British Army

From the front lines of empire to the foggy streets of London.

The British Army lies in the past of several Sherlock Holmes characters. Dr. Watson signs himself as late of the Army Medical Department: he was sent to India with the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) and then attached to the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot. He saw service in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, was wounded at the Battle of Maiwand by a jezail bullet, suffered enteric fever and was sent back to England on the troopship Orontes.

Quick Facts

Notable conflict era:: The Second Anglo-Afghan War

Lore & Background

Some of Holmes's opponents are former soldiers too. Colonel Sebastian Moran, formerly of the 1st Bangalore Pioneers, served in the Jowaki Expedition and in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, and was obliged to retire from the army after turning to crime. In The Sign of the Four, Jonathan Small confesses that he was once a soldier of the Third Buffs in India and lost his right leg to a crocodile while bathing in the Ganges.