George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) is best remembered as a writer of historically based adventures for young readers. From 1867 to 1902, he wrote 110 full length novels, scores of short stories, biographical yarns and scientific papers, but his life encompassed a wider field. In spare moments he worked on engineering projects and two of his inventions were accepted by the Great Seal Patent Office.

He left Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge early to serve in a non-combat role during the Crimean War in 1854. As a Lieutenant on the staff of the Hospital Commissariat he worked at Scutari Hospital with Florence Nightingale. In 1860, he became a reporter for the London Standard newspaper.

After the tragically early death of his wife Elizabeth in 1865, he was appointed Special Correspondent and travelled widely for almost two decades. He accompanied the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, to India (1875/6) and was present when the Tsar of all  the Russias entered Moscow for his coronation in 1863.

Henty's adroit and accurate coverage of all events was eagerly awaited by readers and sales of the Standard rose significantly. Henty met Garibaldi in Italy in 1866 (after his arrest with George Meredith on a trumped up charge of espionage); he attended the 1867 Paris Exhibition; travelled with Napier to Magdala (Ethiopia) in 1867/8, to Spain in 1868 and 1875; to the 1869 inauguration of the Suez Canal; to the Franco-Prussian War in 1879; was in Paris throughout the Commune (1871); in Wales covering mining disasters (after 1871); to Coomassie (Gold Coast now Ghana) with Wolseley in 1873/4; the USA (1874 & 1894); the 1876 Turco-Serbian War; to Cyprus (1878) and to France for the Dreyfus trials (1894 & 1899). Henty's name never appeared as the writer of these pieces as the editorial desk frequently combined his reports with ones from Reuters or other agencies. After severe illness curtailed his long travels abroad, he worked at the Standard news desk.

Henty was a knowledgeable sailor and with his crew and ocean-going yacht, Egret, regularly competed against such heavyweights as Kaiser Wilhelm II and Lord Iveagh with their larger vessels.

During the winter months