Cyber Ethiopia

An Ethio-Centric Essay Who was Clementine? We answer this question by asking another: Who was Captain Henry Montague (later Sir Henry) Hozier? "Hard-Working and Scholarly" Answer: he was a hard-working and scholarly British officer who participated in the Maqdala campaign against Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia. But what else?, you may ask. Woolwich Hozier went to school at Rugby, attended Edinburgh Academy, and "proved his mettle" at the British army staff college at Woolwich.  He then served as Assistant Military Secretary to Robert Napier in the latter's historic expedition to Peking, China, in 1860. He enjoyed travelling around the globe, but his recreations were listed as shooting, hunting, and yaughting. The Iron Cross It was not long before he became Military Attache with the German Army, at the time of Bismarck's war

with Austria; and the German Kaiser was pleased to award him the then prestigious Iron Cross. Hozier was so passionately keen on his work, and career, that, Joan Hardwick, a biographer of his wife, later remarked that he would never be his spouse's "constant companion", but would give her "freedom and leisure to follow her own pursuits". Which, we are told, she regarded as bliss! But what, you may ask, dear reader, of Clementine? Before answering, we must turn again to Captain (later Sir Henry) Hozier. Clementine on her Engagement Writing Three Studies Free from having to entertain his wife, he used his time expeditiously: he wrote three studies, which appeared in 1865. They were on "The Equipment of Cavalry"; "The Equipment of a Military Train"; and "The Equipment of a Staff Corps". Hozier, by then a Captain in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, soon afterwards joined the Maqdala Expedition of 1867-8, where he had the advantage of having already served with, and been befriended by, its commander, Robert Napier. The campaign ended in the summer of 1868, and in the following year Hozier brought out a today little-known book on the war. This work was entitled: "The British Expedition to Abyssinia, Compiled from Authentic Documents". Emphasising the importance of this latter point, he wrote, in his Preface: "Authentic Documents" "Several accounts of the British Expedition have been published, which have displayed a far higher literary ability than the following pages can venture to lay claim to. They have, however, been written by those who have not had access to those authentic documents which cannot be collected directly after the termination of a campaign". Elaborating on the objective of his book, he continued: "Difficulties" "The endeavour of the author of this sketch has been to present to the reader a succinct and impartial account of an enterprise which has rarely been equaled in the annals of war. In the Abyssinian campaign the enemies to be feared more than the open foe were natural obstacles and starvation. The “difficulties", he continued, "would have been more apparent, had their reduction been less successful. The danger and possibility of disaster would have been more manifest had they been less carefully guided against". Turning to the British Expeditionary force, and to Ethiopia, the country in which the campaign was fought, Hozier declared: Prester John, and Rasselas "The troops of Sir Robert Napier were not only the liberators of their countrymen, but were explorers and pioneers in an almost unknown land. A vague charm was presented to the men who comprised the Expeditionary force. The theatre of operations was little better understood than when it was supposed to be the seat of the mythical Prester John, or was charmed into existence by the magic pen of Rasselas. The cloud of mystery which enveloped the African Switzerland, the certainty of adventure, and the confidence felt by all ranks of the army in the chosen commander, lured many volunteers to seek for service in the enterprise". Last Hours Describing Tewodros's last hours, on Easter Monday, 7 April 1868, Hozier writes: "When Ras Engedda [Tewodros's Prime Minister} fell, Theodore himself hurried further up the fortress, divested himself of the gold-braided mantle which he had worn early in the day, and which he seemed to think made him a mark for the aim of the guns, and gave it to a servant. As soon as the [British] storming party carried the outer gate, he exclaimed to those near him, 'Flee! I release you from your alliance. As for me, I shall never fall into the hands of an enemy'. Drawing his pistol, he put it into his mouth, fired, and fell dead". But what of Clementine? Wait a little more, dear reader! Another Book The good, and ever-industrious, Captain Hozier subsequently joined with another British officer, Major Trevenen J. Holland, of the Bombay Staff Corps, to write another book on the Expedition. This was their: "Record of the Expedition to Abyssinia Commissioned by Order of the Secretary of State for War". This "Record" appeared in two volumes, in 1870, and is justly considered the most definitive account of the operation ever published. Transport Train Its publication shows that Hozier was an active member of the Expedition. Appointed Robert Napier's Assistant Military Secretary, he played a notable role in mustering the mules and other animals for the all-important Transport Train. This was noted in Napier's Official Report, which nevertheless observed that: "[Hozier] was obliged, to my regret, to leave the force from ill-health, during the advance beyond Antalo, but not before he had shown himself to be an officer of great energy and practical ability". Hozier was thus indelibly connected with the Maqdala Expedition: This, dear reader, is not AFROMET Propaganda, but, as my title suggests, an Ethio-centric Essay on Clementine. Hozier duly returned to Britain, where, bidding personal farewell to arms, he devoted himself to writing about it. Whether he had time for his wife, as Joan Hardwick speculated, we are not told, but he proceeded to write a number of well-researched books. These included "The Seven Weeks' War: Its Antecedents and Incidents", which was published in London, in 1871; "The Invasions of England: A History of the Past with Lessons for the Future", which appeared in 1876; and, perhaps most importantly, a two volume work "The Russo-Turkish War, including the Rise and Decline of Ottoman Power, and the History of the Eastern Question", which came out over two years in 1877-9. Looking to the future, he also published an interesting Paper on "The Channel Tunnel", in 1888 -which I commend to travellers on Eurostar! A Colonel And, by then a Colonel, Sir Henry lived on into the Twentieth Century. He died in 1907, four years before the outbreak of the First World War. And Clementine? Clementine, as you may by now have guessed, was Colonel, Sir Henry, Hozier's daughter. She is, however, better remembered as the wife, and later the widow of Winston Churchill. It was from Clementine that perhaps the Great Man first heard of Ethiopia, albeit very much at second hand.