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Rorke's Drift
Regimental Art  Royal Regiment of Wales  Rorke's Drift |
[UP] - Lieutenant Bromhead VC - Private Hook VC - Corporal Allan VC - Isandlwana - Private Robert Jones VC - Private William Jones VC |
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Defense of Rorke's Drift, Zulu War 1879, range of military prints of the South Wales Borderers during the defense of Rorke's Drift against overwhelming Zulu force during the Zulu war. |
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Defence of Rorkes Drift. After the British Defeat and the Zulu victory at isandhlwana. Zulu Chief Cetawayo entered northern Natal that night. On a tributary of the Tugela River stood the British garrison of 140 troops under the command of Lt Chard at Rorkes Drift. the Zulu force of 4,000 attacked the garrison repeatedly, using their assagais, (also with Rifles form the hillside, taken form the dead British troops at isandhlwana.) The attacks lasted all night through 22nd into the 23rd. in the morning the Zulu withdrew, but only having lost 400 dead in the fighting. The British suffered 25 casualties. for this achievement of holding rorkes drift a total of 11 Victoria Crosses were received. |
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| Text for the above items : |
Stand Firm the 24th (Rorkes Drift) by Chris Collingwood. During the battle for Rorkes Drift, 24th Warwickshires man the improvised ramparts of the inner barricade as the Zulu attack reaches its height. |
This Heroic Little Garrison, Defence of Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. Men of the 24th of foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the conclusion of the battle, hundreds of Zulus lay dead. According to official figures the British lost 25 men, 11 Victoria crosses were awarded. |
Defence of Rorkes Drift by Lady Elizabeth Butler. On January 22nd 1879, during the Zulu War, the small British field hospital and supply depot at Rorkes Drift in Natal was the site of one of the most heroic military defences of all time. Manned by 140 troops of the 24th Regiment, led by Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, the camp was attacke by a well-trained and well-equipped Zulu army of 4000 men, heartened by the great Zulu victory over the British forces at Isandhlwana earlier on the same day. The battle began in mid afternoon, when British remnants of the defeat at Isandhlwana struggled into the camp. Anticipating trouble, Chard set his small force to guard the perimeter fence but, when the Zulu attack began, the Zulus came faster than the British could shoot and the camp was soon overcome. The thatched roof of the hospital was fired by Zulu spears wrapped in burning grass and even some of the sick and the dying were dragged from their beds and pressed into the desperate hand-to-hand fighting. Eventually, Chard gave the order to withdraw from the perimeter and to take position in a smaller compound, protected by a hastily assembled barricade of boxes and it was from behind this barricade that the garrison fought for their lives throughout the night. After twelve hours of battle, the camp was destroyed, the hospital had burned to the ground, seventeen British lay dead and ten were wounded. However, the Zulus had been repulsed and over 400 of their men killed. The Battle of Rorkes Drift is one of the greatest examples of bravery and heroism in British military history. Nine men were awarded Distinguished Conduct Medals, and eleven, the most ever given for a single battle, received the highest military honour of all, the Victoria Cross. |
Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. Pencil detail of men of the 24th of Foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) standing in preparation to repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the conclusion of the battle, hundreds of Zulus lay dead. According to official figures the British lost 25 men, 11 Victoria crosses were awarded. |
Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. No text for this item |
Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
Tending the Wounded at Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
To the Meallie Bags, Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
Pot That Fellow by Mark Churms. Acting Assistant Commissary J.L. Dalton commissariat and transport department and colour sergeant F. Bourne, during the battle at the front wall about 6pm at Rorkes Drift. Frank Bourne was born on the 27th April 1854 in Balcombe Sussex, when Bourne was 18 he joined the 24th Regiment in 1872, being promoted to Corporal in 1875 and Sergeant in 1878. Sergeant Bourne was promoted to Colour Sergeant soon after the rgeiment arrived in Natal. Colour Sgt bourne was part of B company whose job was to guard the hospital at Rorkes Drift. Colour Sgt Bourne played a major role in keeping the defending troops effective. Colour Sgt Bourne was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his role in the defence, and it is surprising that he was not awarded a Victoria Cross as 11 were awarded for the defence. Col Sgt Bourne retired form the army in 1907, but joined again for WW1, serving in Dublin. He was the last survivor of Rorkes Drift, passing away at the age of 91 on the 8th May 1945 by coincidence being VE day. |
Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne DCM by Stuart Liptrot Colour-Sergeant Frank Bourne of the 24th Regiment at the Defence of Rorkes Drift during the Zulu attack on Rorkes Drift. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne, 2nd battalion South Wales Borderers. Frank Bourne was born on the 27th April 1854 in Balcombe Sussex. When Bourne was 18 he joined the 24th Regiment in 1872, being promoted to Corporal in 1875 and Sergeant in 1878. Sergeant Bourne was promoted to Colour Sergeant soon after the rgeiment arrived in Natal. Colour Sgt bourne was part of B company whose job was to guard the hospital at Rorkes Drift. Colour Sgt Bourne played a major role in keeping the defending troops effective. Colour Sgt Bourne was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his role in the defence and it is surprising that he was not awarded a Victoria Cross as 11 were awarded for the defence. Col Sgt Bourne retired form the army in 1907 but joined again for WW1, serving in Dublin. He was the last survivor of Rorkes Drift passing away at the age of 91 on the 8th May 1945 by coincidence being VE day. |
Defence of Rorkes Drift by Brian Palmer Men of the 24th Foot defend Rorkes Drift against an overwhelming number of Zulus near the barricades, and the hand to hand fighting. Surgeon Reynolds can be seen attending a wounded soldier. |
Defence of Rokes Drift, 1879 by Henry Dupray. No text for this item |
Victoria Cross Winners at the Defence of Rorkes Drift, January 22nd - 23rd 1879 by Stuart Liptrot Individuals shown: Lieutenant G. Bromhead, Lieutenant J.R.M. Chard, Private F. Hitch, Corporal W.W. Allen, Private W. Jones, Private J. Williams, Private R. Jones, Surgeon J.H. Reynolds, J.L Dalton and Private A. Hook. |
Rorkes Drift January 22nd, 1879 by Stuart Liptrot Defending the barracades, men of the 24th of Foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the end of the battle, hundreds of the Zulu warriors of the uThulwans, iNdlondo and uDloko regiments lay dead. According to official figures the British lost 25 men, 11 Victoria crosses were awarded for the defence of Rorkes Drift. |
Private William Jones, VC by Stuart Liptrot Private William Jones VC is shown in the art print standing in fornt of the doorway in the hospital as the Zulu warriors break into the hospital and rush the entrance. Private Robert Jones. Decorated for conspicuous bravery and devotion to the wounded at Rorkes drift. Private Robert and William Jones, posted in a room of the Hospital facing the hill, kept up a steady fire against enormous odds, and while one worked to cut a hole through the partition into the next room, the other shot Zulu after Zulu through the loophooled walls, using his own and his comrades rifle alternatively when the barrels became to hot to hold owing to the incessant firing. By their united heroic efforts six out of the seven patients were saved by being carried through the broken partition. the seventh, sergeant Maxwell being delirious, refused to be helped, and on Robert Jones returning to take him by force he found him being stabbed by the Zulus in his bed, Robert Jones died in 1898 in Peterchurch Herefordshire. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross. |
Rorkes Drift 22nd January 1879 - Defending the Hospital by Jason Askew By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 14th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Rorkes Drift 22nd January 1879 - Defending the Store House by Jason Askew By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 14th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Defence of Rorkes Drift by Alphonse De Neuville. By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 14th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
The Defense of Rorkes Drift by Alphonse De Neuville. By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 24th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Helping Hand, Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. No text for this item |
Sergeant at Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
Soldier, 24th of Foot at Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
Rorke's Drift by Keith Rocco. Natal province January 22nd 1879. |
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