Thomas Skinner

Thomas Skinner (1800? – 1843), was a British soldier and author. He commanded the 31st Foot in the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1842 and 1843. While there he was made a C.B. and brevet lieutenant-colonel. In 1832 he had published Excursions in India and four years later Adventures during a Journey Overland to India.

Life Born about 1800, he was son of Lieutenant-general John Skinner. He entered the army on 25 January 1816 as an ensign in the 16th Foot; he became lieutenant on 6 August 1819, captain on 9 October 1823, and exchanged into the 31st Foot on 25 March 1824. on the voyage he was a witness to the Kent ship disaster.

He was stationed at Hardwar, in the North-West provinces, near the foot of the Himalayas. He made expeditions into little-known mountainous districts, and wrote up his explorations in Excursions in India (London, 1832). After returning home on leave, he went back to India in 1833 by the overland route through Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. He travelled down the Euphrates, and embarked on the Persian Gulf. He published an account of this journey in Adventures during a Journey Overland to India (London, 1836). in bad health from the campaign.