Biography
He was born on 6 October 1758 at Chester in the county of Cheshire in England, a son of Fisher Tench, a dancing master who ran a boarding school in the town and Margaritta Tarleton of the Liverpool Tarletons. Watkin was second cousin to Banastre Tarleton. His father appears to have named Watkin after a wealthy local landowner, Watkin Williams Wynn, whose family probably assisted in starting Tench's military career.
Tench joined His Majesty's Marine Forces, Plymouth division, as a Second Lieutenant on 25 January 1776, aged 17. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on 25 January 1778 at the age of 19 years and 3 months. He fought against the American forces in their War of Independence, during which he was captured when HMS Mermaid was driven ashore on the Maryland coast at Assateague Island near the then extant Sinepuxent Inlet on the morning of 8 July 1778 by the French under Comte d'Estaing. Tench was in command of the Marine unit on board HMS Mermaid. He and the other officers were transported to Philadelphia, imprisoned and exchanged in October, 1778.
Little more is known of him until he sailed as part of the First Fleet, although he records in Chapter 13 of the Account that he had spent time in the West Indies and his service record shows that he was promoted to Captain-Lieutenant in September 1782 and went on half-pay in May 1786.
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