Abyssinia (battle honour) Abyssinia (battle honour) Abyssinia is a battle honour awarded to units of the British Indian Army and the British Army which participated in the 1868 campaign to free Europeans held hostage in Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia) by Emperor Tewodros II (known at that time to the British as Theodore). The success of the expedition led to the award of this honour to units of the British Indian Army which had participated in the campaign. The units belonged, with the exception of the Madras Sappers, to the Bengal and Bombay Presidency Armies. A diplomatic contretemps by the British Foreign Office
SS Abyssinia December 1891 off the coast of Newfoundland a fire broke out in her cargo hold which quickly overpowered her crew's firefighting efforts. Captain G.S. Murray ordered the ship to be abandoned. Lookouts on board the eastbound Norddeutscher Lloyd liner "Spree" spotted the smoke from "Abyssinia" and removed all passengers and crew by 4:15 pm. "Abyssinia" sank shortly after. "Spree" made port with the survivors in Southampton on 21 December. SS Abyssinia Abyssinia (1870) was a British mail liner originally operated by the Cunard Line on the Liverpool–New York route. She later served the Guion Line on the same route and