William Thornton (British Army officer)

Sir William Thornton
Born	1779
Died	1840
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1796–1835
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	Peninsular War War of 1812
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Lieutenant General Sir William Thornton KCB (1779–1840) was a British Army officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.

Thornton was commissioned as an ensign in the 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot on 31 March 1796. After serving with his regiment in Ireland, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot on 1 March 1797. He became aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General Sir James Craig early in 1803 and was promoted to captain on 25 June 1803. He accompanied Craig to Malta in July 1805 and to Naples in November 1805 and took part in operations to protect the borders of Naples. He took part in operations to protect the fortress at Messina in February 1806.

Thornton became aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General Earl Ludlow, commander of the Kent military district in Spring 1806. Promoted to major on 13 November 1806, he transferred to the Royal York Rangers. He served as acting commanding officer of the regiment in Guernsey in Spring 1807 and then became aide-de-camp to Craig in his capacity as Governor General of British North America later in the year. Promoted to be brevet lieutenant-colonel on 28 January 1808, he became inspecting field-officer of militia in Canada in Spring 1808.

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