John Kirkham

Who was John Kirkham?

John Charles Kirkham was a British adventurer, hotelier and ship's steward who fought with William Walker in Nicaragua and Charles George Gordon in China during the Taiping Rebellion before landing in Ethiopia at the beginning of the British campaign against Emperor Tewodros II in 1868. At the conclusion of the latter campaign, Kirkham stayed in the country and became the main Western advisor to Emperor Yohannes IV. He was instrumental in training Ethiopian troops to Western military standards, raising and drilling what became known as the Emperor's Disciplined Force.

Kirkham's troops played a major role in the defeat of the 1871 invasion of Tigray by Yohannes's rival for the Ethiopian crown, Wagshum Gobeze, fighting with conspicuous success in the Battle of Adwa on 11 July. Thereafter Kirkham was sent by Yohannes on a diplomatic mission to Europe to help attract recognition and support for his imperial regime. He visited London and possibly also Paris and Vienna on the Emperor's behalf, returning via Massawa in February 1873.