Rudolph de Lisle RN entered Naval College in 1868 aged 13, and was only 31 when he died, ironically for a naval officer, in the Sudanese desert at the Battle of Abu Klea, 17 January 1885.An inveterate letter writer and talented artist, he consistently documented his eventful naval career as he travelled the world. His letters home were embellished with stunning sketches and watercolours.In August 1884, Rudolph was selected to join the Naval Brigade in the Gordon Relief Expedition led by General Sir Garnet Wolseley. His principal role was to help drag troop boats over the six cataracts that blocked their way up the Nile to Khartoum.Rudolph-s letters graphically describe this historic journey. We read of the struggles and ingenuity of the officers and men, the hardships and the daily dangers, and the shambolic, sometimes comic, chaos peculiar to the seemingly impossible task. His sketches, some of which were published in the Illustrated London News, vividly portray the challenges facing
