British Army told to hand over treasures ‘looted’ from Ethiopia
Britain invaded Abyssinia in 1868 after Emperor Tewodros II took European hostages over a delayed letter to Queen Victoria
Colonel Richard Hawkins, a trustee at the Royal Engineers Museum, which could face calls from Ethiopia to return items Credit: Crown Copyright
British Army units are facing a battle over artefacts looted from Ethiopia in a growing reparations row.
Famed regiments and corps defeated an Ethiopian emperor during an 1868 expedition and plundered his fortress capital of Magdala.
Units, including the Royal Engineers and Scots Dragoon Guards, kept looted mementos that are now stored in their regimental museums.
However, the Ethiopian government is now planning to demand that British regiments return the treasures pillaged by victorious soldiers 170 years ago.
The British Expedition to Abyssinia meets Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia Credit: ALAMY
The African nation will need to persuade unit veterans and serving officers who oversee museums dedicated to regimental history to hand back the items.
It comes after The Telegraph revealed Ethiopian officials were also planning to demand the return of items held by the King as part of the Royal Collection. Officials in Addis Ababa may now consider approaching the Ministry of Defence, which helps to fund a number of museums, for assistance with the campaign.
The demands will form one part of a diplomatic push for artefacts led by the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, which will ask the Labour government to support returns
Abebaw Ayalew Gella, the director general of the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, said: “What was taken from Magdala was not something that was found there accidentally. This is a very well-planned expedition. We call it looting.”
He added: “We are working on what is where, and how we can negotiate.”
Sir Robert Napier led the British army to victory, defeating Emperor Tewodros II at Magdala in April 1868 Credit: The Print Collector/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
British units invaded Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, in 1868 after Emperor Tewodros II took a number of European hostages in a fit of rage over a letter not being delivered to Queen Victoria.
Sir Robert Napier led the British army to victory at the highland fortress of Magdala, where Tewodros killed himself and the treasures he had assembled were looted.
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Ethiopian experts are now drawing up inventories of artefacts held in the UK, after which formal repatriation requests will be made to all institutions holding treasures taken from Magdala.
While institutions like the British Museum are prevented by law from returning artefacts, collections tied to regiments may hand over treasures with the approval of trustees, who often have closed ties to the Army.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hawkins is one of the trustees of the Royal Engineers Museum Credit: Crown Copyright
Those set to face these demands include the Royal Engineers Museum, overseen by the Institute of Royal Engineers and based at the corps headquarters in Kent. Several serving officers are among the trustees, including the current Corps Colonel, Colonel Richard Hawkins. The museum, which receives funding from the MoD, holds looted drums, swords, shields, an Ethiopian warrior’s cape, and chains used to secure one of the emperor’s hostages.
The Royal Artillery Museum in London also holds a sword taken after the Battle of Magdala. Decision-making trustees of the museum, which received £220,000 from the MoD in 2023, include Lieutenant Colonel Ben Baldwinson of the 19th Artillery Regiment, Scottish Gunners.
The museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is believed to hold a piece of a ceremonial Ethiopian drum taken by the Scots Greys, who later merged into the modern-day regiment. It is located at the unit’s headquarters in Edinburgh Castle, and its trustees are signed off by the regimental colonel, Brigadier Ben Edwards. These are led by chairman Rory MacLachlan, a former officer with the regiment.
Ethiopia is additionally seeking artefacts held by the National Army Museum, a public body under the MoD, which holds a shield and a damask coat possibly owned by Emperor Tewodros.
This shield was said to have been captured by Captain Cornelius Francis (Frank) James, DAQMS with the expeditionary force, during the Abyssinian campaign Credit: National Army Museum
Officials are also inventorying artefacts held in regimental museums of units which have been disbanded, including the King’s Own Royal Regiment in Lancaster, which holds a shield, ring, illuminated scrolls and an Ethiopian Orthodox bible.
The Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum in Halifax is said to hold a plundered shirt which belonged to Tewodros, while the Cameronians Regimental Museum in Hamilton possesses a piece of the emperor’s coat.
The push for the return of royal paraphernalia comes as part of a planned 2026 campaign to reclaim all looted treasures from British collections.
The Labour government will be asked to support Ethiopia’s claims, which will include a demand that the Royal Collection of King Charles hands over sacred and secular artefacts taken from Magdala.
Regimental museums have been contacted for comment.