In 1894 Henry Lyon was Secretary in the London office of the Niger Coast Protectorate which had come into being in May 1893. By January 1897 he was acting as an Assistant Commissioner in Sapele, Nigeria where he learnt about the killing of J.R. Phillips and eight other Europeans on the road to Benin City. This event led to the punitive expedition to Benin City, under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson. By March 1898 Lyon was in the Benin City office, having been seconded for service in the Niger Coast Protectorate from his regiment (the South Lancashire Regiment). In 1899 Lyon resigned from the NCP and may have been in South Africa during the Boer War. During the 1st World War Lyon was Acting Sergeant in the 6th South African Infantry but, after service of one year and 119 days, was discharged in March 1917 as 'being temporarily unfit for war service'.
From the guide to the Lyon, Henry, 1897-1917, (School of Oriental and African Studies)
