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Iain Gordon

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Soldier of the Raj: The Life of Richard Purvis, 1789–1869: Soldier, Sailor and Parson Kindle Edition

by Iain Gordon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A meticulously researched biography of a young officer in the early part of the 19th Century. The son of an admiral, Richard Purvis went to sea in Nelson's Navy at the age of 11 before being commissioned at the age of 15 into the Bengal Army, part of the great East India Company. He went on to serve 17 years in India before returning to become a country parson.The emphasis of this book is on his Indian military service, with the story told largely through an extensive collection of previously unpublished contemporary letters. These give a unique and intimate insight into the daily lives, difficulties, ethos and humour of young British officers in India during the Napoleonic period. There was, of course, danger and action too and Purvis's role in the Nepal War is described. Patronage was also a feature of a young ambitious man's life during the Georgian period and the workings of this are fascinatingly revealed.

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About the Author

Iain Gordon founded and ran for 30 years a specialist publishing house producing periodicals for Army garrisons and establishments in conjunction with being Managing Director of an established Scottish weekly newspaper. He regularly writes articles on military history and speaks at academic symposia in the United Kingdom and overseas.

Since his retirement he has written seven books, five of which have been published by Pen & Sword: Admiral of the Blue, the biography of a Georgian Navy admiral, was shortlisted for the Mountbatten Maritime Prize in 2006 and Bloodline, a study of the origins and development of the regular formations of the British Army, has become the standard reference work in its field. The Night Hunter’s Prey was published in 2016.