Richard Rivington Holmes

Holmes was part of the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1868, during which many Ethiopian documents, cultural artefacts, and art objects were looted as spoils of war by British soldiers. Holmes himself took a large cache of loot from the Battle of Magdala back to Great Britain, much of which found its way into the British Museum.^[4][5] The looted Kwer’ata Re’esu icon (a European painting of Christ with the crown of thorns) remained in his personal possession.^[6]

Holmes was Royal Librarian at Windsor Castle, 1870–1905. He was appointed by Queen Victoria and was reappointed by King Edward VII in 1901.^[7]

He was a lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Berkshire Regiment. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in January 1905.^[8]

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Woods, Gabriel Stanley (1912). "Holmes, Richard Rivington". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.