English: Statue of Kitchener, Chatham The plaque that accompanies the statue reads as follows : Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, KG, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC, Colonel Commandant, Royal Engineers. This statue at one time stood in Khartoum and was unveiled on this site by the Rt Hon Christopher Soames, CBE, MP, Secretary of State for War, on 25 April 1960. Horatio Herbert Kitchener was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1871, much of his early service was in Cyprus and Palestine, and in 1892 he was appointed Sirdar of the Egyptian Army, defeating in 1896 a Dervish force at Dongola. In 1898, in command of all British and Egyptian forces, he avenged the murder of Gordon when he overthrew finally the Dervishes at Atbara and Omdurman. In 1900 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief South African Forces and brought the war there to a successful end in May 1902. Later he was made Commander-in-Chief in India and in 1911 he became Consul-General in Egypt. On 6 August 1914 he was appointed Secretary of State for War and will always be remembered for the part he played in raising the New Volunteers Armies. He was drowned in HMS Hampshire when she sank off the Orkneys on 5 June 1916 bound for Russia.