Major General Sir Harcourt Mortimer Bengough KCB (25 November 1837 – 20 March 1922) joined the British Army in 1855, and retired in 1899, after more than forty years of distinguished service from the Crimea to all quarters of the Empire.

On receipt of the news of the disaster at Isandlwana, he hastened towards Rorke's Drift, intending to join the General’s force.

He joined the division of General Edward Newdigate in May, in command of the battalion of which the numbers had increased and the discipline improved.

[9] Bengough was Mentioned in Despatches by General Newdigate on 6 July 1879, who reported the good service rendered by the battalion in scouting and outpost duties during the action.

[29] Whilst commanding the 1st Infantry Brigade in Aldershot in the 1890s he expressed the opinion that: "There can be no better pastime for soldiers than football, combining as it does skill, judgment, pluck.

resource, activity — all soldierly qualities — and affording amusement to all, from the recruit enjoying the humble punt-about on the parade groundto the crowds of enthusiasts keenly watching a hard contested struggle for the final ties for the Army Cup.

"[31] In his memoirs he gives an account of his adventures in the realm of sport — pig-sticking, tiger-shooting, and pursuing other forms of game in India and elsewhere.