Benjamin Harris was a young shepherd from Dorset who joined the army in 1802 and later joined the dashing 95th Rifles. His battalion was ordered to Portugal, where he marched under the burning sun, weighed down by his kit and great-coat, plus all the tools and leather he had to carry as the battalion's cobbler. Rifleman Harris told his exceptional story to Henry Curling an officer of the Oxford Light Infantry, whom he met in 1814 after he was discharged from the army and working as a Soho cobbler. Harris was a natural story-teller with a remarkable tale to unfold, and his Recollections have become one of the most popular military books of all time.

Author Biography

Benjamin Harris was a young shepherd from Dorset who joined the army in 1802 and later joined the 95th Rifles. He told his story to Henry Curling, an officer on the half-pay of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, who came across him long after the war was over when Harris, discharged through ill health in 1814 and was working as a cobbler in Soho. Christopher Hibbert served as an infantry officer during the war, was twice wounded and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Hon. D. Litt of Leicester University. Previous titles include: None.