| 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. Open edition print. Image size 25 inches x 13 inches (64cm x 33cm) plus white border without text.. Price £36.00  Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
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| Finding the Body of the Prince Imperial, 2nd June 1879 by Harry Payne.
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| Types of Natal Forces by Richard Simkin. Print shows from left: Trooper of the Natal Carabiniers, Officer of the Natal Carabiniers, Imperial Light Horse, Natal Police Trooper of the Natal Mounted Police and Durban Light Infantry. Open edition print. Image size 8 inches x 12 inches (31cm x 20cm). Price £14.00 Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
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Text supplied by Zulu War Author Ian Knight.
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 VC Winners: Lieutenant J.R.M. Chard, R.E.; Lieutenant G. Bromhead, 2/24th;
Surgeon J.H. Reynolds, A.M.D.; Acting Assistant Commissary J.L. Dalton, C. &
T.D.; Corporal Allen, 2/24th; Corporal C.F. Schiess, N.N.C.; Privates F. Hitch,
A.H. Hook, R. Jones, W. Jones, J. Williams, 2/24th.
The DCM Winners: Col. Sgt. F.E. Bourne2/24th; 2nd Corp. F. Attwood, A.S.C.; 2nd
Corp. M. McMahon, A.H.C.; Wheeler J. Cantwell, R.A.; Pte W. Roy, 1/24th.
Battle of Isandhlwana Zulu victory over the British forces on 22nd January 1879 about
100km north of Durban. Lord Chelmsford led a column of forces to seek out the
Zulu army camped at Isandhlwana, while patrols searched the district. After
receiving a report, Chelmsford set forth at half strength, leaving six companies
of the 24th Regiment, two guns, some Colonial Volunteers and a native contingent
(in all about 1,800 troops) at the camp. Later that morning an advanced post
warned of an approaching Zulu army. Shortly after this, thousands of Zulus were
found hidden in a ravine by a mounted patrol but as the patrol set off to warn
the camp, the Zulus followed. At the orders of the Camp Commander, troops spread
out around the perimeter of the camp, but the Zulu army broke through their
defences. The native contingent who fled during the attack were hunted down and
killed. The remaining troops of the 24th Regiment, 534 soldiers and 21 officers,
were killed where they fought. The Zulus left no one alive, taking no prisoners
and leaving no wounded or missing. About 300 Africans and 50 Europeans escaped
the attack. Consequently, the invasion of Zulu country was delayed while reinforcements
arrived from Britain.
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