Henry Rawlinson, the son of an English diplomat, was born in 1864. Rawlinson joined the British Army and served under Lord Roberts in India (1887-1890), Lord Kitchener in the Sudan (1898) and the Boer War (1899-1901).

On the outbreak of the First World War Rawlinson was commander of the British expedition sent to help defend Antwerp from the German Army. Rawlinson took part in fighting at Ypres and as commander of the Fourth Army, played an important role at the Battle of the Somme. Rawlinson was also involved in the Amiens Offensive in August 1918.

At the end of the First World War Rawlinson was sent to Russia as commander of allied forces attempting to overthrow the Bolshevik Government. Henry Rawlinson died in 1925.