author
Henry John Thoroton Hildyard
1846–1916
A British Army officer and military historian, he is best known in print for his detailed regimental history of the Highland Light Infantry. His life joined active service with careful historical record-keeping, giving his work both authority and immediacy.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born on July 5, 1846, Henry John Thoroton Hildyard became a career British Army officer and later rose to the rank of general. He saw active service in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and the Second Boer War, and he later served as Commander-in-Chief in South Africa.
Alongside his military career, he wrote Historical Record of the 71st Regiment Highland Light Infantry, a regimental history first published in 1876. The book reflects the strengths of a soldier-historian: close attention to campaigns, organization, and tradition, with a clear interest in preserving the story of the regiment for later readers.
Hildyard died on July 25, 1916. Today, he is remembered less as a literary figure than as a disciplined chronicler of military life whose writing offers a direct window into the British Army of the 18th and 19th centuries.