Early Life
George Augustus Graham was born in Bathwick, a district of Bath, in the County of Somerset on 6th August 1833 to Colonel Charles Graham C.B. and his wife Mary Ann (nee Taylor). At the age of 7, along with his brother Frederick William (b. 1830), he entered Cheltenham College as a day boy. At that time the family was living at 25 Promenade in Cheltenham. Graham's schooling continued until the age of 17 and a year later, on 3rd December 1851, he was accepted as a cadet in the Honourable East India Company's Bengal Infantry, at the recommendation of his father.

Military History
George Graham was commissioned as an ensign shortly after joining the Company and was soon posted to India, whereupon, after his arrival in Calcutta, he was admitted to the service on 10th February 1852. His active duty began on 28th February 1852 with a posting to the 11th Native Infantry at Barrackpore, 16 miles north of Calcutta. This was followed in November the same year with a posting as 3rd Ensign to the 28th Native Infantry and then in December by another move to the 33rd Native Infantry. Graham was promoted to Lieutenant on 19th October 1854 and then posted to the 2nd Punjab Cavalry on 30th January 1857. During March 1857 he took part in the Bozdar Expedition with the 3rd Seikh Infantry under the command of Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain. The purpose of this was to engage the Baloch tribe which had been raiding into the Punjab. For participation in these events Graham was awarded the India General Service Medal (1854) with the North West Frontier clasp which was issued in 1868 to all survivors of the campaign.

On 10th June 1857, Graham was promoted to Captain, the rank by which he is remembered today. The following month he was present at the attack on the village of Sheikh Jana in Eusofzaie where he commanded the headquarters and a detachment of the 2nd Punjab Cavalry. At the time Graham was serving under the command of Major J.L. Vaughan who commanded the garrison at Mardan Fort and was subsequently mentioned favourably in Major Vaughan’s despatches to Major General Sir Sydney Cotton KCB.

On 18th May 1858, almost three months after the death of his father in Cheltenham, Capt. Graham was posted as Second in Command of the 4th Regiment (Rifles) Punjab Irregular Force following the wounding of the previous holder of the post at the siege of Lucknow. He stayed in post until the following year and then following short tours of duty with the 21st and 33rd Native Infantries he was posted to general duties at Rawalpindi and then on 25th February 1862 he returned to Europe to see out the final three years of his military service. He left with a Certificate of Proficiency in Hindustani, no doubt never to be called on again.

Return to Civilian Life
Captain Graham's married life began on 18th June 1863 when he was married to Lydia Caroline Potter at St. Mary's Church in Charlton Kings near Cheltenham. His new wife was the youngest daughter of the late Thomas Smalley Potter of East Court, Charlton Kings. Graham's profession is listed as Captain 107th Regiment in the Parish Register.

It was around the same time as he got married that Captain Graham began what was to be his lifetime's work, which was to preserve the Irish Wolfhound dog breed. Having taken an interest in "rough Greyhounds" while in India it seems that this large and impressive dog breed captured his imagination.

New additions to the family quickly came along with the birth of Edith Flora in 1864 and Violet Beatrice on 24th July 1865. Both of these children were born in Cheltenham but shortly afterwards Captain Graham purchased the estate known as "Oaklands" in Dursley, renamed it "Rednock" and the family moved to the small market town. It seems he was looking for somewhere with more space to embark on the dog breeding program which was ocupying his mind. One theory behind the name chage is that Captain Graham could have been establishing a link with what he considered his Scottish ancestry. "Rednock House" in Port of Menteith in Perthshire is the ancestral home of one of the subdivisions of Clan Graham so there seems to be no doubt where the name came from.

Having rooted the family in Dursley, further children came along regularly, Constance Alice in 1868, Caroline St. Clair in 1869, twin sons Malcolm George Alec and Alec George Malcolm in 1871 and Alison Mildred in 1875. Captain Graham's mother died in 1869 so wasn't to see the latter additions to the family.

Work on his dog breeding program continued and in 1879 a breed class was established by the Irish Kennel Club at their show held in Dublin for the "Nearest Approach to the Old Irish Wolfhound". Captain Graham was the judge but the results were apparently disappointing. In 1885 Graham published a book, "The Irish Wolfhound", and also founded The Irish Wolfhound Club becoming its first president, a post he held until 1908. In 1886 the Kennel Club accepted the breed standard as defined by Graham which must have been ample reward and the culmination of all his efforts. Just a few years later, in 1894, Graham published a further book "Pedigrees of Scottish Deerhounds".

To further raise the profile of the Irish Wolfhound, it was agreed that an example of the breed would be presented to the Irish Guards and this was done by Captain Graham at the Kennel Club show of 1902. The dog chosen was Mrs A. Gerard's "Rajah of Kidnal" which was presented to the Regiment and renamed "Brian Boru".

In Dursley, Graham was playing an active part within the community and was elected first chairman of Dursley Parish Council on 31st December 1884, a post he held until 1896. He also became chairman of the Highways Board, served as a Justice of the Peace and was chairman of the Dursley Bench of Magistrates.

Captain Graham's wife died on 6th April 1908 and was buried at St. Mark's Church in Dursley. The following year on 21st October 1909 Captain Graham passed away at Rednock and he was buried two days later with his wife. His obituary in the Dursley Gazette of 23rd October gives the following insight into his life and the stature which he held.