Born on 21 January 1826, in
Edinburgh, the son of
Archibald Alison, the advocate and historian, and educated at the
University of Glasgow, and the
University of Edinburgh Alison was
commissioned into the
72nd Regiment of Foot in 1846. He went on to serve at the
Siege of Sevastopol during the
Crimean War in 1855. and was appointed a
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General in the office of the Inspector General of Infantry in 1862, Assistant Adjutant General for the South Western District in 1864 and Assistant Adjutant General at
Aldershot in 1870. Alison was promoted to
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1874, and further raised to
Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in 1887. He died on 5 February 1907 and is buried at
Dean Cemetery in
Edinburgh. ==Family==