. * Early 19th Century Irish defences including Bere Island, Bantry Bay and Cork Harbour

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twiss, William 1745 births 1827 deaths Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army generals