W. D.‏ (William Dallas)‏ Bernard

William Dallas Bernard was a 19th-century British author remembered today for Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis, from 1840 to 1843, a work based on notes by Commander W. H. Hall and Bernard’s own observations. The book describes the voyages of the Nemesis and the combined naval and military operations in China, and it remains the title most strongly linked to his name.

Reliable biographical details are a little sparse, but the Royal College of Physicians records him as born in 1807 or 1808, the son of a Southampton man. He studied at Wadham College, Oxford, taking his B.A. in 1828, B.M. in 1832, and D.M. in 1836, and he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1837.

Beyond that, the historical record is patchy. The same Royal College source notes that little is known of his later career, while other reference sources connect him with service as a private secretary in Ceylon and place his death in 1866. What is clear is that his writing preserves a close-up Victorian view of war, travel, and Hong Kong in the 1840s.