Imperial Exile by Keith Bowers

Author:Keith Bowers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Self-Publishing

A replica of Sebastopol, now based on a roundabout in Addis Ababa

As a young adult, Dr Martin returned to Ethiopia to work as a medical doctor. He was spotted by accident by his grandmother, whose suspicions he was her missing relative were confirmed when she studied some scars on his arms and legs. She revealed to him the full story of his family and upbringing. After that revelation Dr Martin settled in Ethiopia for some time and eventually found himself treating the ageing Menelik after his stroke. He also made a smart move by marrying Ketsela, the attendant of Empress Zewditu. This meant he was accepted into the wider Imperial court with all its attendant privileges and influence. The young Ras Teferi came to value Dr Martin’s judgement, and during the 1920s Dr Martin ran an elite school set up in Teferi’s name. Dr Martin accompanied Ras Teferi and the young Ethiopian nobles on their Grand Tour of Europe in 1924. He also went on some unofficial diplomatic missions in London and America in 1927. While in the United States, he helped to negotiate a big contract for the building of a dam on the River Nile.

Dr Martin was sent to London in the summer of 1935 to boost Ethiopia’s image and clout there. By now he was aged 70 and hard of hearing. As Sylvia Pankhurst had discovered, he was finding it difficult to adapt to the sophisticated workings of the British establishment. One issue that dogged him was having to deal with some tricky divorce proceedings following the breakup of his marriage with Ketsela. She had been accused of adultery and Dr Martin met with perhaps a surprising response by the Emperor when he confided in him. He said in his diary that the Emperor told him there was no shame about adultery in Ethiopia. Once, when Empress Zewditu had been caught in the act with her lover, nothing much had happened. The Emperor advised Dr Martin to handle the issue delicately and not make too much of a public fuss.

In London Dr Martin was given the brief of mobilising political support in Britain for the continuation of Ethiopia’s independence. He also had some financial responsibilities and was asked to raise money through donations from the British public to buy weapons and provide humanitarian aid for his country. Dr Martin worked closely with the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden though once Haile Selassie arrived in the UK he took charge of any high-level meetings.

Dr Martin often fell foul of those in the British government, who wanted to put the brake on any overt political and campaigning ambitions. His faith in the British establishment was severely tested by the foot-dragging he witnessed over Italian policy. At one stage he complained to Eden that Britain’s attitude was like a giant going out of his way to ‘kick a wounded pigmy.’ In his diary Dr Martin says he made a distinction between the Establishment and the ordinary British people. He praised what

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