Background
William was the third, but eldest surviving son of Sir Clifford Clifton and Frances Finch, daughter of Sir Heneage Finch former Speaker of the House of Commons.
William was the third, but eldest surviving son of Sir Clifford Clifton and Frances Finch, daughter of Sir Heneage Finch former Speaker of the House of Commons.
Trinity College.
In 1685 he founded a regiment which later became the 15th Regiment of Foot and subsequently the East Yorkshire Regiment. He was christened in Street Mary Abbots, Kensington on 7 April 1663. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Sir William Clifton was Deputy Lieutenant for Nottinghamshire from 1683 until his death in 1686, and was also a Justice of the Peace from 1685–1686, and Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire, 1685-1686.
On the outbreak of the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, Sir William raised his own regiment, which later became the 15th Regiment of Foot. He died in France at the age of 23.