Harry Holdsworth Rawson entered the Royal Navy in 1857. He served in China (1858–61), Cyprus (1877), Egypt (1882) (CB) and Cape of Good Hope (1895–98) (Home, 1982, 129[126]). In 1897, Rawson was in command of the British Military Campaign on Benin and led the attack on Benin City on 18 February. He supervised the burning and destruction of chief compounds and villages near Benin City (Phillips, 2021, 145-6[122]).