Sherard Osborn, the author's maternal great great grandfather, was the son of an officer in the Madras Army. This is a privately printed biography of Osborn, who was involved in fighting the opium trade, particularly the Second Opium War. He was active in the field of Arctic exploration and in 1849 played a prominent part in advocating a search for the Franklin expedition. He also took part in the Crimean war in 1855 on the HMS Vesuvius and HMS Medusa.