Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy (also known as Captain Speedy; November 1836 – 9 August 1910) was a well-known English explorer and adventurer during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Life

Speedy was born in

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

, India, a son of James Havelock Speedy, an army officer (a lieutenant in the

3rd Regiment of Foot Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

, born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1811, died 1868 Mauku, New Zealand), and his wife Sarah, an army officer's daughter. After being educated in England, Speedy returned to India as an army officer himself. He served in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...

from 1854 to 1860, receiving the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and Eufoszai medals. While hunting in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

, Speedy was summoned to the court of Emperor

Tewodros II Tewodros II (, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to ...

of Ethiopia, who bestowed on him the title ''Basha Felika'' ('Sir Speedy' or 'Commander Speedy'). Tewodros employed him to train his army; however, Speedy fell out with the emperor and had to flee the country. He then served as ''locum tenens'' and British vice-consul at the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

port of

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

. In early 1864, Speedy resigned to travel to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where he served in the Waikato Militia. He was promoted to captain in 1864, and received the New Zealand War Medal. During Britain's punitive

1868 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 (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, ...

, Speedy's knowledge of Ethiopia was crucial to the commander, Sir Robert Napier. Speedy was recalled to join the expedition and received the Abyssinian War Medal. After an audience with

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, Speedy was appointed guardian to

Prince Alemayehu '' Dejazmatch'' Alemayehu Simyen Tewodoros (also referred to as Alamayou; 23 April 1861 – 14 November 1879), was the son of Emperor Tewodros II and Empress Tiruwork Wube of Ethiopia. Biography Alemayehu's father, Emperor Tewodros II died by ...

Simeon, the young son of the late Emperor Tewodros II, who had committed suicide rather than surrender to the British. Speedy's collection of Ethiopian objects from this time is now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Speedy married Cornelia Cotton in England, then returned to India with his wife and the Abyssinian prince. He was stationed at

Sitapur Sitapur is a city and a municipal board in Sitapur district in the States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 90 kilometres north of state capital, Lucknow. The traditional origin for the name is said to be by ...

as District Superintendent of the Oudh Police from 1869 to 1871. During this time, he accompanied the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

(the second son of Queen Victoria) on a shooting trip in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Portrait of Capt Tristram C S Speedy 1868

In 1871, Speedy sailed to the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

in Malaya and became superintendent of police on the island of

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. He resigned in 1873 to raise and command a body of Indian troops to restore order in Larut, a mining district in the Malayan state of

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

, for the Mentri (Chief Minister) Ngah Ibrahim. In 1874, Speedy was appointed assistant British Resident of Larut and established the town of ‘ Thaipeng’, meaning 'Heavenly Peace'. He remained there until 1877. The following year his wife published a book about their travels after the pair had spent several months exploring

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. In 1883–85, Speedy took part in the mission led by Vice-Admiral Sir

William Hewett Vice-Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett, (12 August 1834 – 13 May 1888) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonw ...

to the court of Emperor

Yohannes IV Yohannes IV ( Tigrinya: ዮሓንስ ፬ይ ''Rabaiy Yōḥānnes''; horse name Abba Bezbiz also known as Kahśsai; born ''Lij'' Kahssai Mercha; 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the ...

of Ethiopia to negotiate the region's disputed borders. He returned to Ethiopia in 1897 as part of

Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell James Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell, (9 November 1858 – 26 July 1941), known as Sir Rennell Rodd before 1933, was a British diplomat, poet and politician. He served as British Ambassador to Italy during the First World War. Early life R ...

's mission to the court of King Menelik to negotiate the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty, which defined the border with

Death

Speedy, died on 9 August 1910 at ''Chatsworth'',

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

, Shropshire.

Cultural references

* During the Abyssinian War (1867–1868) the correspondents George Henty of '' The Standard'' and Henry Stanley of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'' reported on him extensively. * In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, by Charles Darwin. * The pioneering society photographer

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was an English photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her Soft focus, soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian era, ...

captured his image in a series of portraits in 1868. * Tristram Speedy appears in ''A Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia; With Some Account of the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and People'' (1868) by Henry Blanc. * The traveller Isabella Bird comments on Captain Speedy and his troops in ''The Golden Chersonese'', and the ''Way Thither'' (1883). * A speech given by Speedy to the girls of

North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is a private day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju Island, Dubai, Vietnam ...

in about 1883 was remembered by Molly Hughes in her ''A London Girl of the 1880s'': "A certain Captain Speedy had just returned from Abyssinia, and gave us an amusing talk about it, dressing up, like a quick-change artist, as a general, a priest, a merchant, a courtier, and so on, and throwing in some amazing details of their religious rites, wedding ceremonies, and methods of commerce. He won our gratitude, too, by saying: 'I understand that you girls have to write an account of my talk to you. Well, the very word Abyssinia means confusion, because the races are confused, the religion is confused, the mountains and valleys are confused, and I know that I am confused in addressing so many girls. So the more confused your accounts are, the better they will represent the country and the lecture.'" * Captain Speedy was the likely inspiration for

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's short story "The Lang Men o' Larut" (1889). * He is mentioned in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's ''In the South Seas'' (1896) as dressed in Abyssinian costume. * He appears as a hero in '' Flashman on the March'' (

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...

, 2005). * A play entitled ''I was a Stranger'', written by Peter Spafford and based upon Speedy's Abyssinian adventure, was broadcast on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

on 17 May 2004. * Captain Speedy's image is used on the award-winning Timah whisky, produced by the Malaysian Winepak Corporation.

References

External links

Autobiography of Sarah Speedy, Captain Speedy's mother
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speedy, Tristram British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Sikh War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British military personnel of the Abyssinian War English philanthropists English explorers British Indian Army officers 1836 births 1911 deaths Place of birth missing

Life

Death

Cultural references

References

Further reading

External links