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

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Whybra, Julian (2004). England's Sons: a casualty and survivors' roll of British combatants for the battle of ... Isandhlwana. One Slice Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-908901-94-1. 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. On 22 January 1879, during the final hour of the Battle of iSandlwana - one of the greatest disasters ever to befall British troops during the Victorian era - a very different story was about to unfold a few miles away at the mission station of Rorke's Drift. When a Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors turned their attention to the small outpost, defended by around 150 British and Imperial troops, the odds of the British surviving were staggeringly low. 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. His main "revision" is to promote the idea that the Hosvalpital was evacuated in two seperate groups one by Hook and Williams and earlier by R.Jones and W.Jones, all of whom earned teh V.C for their efforts All his claims are supported with quotes from survivor accounts and are credible.

In the aftermath of the battle, modesty and graciousness were two other attributes displayed by both officers, as demonstrated in this quote from Chard: A few very different ethnic groups met at Rorke's Drift in 1879, and the film gave all but one an equitable treatment. The English in the film are represented most prominently in the film by Bromhead's swaggering aristocratic character, and not by the bravery of the mostly English troops that he historically commanded. The fact that the defenders at Rorke's Drift were mostly English was glossed over by the film: "This is a Welsh regiment man, although there are a few foreigners from England in it." In fact, the composition of 'B' company, 24th Regiment, although later based out of Wales, actually contained only a small minority of Welsh defenders in 1879. The most genuinely kind character in the film also happens to be Welsh, a private named Tommy who constantly worries about the fate of a calf whose mother had died [1] (Morris, 1994: 99). Additionally, at the real battle, a missionary stood watch on a nearby hill as a sentry to warn of the Zulu's approach. However, once again the film makes a slight, yet telling departure from reality, by replacing the religious figure with two Welsh sentries. In one fell swoop, religion finds itself marginalized and the Welsh are lionized as the outpost's first line of defense. Baker was Welsh by birth and Prebble had been stationed in North Wales during much of the Second World War (to say nothing of the suffering of Baker's Welsh ancestors at the hands of the English) and so it seems fair to attribute the film's pro-Welsh tone largely to its producers (Prebble, 1993: 47). Knight 1996, p. 38, "Although the Zulu position was a commanding one – a squad of good shots armed with efficient rifles could have made Chard's position untenable within minutes – the Zulus were neither good shots, nor well armed."

About Ian Knight

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 Wood, M.J. (2009). Leaders and Battles: The Art of Military Leadership. Random House Digital, Inc. p.138. ISBN 9780307537034. Officially there were NO English regiments and NO Welsh regiments – as Julian has just said – they were BRITISH regiments. As to affiliations, certainly where a regiment was located would affect the perception of belonging. I can see no problem with the public associating a regiment with its depot in Wales as being “Welsh”. Again, as I’ve said before, this is how the Welsh press were reporting it in 1879. This might not be palatable to you – but hey, you can’t please everyone !

Join Zulu War expert Ian Knight as he draws on first-hand accounts from the Battle of Rorke’s Drift to offer fresh insights into the experiences of those involved. Why did they sing 'Men of Harlech' if it was not to add to the impression that it was a Welsh regiment?I have not got Sheldon Halls book, so I cannot read it for reference, however, I do note that you say that Sheldon said, "The film is faithful ONLY to the broad general outlines and BASIC sequence of events of the battle of Rorke's Dift. MANY details, including ALL the characterisations, were wholly INVENTED and MANY incidents EMBELLISHED and FICTIONALISED for dramitic effect. You also said that the draft script called for the men to sing an "old Welsh march", One could ask WHY???? Was this not to give the impression that the 24th regiment was Welsh?