by Alex Struik (Illustrator), Colonel John Biddulph (Author)
Colonel John Biddulph (25 July 1840 - 24 December 1921) was a British soldier, author and naturalist who served in the government of British India. He was educated at Westminster School, and at the age of 18 joined the 19th Lancers and proceeded to India where he served in Awadh during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Afterwards, he joined the political department of the government of British India. Between 1873 and 1874 he accompanied Thomas Douglas Forsyth, Thomas E. Gordon, Henry Walter Bellew, Ferdinand Stoliczka, Henry Trotter, and R. A. Champman on the Second Yarkand Mission - an expedition across the Himalayas to Chinese Turkestan. After holding many posts as British Resident at various princely states and serving for four years on the staff of the Viceroy of India, Lord Northbrook, Biddulph retired from the service in 1896.