Forrester Farnell Colvin was born on 22 Jan 1860 at Sawbridgeworth, Herts. He was the son of Beale Blackwell Colvin and Emma Elizabeth Britten. He entered the 9th Lancers as a 2nd lieutenant on 23 Oct 1880, promoted to lieutenant 8 months later on 1 July 1881. He was a captain on 10 August 1888 and a major on 15 March 1900. He served in the Boer War, and when Lieutenant-Colonel M O Little was promoted to command a brigade in August 1900 he took over temporary command of the 9th Lancers until 1901. His first task was the pursuit of de Wet. His medals included clasps for Relief of Kimberley, Modder River and Magersfontein.
He was married to Isabella Katharine McClintock-Bunbury, daughter of 2nd Baron Rathdonnell, on 26 July 1894, at Drumcar, Ireland. They had two sons and a daughter. In 1911 the family lived at Shermanbury Grange, Horsham, Sussex. Lieutenant-Colonel Colvin died there on 16 February 1936.
