Major H. G. C. Swayne

Major Harald George Carlos Swayne was an officer in the Royal Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. During his nine years in Somaliland, he undertook seventeen separate journeys into the interior, often with absolute freedom of movement and a small escort of Indian cavalry. His professional duties involved surveying for the government, while his intervals were devoted to hunting.

Swayne was a trained surveyor and military sketcher whose maps were "amazingly accurate" and formed the basis for later military expeditions. He was deeply familiar with the Somali people and had a high regard for their "tact and savoir faire". He often sought advice from local leaders like Sheikh Mattar of Hargeisa.

His work is credited for its pioneering spirit, and he is described as a man of great "courage and endurance." Swayne's brother, Captain E. J. E. Swayne, also served in Somaliland and provided many of the sketches for the book. Harald Swayne's contributions to the geographical and ethnographic knowledge of the "Horn of Africa" were significant for his time.