Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There: Volume I

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There are many details missing from the film, well there is only so much you can fit in, and some things were outright untrue. Hook wasn't a criminal and drunk, he was a teetotaller and his reason for being in the hospital to defend it so gallantly? He was the hospital cook, and not a malingerer. C/Sgt Bourne was in his 20's and known as 'the kid' being the youngest man of that rank in the entire army.

Yes, the 24th's depot had been moved to Brecon by the government in 1873, but both battalions of the regiment had never been there when the Zulu war started in 1879, and both battalions consisted of long term service men, meaning that it would have been well after Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift before newly trained recruits would have started to filter through to the ranks. Hanson, V. D. (2001). Why the West Has Won: Carnage and Culture from Salamis to Vietnam. London: Faber. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-571-20417-5. Featuring a wide range of first-hand accounts and testimonies from those present during the Battle of Rorke's Drift, Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There is a remarkable work of Anglo-Zulu military history by those who know the topic best, Lee Stevenson and Ian Knight. This updated edition of the classic work of the same name includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides. Whilst I respect the opinion of forum members, with all due respect to you all, I continue to prefer the objective, educated and unbiased research and opinions of Norman Holme. Around 8:00a.m., another force appeared, and the defenders left their breakfast to man their positions again. However, the force turned out to be the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford's relief column.The events surrounding the assault on Rorke's Drift were first dramatised by military painters, notably Elizabeth Butler (in The Defence of Rorke's Drift (1880)) and Alphonse de Neuville (also titled The Defence of Rorke's Drift (1880)). Their work was vastly popular in their day among the citizens of the British empire. Porter 1889, p. 33, "17 killed and 10 wounded" (including one killed by 'friendly fire' while fleeing the garrison at start of the battle) Following the destruction of the1/24trh at Isandlwana replacements were hurried out from drafts appointed from no fewer then eleven line battalions of very mixed origins. The 24th's lasting associations with Wales TRULY DATE FROM a new wave of army reorganisation instituted in APRIL 1881 when the old regimental numbers were discontinued and new local titles allocated. (Source Ian Knight) Those Zulus were an enemy that it was some credit to us to have defeated. Their bravery and courage could not have been excelled, and their military organisation and their discipline might have given a lesson to more civilised nations. Cruel and savage as they were, the Zulus were, however, a gallant enemy."

Kearney, L. H. (16 March 1940). "40,000 Cheered When Wagstaff's 1914 Team Beat Australians With Eleven Men". Sunday Mail (Brisbane). By the time the Undi Corps reached Rorke's Drift at 4:30p.m., they had fast-marched some 20 miles (32km) from the morning encampment they had left at around 8 a.m., then to spend some 11.5 hours continuously storming the British fortifications at Rorke's Drift. With the defences nearing completion and battle approaching, Chard had several hundred men available to him: Bromhead's B Company, Stevenson's large NNC company, Henderson's NNH troop, and various others (most of them hospital patients, but 'walking wounded') drawn from various British and colonial units. Adendorff also stayed, while the trooper who had ridden in with him galloped on to warn the garrison at Helpmekaar. [18] A more uninteresting or more stupid-looking fellow I never saw. Wood (a subordinate of Wolseley) tells me he is a most useless officer, fit for nothing." Yes you have beaten us; you had the best guns, but we have the best men . . . But we’ll fight again in two or three years’ time." – Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande (who led the Zulu at Rorke’s Drift)

Outcome

All previous attempts to ascribe nationalities to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift tend to mix the criteria, and can thus not said to be definitive. Some time around noon on 22 January, Major Spalding left the station for Helpmekaar to ascertain the whereabouts of Rainforth's G Company, which was now overdue. He left Chard in temporary command. Chard rode down to the drift itself where the engineers' camp was located. Soon thereafter, two survivors from Isandlwana – Lieutenant Gert Adendorff of the 1st/3rd NNC and a trooper from the Natal Carbineers – arrived bearing the news of the defeat and that a part of the Zulu impi was approaching the station. It was the thought of that implacable church and its obvious disgust for me … I had learnt this day that God was…a cut above the class to which we belonged. That day, I think, the painter was loosed from its mooring and my faith began a slow drift into non-belief (Prebble 1993: 96). Robert Jones VC (19 August 1857 – 6 September 1898) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces

This high number of awards for bravery has been interpreted as a reaction to the earlier defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana – the extolling of the victory at Rorke's Drift drawing the public's attention away from the great defeat at Isandlwana and the fact that Lord Chelmsford and Henry Bartle Frere had instigated the war without the approval of Her Majesty's Government. [48] The British victory that ensued, therefore, would go down as one of the most heroic actions of all time, and has enraptured military history enthusiasts for decades. Featuring a wide range of first-hand accounts and testimonies from those present during the Battle of Rorke's Drift, Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There is a remarkable work of Anglo-Zulu military history by those who know the topic best, Lee Stevenson and Ian Knight. This updated edition of the classic work of the same name includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides. Think of Rorke’s Drift, and what comes to mind? A brutal battle, singing Welshmen (as if war isn’t bad enough already) Redcoats and Michael Caine. The truth is a little different and this book covers the whole battle, in the words of those who were there (because they were there). Remember that until very recently, the Encyclopedia Britannica entry for "Wales" read "see England."On 15 January 1880, a submission for a DCM was also made for Private Michael McMahon ( Army Hospital Corps). The submission was cancelled on 29 January 1880 for absence without leave and theft. [54] Depictions and dramatisations [ edit ] Illustration by C. H. M. Kerr for Haggard's story, 1893 The force was sufficient, in Chard's estimation, to fend off the Zulus. Chard posted the British soldiers around the perimeter, adding some of the more able patients, the 'casuals' and civilians, and those of the NNC who possessed firearms along the barricade. The rest of the NNC, armed only with spears, were posted outside the mealie bag and biscuit box barricade within the stone-walled cattle kraal. [18] I think all we can say for certainty is that, because the 24th’s Regimental Depot had been in Brecon since 1873,.and the fact that the Regiment had been given the counties of Cardigan, Radnor, Brecon, and Monmouth for recruiting, then the 24th Regiment would have contained a higher proportion of Welshmen than most other British Regiments (excepting of course the 23rd and 41st Regiments). Kable wrote: Wasn't part of the discussion on the forum to do with the wrong naming of the 24th at these battles ? Quoting from the Queen's Regs was just to clarify this matter. I'm just an outsider looking on.