HILE many people are familiar with the good Dr. John H. Watson, the beginning of A Study in Scarlet, in which he (briefly) relates some of his war experiences, can leave a number of readers confused. What were in fact quite current events in 1887 are nowadays relegated to historians, and so it was of no little pleasure to come across a site discussing Watson and The Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878-1880:

Watson’s participation in the war follows his being attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as an Assistant Surgeon and finding, by the time he landed at Bombay, the regiment had already been sent to Afghanistan at the outbreak of war. He was packed off to join them at Kandahar and afterwards attached to the Berkshires, accompanying them into the chaos of Maiwand and being wounded there by the bullet from a jezail. Watson’s orderly, ‘Murray’, managed to pull him out of danger to join the retreat, and he was soon recovering at Peshawar before he was able to get home and up to London, looking for lodgings and employment of some kind.

The explanations include a number of interesting tidbits that give a decent background to Watson’s experiences, and also examine whether Watson and his orderly Murray did in fact take part in the battle. Also on the site are timelines, maps, articles, and more, for those interested in what was really happening behind the scenes.