Born in London in 1949, John H Rumsby has lived and worked mainly in the north of England. He and his wife now live in West Yorkshire. His daughter is an artist living in the USA. After taking an Archaeology and Geography degree, his first job was to catalogue a regimental collection, amazed that he could be paid for indulging in his passion for military history. A varied museum career followed, involved caring for Roman mosaics, Numismatics collections, wooden legs and tractors. In 2005 he completed a doctorate at the University of Leeds on regimental soldiering with the Sixteenth Lancers in India in the early Nineteenth century. Retirement has allowed him more time for research, and he has published a number of papers on military subjects, as well as contributing to academic conferences.