William Horsley Persse was born in 1863, educated at Wellington College, and commissioned into The Bays from the Hampshire militia in 1885. He was promoted Captain in 1895 and served in the 1896 Dongola expedition against the Dervishes, being mentioned in despatches. The next year he was attached to the Egyptian cavalry, promoted Major, and in 1898 was wounded during a cavalry reconnaissance on the Nile. He commanded Egyptian cavalry during Lord Kitchener’s re-conquest of the Sudan and was wounded reconnoitring Mahmud’s zariba before the battle of Atbara. He was afterwards present at the capture of Khartoum (1898), and was further mentioned in despatches. In 1904 he was employed in mopping up operations at Jebel Jerok, Soudan, prior to retirement from the 2nd Dragoon Guards in 1911. He was re-employed during the First World War, firstly at home in command of the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regiment and during 1917-18 in France and Flanders with the 5th Division. The Army List records him on the Retired List at the age of 96 in 1959.