Major Henry Astbury "The Old Shekarry" Leveson (1828–1875) was an English born soldier, author and big game hunter. At the age of 17, Leveson took a commission in the Honourable East India Company serving in India until 1853, he subsequently served in the Ottoman cavalry during the Crimean War, with Garibaldi’s Red Shirts during the Expedition of the Thousand, in Lagos following the Lagos Treaty of Cession (where he was shot in the jaw) and with Robert Napier’s expedition to Abyssinia. Over the course of his life Leveson shot tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, bear, wolf, gorilla, elephant, hippopotamus, gaur, wild cattle, buffalo, bison, wild boar, nilgai, ibex, chamois, bighorn sheep, moose, various species of deer and various species of antelope in addition to numerous small game and bird species throughout Europe, India, Asia, North America and Africa. Leveson wrote a number of books about his sporting experiences under the pen name "The Old Shekarry", including "Hunting grounds of the Old World" and "Sport in many lands". Leveson stated his favorite gunmaker was Westley Richards, whilst a 12 bore breech loader was sufficient for all big game hunting except elephant, for which a 10 bore was required.