[7] Gardner "... is mentioned as being cared for by his maternal grandfather at the... manor house for several years before it was judged prudent to send him to his father, with whom he ended up back in England – an involuntary intercontinental emigration in reverse".
[1] He was brought up in France and when a boy, was gazetted as ensign in the old 89th Foot on 7 March 1783 and placed on half-pay of the regiment on its disbandment some weeks later.
[2] For some time (starting in 1798),[1] Gardner was in the service of Jeswunt Rao Holkar, the famous Maratha ruler of Indore.
Holkar sent him on a mission to the independent princes of Cambay, where Gardner converted to Islam and married his only wife, an Indian Muslim princess (born c. 1775),[4] on whose ancestors the emperors of Delhi, in days gone by, had conferred the highest hereditary honours.
Parkes' book Wanderings of a Pilgrim in search of the Pictureseque During four and twenty years in the East with revelations of Life in the Zenana (1850) was rediscovered and edited by William Dalrymple and published for contemporary audiences as Begums, Thugs & Englishmen, The Journals of Fanny Parkes (Penguin).
[2] At one time, when a prisoner of Amrit Rao, he was strapped to a gun under the threat of death unless he promised to fight against the English.
Gardner's Horse, which has had name changes over the years, is one of the most highly decorated regiments of the Indian Army, first seeing service during the Nepal War (1814-1816).
[citation needed] Gardner had served as a leader of irregular horse (captain) under Lake and in the same capacity (lieutenant-colonel), performed services under Sir David Ochterlony in Kaman from 1814 to 1815.
In the latter connection, Gardner (whose name, like that of his father, is spelt 'Gardiner' in many army lists), has been confounded by some writers with the first British resident in Nepal, the Hon.
In January 1828, when the 2nd Local Horse was again at Bareilly, Gardner is described as on leave and his name does not again appear in either the British or Indian army lists.
A skilled rider and swordsman in his prime, Gardner is described in his latter years as a "... tall, soldier-like old man, of very courteous and dignified manners and very kind to his ailing wife".