John Henry Patterson (author) military rank lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson  (10 November 1867 – 18 June 1947) was an Anglo-Irish military officer, hunter and author best known for his book The Man-eaters of Tsavo (1907), which details Patterson's experiences during the construction of a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in the East Africa Protectorate from 1898 to 1899. The book went on to inspire three films: Bwana Devil (1952), Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959) and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). During World War I, Patterson served as the commander of the British Army's Jewish Legion, which has been described as the first precursor to the Israel Defense Forces.Biography
Youth and Army service
Patterson was born in 1867 in Forgney, Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland, to a Protestant father and Roman Catholic mother.He joined the British Army in 1885 at the age of seventeen and eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He retired from the army in 1920.War service
Second Boer War
Patterson joined the Essex Imperial Yeomanry for the Second Boer War (1899–1902), and served with the 20th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in November 1900. He returned home, but was again called for service when on 17 January 1902 he was appointed to command the 33rd Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, with the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel. The battalion left Southampton on SS Assaye in May 1902, arriving in South Africa after the war had ended with the Peace of Vereeniging.
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