Background
Pattison was the son of Alexander Dunn Pattison, who was an Advocate of Old Kilpatrick, Dumbarton, and his wife Minnie Phillipson.
Pattison was the son of Alexander Dunn Pattison, who was an Advocate of Old Kilpatrick, Dumbarton, and his wife Minnie Phillipson.
He studied at New College, Oxford, and also served with the 91st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
He was a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and became Professor of History at Oxford University. He became distinguished military historian and after publishing 'War" in 1904, followed it up with Napoleon’s Marshals in 1909. This classic work, containing detailed biographical sketches of the 24 Marshals of France appointed by Napoleon, was republished in 2007.
His history of the Black Prince is a popular and scholarly biography, as is his history of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Dunn Pattison served in World War I and was a Captain in the 6th Battalion (Territorial), Devonshire Regiment. He was killed in action in Mesopotamia.
Pattison married Mary Winifred Wilkes who was at Girton College. The couple had two daughters.