In 1905, Francis Yeats-Brown, then a young cavalryman, arrives in
Bengal to serve in the
17th Bengal Lancers on the
Northwest Frontier of
British India. He quickly discovers that life in the presence of his fellow soldiers is anything but boring. When not on
active duty, he spends his time riding horses around the countryside, hunting boars, smoking tobacco and studying Indian mysticism. He sees active service in
France in 1914 and becomes a military air observer in
Mesopotamia in 1915. He eventually becomes a
prisoner of war of the
Ottoman Empire and makes unsuccessful attempts at escape. Yeats-Brown returns to India in 1919, continues to serve in the Cavalry and continues to study
yoga. == See also ==