Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haife shi a Dunblane a 1794, Liddell ya yi karatu a Jami'ar Edinburgh kafin ya shiga Royal Navy inda ya ga sabis a kan HMS "Asia" a
Yaƙin Navarino (1827). Don shirye-shiryensa na yaƙi, daga baya ya kasance ɗaya daga cikin waɗanda suka fara karɓar lambar yabo ta Gilbert Blane a 1832.