Notes |
- William Lukin Windham was born in the village of Felbrigg, Norfolk on the 20 September 1768 and was the son of the Rev. George Lukin and Susan Katherine Doughty. His father was the rector of Felbrigg and Aylmerton. The Rev. George William Lukin was the half brother of William Windham, who was the local squire of Felbrigg Hall and one time member of parliament for Norwich and Secretary of War in the Cabinet. Windham had a special affection for all the children of the Rev. Lukin and in particular William Lukin who would eventually become his heir. The young William Lukin went to sea probably around 1781 at the age of 13. He appears to have been a keen seaman and a fast learner and survived the harsh life in the navy, and by 1786 he had become a midshipman.
In 1793 Lukin had become a Lieutenant, and by 1795 he had been given command of HMS Hornet, a 16-gun sloop. Soon after this appointment he was given the rank of Captain and with this promotion he was given HMS Thames a vessel of 32 guns, which had been re-captured on the 8 June 1796 from the French who had initially captured the ship in 1793. As Britain faced war with France, Lukin's career began to rise steadily in the Royal Navy especially with a powerful patron like William Windham. Windham did all he could to assist Lukin's rapid advancement within the Navy through his great friendship with Lord George Spencer, who was the First Lord of the Admiralty.
In April of 1792 Captain William Lukin found himself embroiled in the Spithead mutiny. Sixteen ships of the line of the Channel fleet refused to sail and mounted a collective mutiny at Spithead. Their demands were concerned with improved pay and conditions, and better treatment in general. Some officers considered to ill-treat their crews were sent ashore and their permanent removal demanded. Lukin was recorded as performing well in quelling the discontent and as a result helped the mutiny at Spithead to be resolved in a peaceful and organised manner and within a few weeks the seamans demands had been met and a Royal Pardon granted. It was noted Captain Lukin's vessel, HMS Thames was the first to be ready to resume its duties within the Royal Navy.
On the 18 May 1803 Britain declared war with France and one response to these events was that the Secretary at War, Charles Yorke introduced a bill in Parliament to increase the armed forces by creating a reserve army of 30,000 men. At the behest of William Windham, Lukin was given the task of establishing a local militia in North East Norfolk. This role he embraced with great gusto and was successful in the Task.
Now the war with France had started, William Lukin was given command of various warships with the most notable being the 74-gun third-rate ship of the line HMS Mars. Lukin took the Mars in to Action of 25 September 1806 in the naval battle fought off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, under the command of Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of the line that was keeping a close blockade of the port as part of the Atlantic campaign of 1806. The British ships, under the command of Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, spotted the French convoy early in the morning of 25 September, just a few hours after the French had left port, and immediately gave chase. Although the French ships tried to escape, they were heavily laden and the strong winds favoured the larger ships of the line, which caught the French convoy after a five hour pursuit, although they had become separated from one another during the chase. Soleil had ordered his ships to split. One of the French ships was the Infatigable, a 40-gun Valeureuse class frigate, which was heading north. Lukin took HMS Mars out of the British line and went in pursuit of Infatigable. Failing to outrun HMS Mars, Captain Lukin forced the Infatigable to surrender after a brief cannonade. Later in the action, Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil's flagship, the 44-gun frigate Gloire which by now had sustained damage, could not distance herself from the British flagship HMS Centaur sufficiently before support arrived in the form of HMS Mars. With his ship undamaged, Lukin was able to easily catch the fleeing frigate and opened fire at 14:30pm, combat continuing for half an hour before Soleil surrendered, his frigate badly damaged. These deeds brought with them a considerable sum in prize money to Captain William Lukin.
William Lukin's final command in the service of the Royal Navy was as captain of the 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line HMS Chatham. This new command brought to a close the navel career of Lukin. He had served his country with reliability and efficiency throughout the Napoleonic wars with one or two outstanding actions. Lukin effectively left the navy in 1814 with the rank of vice admiral of the blue, just a year away from the ending of the war and he saw no further active service.
After his retirement from the Navy, Lukin settled back to north Norfolk, to a small estate farm at Metton which was close to Felbrigg. Lukin and his wife Anne settled in to family life with their 12 children. With six sons and six daughters to raise, the Lukins soon found finances were stretched and as a consequence in 1820 Lukin moved to Brussels with his family to save money. On the 5 May 1824 Cecilia Windham died, after living alone for 14 years following her husband's death, and William Lukin inherited Felbrigg. At the same time he changed his name, assuming the name Windham along with the family coat of arms (by Royal License dated 28 April 1824). The estate and house were finally woken from fourteen years of slumber. William Lukin Windham, as he was now called, employed architect W J Donthorn to remodel, extend, and alter the house and stable block. The Admiral remained at the Hall and led a quiet life until his death in 1833.
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