Henry George White, eldest son of Reverend Henry White and his wife Sarah Ford Stevens, was educated at Sandhurst Military College, England. He served in the Crimea and at Sebastopol during 1854-1856, receiving a medal and clasp, and in the Deccan region of India during 1858-1859. In 1878 he served on Lord Wolsely's staff during the occupation of Cyprus and was appointed Commissioner and Commandant of Larnaka and later of Nicosia on the island. He married Frances Cromwell Ferguson in 1874.
In 1884 White commanded the First Battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment during the Bechuanaland Expedition, led by General Sir Charles Warren (also an amateur archaeologist). The expedition established the protectorate of British Bechuanaland south of the Molopo River. During his stay White collected prehistoric stone artefacts in that territory and in Griqualand West. After his return to England he presented 23 artefacts to the British Museum (Natural History).
White retired from the Royal Scots Regiment in 1886.
