83^rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot – 45^th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot – Abyssinia Expedition 1868 – Londonderry Militia – Resident Magistrate Ireland

John Olphert Gage was born 12^th January 1839 in Limavady, Londonderry, Ireland, the second son of the Reverend Robert Gage 1804-1892 and Anne Gage 1813-1897.

At the age of 21, John passed his entrance examinations for a direct commission in the British army, at the Royal Military and Civil Service Institution in Dublin. In March 1861, he purchased a commission as Ensign with the 83^rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot, and travelled to Chatham, Kent, England, where he joined the regiments depot companies.

Returning to England in May 1862 from 12 years service in India, the 83^rd Regiment would spend the next 4 years based in England before being moved to Ireland in 1866.

In September 1863, John was promoted to Lieutenant “without purchase” with the 83^rd Regiment. Although it was customary for officers to purchase higher ranks at this time, exceptions were made for officers that showed particularly good potential or service. In such cases, officers were promoted without purchase. It was also common practice, for officers to exchanged into other regiments in order to increase their chances of promotion or for those seeking to take advantage of a particularly desirable posting.

In early 1864, the 45^th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot had been placed under orders to prepare for service in India. In anticipation, in June 1864, John Gage exchanged into the 45^th Regiment, joining his new regiment at Dublin, only weeks before they were due to embark at Queenstown, bound for Bombay.

After arriving at Bombay in early November 1864, the regiment was stationed at Poona. Located 120 miles southeast of Bombay, Poona was one of the most important military and administrative centres for the British in India.

In November 1866, John was made Adjutant, a role essential to the effective functioning of a regiment. Typically, a junior officer, such as a lieutenant or captain, the Adjutant assisted the commanding officer with the daily management of the regiment.

Early in 1867, trouble with the Emperor of Abyssinia (known today as Ethiopia), which for some years had been brewing, came to a head. Emperor Tewodros II of Abyssinia, then often referred to by the anglicised name Theodore, imprisoned several missionaries and two representatives of the British government in an attempt to force the British government to comply with his requests for military assistance against his Muslim neighbours.

In response, the British sent an Expeditionary Force (including the 45^th Regiment of Foot) to rescue the hostages and punish the emperor. The force consisted of 13,000 British and Indian troops, plus 40,000 animals for transport and thousands of camp followers. Commanding the expedition was Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Napier, then Commander-in-Chief in Bombay.

The force disembarked at Zoulla on the Eritrean coast, from there lay some four hundred miles of difficult and mountainous terrain that led to Magdala, and the emperor’s fortress, in which the British prisoners were held.

It had been decided that the Headquarters including John Gage and six companies of the 45^th Regiment would join a much larger force that would push on as hard as possible for Magdala.

On 13^th April, British forces attacked up the narrow path that led up to the fortress and overwhelmed its defences. Once inside the fortress, they found Theodore dead. The emperor had committed suicide with a pistol that Queen Victoria had previously gifted him, rather than face capture.

The British prisoners released, and Theodore’s forces defeated, the 45th Regiment returned to India. Arriving at Bombay, the regiment proceeded directly to Madras, where it would be stationed at Fort St. George. Here in Madras, the Regiment settled down for three and a half uneventful years.

On 8^th March 1871, John Gage married Catherine Elizabeth Bell, daughter of Colonel H W B Bell Royal Engineers, at St Paul’s Church, Poona. By November, however, John was suffering from an illness and ordered back to England to appear before an army medical board. Having passed his medical board, John returned to India.

In January 1872, the 45^th Regiment left Madras and embarked for Burma, where it would be stationed for the next three years.

In November 1873, John was promoted to Captain and spent some time on detachment in the Andaman Islands, a group of 200 Islands in the Indian Ocean that lay between India and Burma.

Returning to India in 1875, Catherine Gage died 24^th May 1875, aged just 27 years old. The regiment remained at Bangalore until February 1878, when it received orders to return to England.

The Regiment left Bangalore and embarked at Bombay 14^th February 1878. During its tour of Indian service, a period of thirteen years, the 45th Regiment lost by disease 10 officers and 262 non-commissioned officers and men.

On returning from India, John Gage was appointed Adjutant to the Londonderry Light Infantry in Ireland, a position he held for two years. John finally retired from the army in April 1880, after completing 19 years service.

In July 1882, the Lord Lieutenant Duke of Marlborough appointed John Resident Magistrate for County Mayo, before being appointed Resident Magistrate for Londonderry in February 1884.

On 7^th March 1894, John married a Wilhelmina Mary Osbourne, the second daughter of a Mr W Osbourne of Birmingham. The couple were married at St Paul’s Church Birmingham, Worcestershire.

In January 1897, John’s mother Anne Gage died aged 84, and interred at the Coleraine Cemetery. Sometime later that year, John returned to Birmingham for treatment of a long-standing illness, however, he died 24^th December 1897. John was buried at Yardley Cemetery in Birmingham.

For a more in-depth story of John Olphert Gage’s life, including his own handwritten account of the decisive battle of the Abyssinian Expedition 1868 and the part he played in it, plus more photographs, click here

Researched and written by Gary Hynard 2025