Camillo Ricchiardi

Giuseppe Camillo Pietro Richiardi or Ricchiardi (1865 – 1940) was an Italian journalist, adventurer and soldier.

Born to Giovanni and Rosa (née Volpino), he attended the Modena Military Academy and the Cavalry School in Pinerolo, then he was commissioned as a Sottotenente in the Genova Cavalleria Regiment and later promoted to Tenente in the Piemonte Cavalleria Regiment. After six years of service he asked for a discharge and, thanks to his connections to Colonnello Girolamo Emilio Gerini, a military advisor in Siam (now Thailand), he moved there and took up the organization of the local army and the education of one of the King’s sons. He also worked as a war correspondent, sending reports from China and Ethiopia (some speculate he might have taken part in the battle of Adua). In 1895 he joined General Emilio Aguinaldo as a mercenary in his struggle for the independence of the Philippines from Spain.

In 1899 he moved to South Africa and became a trusted friend of Boer General Louis Botha. Subsequently, Ricchiardi took command of the “Italian Volunteer Legion”, a 200-men-strong outfit almost entirely composed by Italians, including immigrants in the Veld and ex-soldiers who had served in the Regio Esercito or under Giuseppe Garibaldi (oddly enough his son Ricciotti supported the Boers, while his grandson Peppino found himself on the British side).

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