Lieutenant-Colonel James Richard Marett was born in the Parish of St. Lawrence, Jersey in June 1841 and completed his education at Cheltenham College. Appointed to the 2nd Native Infantry, attached 18th N.I., as a Lieutenant in December 1858, he served in the Assam Expedition of 1862-63 and in the Bhootan operations of 1864-66, when he was present at the assault on the Chamoochee Stockades. Transferring to the Bengal Staff Corps in late 1866, Marett went on to serve as an Assistant Commissioner and District Judge, a new career that spanned some 20 years and saw his advancement to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in February 1888. He died in February 1915.