British Expedition to Abyssinia the sailors were not permitted to aid in his liberation. Kirkham died in captivity in 1876. The success of the expedition led to the institution of a battle honour, Abyssinia, which was awarded to units of the British Indian Army that had participated in the campaign. The units that participated from the campaign belonged, with the exception of the Madras Sappers, to the Bengal and Bombay Presidency Armies. British Expedition to Abyssinia The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire.
SS Abyssinia All five of the new Cunarders on this route were quickly rendered out of date by White Star's revolutionary "Oceanic" of 1871. For example, "Abyssinia" and her sister burned 90 tons of coal per day as compared to 58 tons for "Oceanic". While Inman and other rivals quickly installed compound machinery and modified passenger quarters to match White Star's new fleet, Cunard did not. Finally, in 1879 the privately owned Cunard line was reorganised as a public stock corporation to raise the capital needed to rebuild the fleet. On the other hand, "Abyssinia's" near sister, "Parthia" did utilise compound machinery.