Henry Brackenbury

General Sir Henry Brackenbury, (1 September 1837 – 20 April 1914) was a British Army officer who was assistant to Garnet Wolseley in the 1870s and became part of his 'Ring' of loyal officers. He also wrote several books of military history and memoirs. Life and career Henry Brackenbury was born in Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire on 1 September 1837 and was a younger brother of Charles Booth Brackenbury. Henry was educated at Tonbridge School and Eton, then at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He joined the British Army in 1856, served in the Central Indian Campaign in 1857–58 and observed the Franco-Prussian War in 1870–71. After making Wolseley's acquaintance, Brackenbury offered to join his Ashanti Campaign (1873–74) at which time he became part of the Wolseley ring, and later acted as his military secretary in the Zulu War of 1879–80. Wolseley thought highly of his talents and helped advance his career. However, Brackenbury was unpopular with other colleagues and with Lady Wolseley. He became Private Secretary to the Viceroy of India in 1880, acted as British Military attaché in Paris between 1881 and 1882, and then became assistant Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He had a senior role in the River Column in Egypt in 1884–85.