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

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What we get is a sensible, reasoned and well supported new analysiss that eschews all modern accounts to return to the words of those whe were there. His arguments are cogent and difficult to deny but he is the first to admit that several survivors change their accounts over the years. Some to appease the communities where the dead came from others for self aggrandisement or simple old agae and confused memory. In 1879, there was no provision for the posthumous granting of the Victoria Cross, and so it could not be awarded to anyone who had died in performing an act of bravery. Private Joseph Williams, B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot, was killed during the fight in the hospital and was mentioned in despatches that "had he lived he would have been recommended for the Victoria Cross." [53] What defines a nationality ? Is it where a person is born; is it where the person’s father was born ?; is it where he lives ?; is it where he works ?; is it where he “feels” he is from?; is it where the soldier enlists ?; etc, etc. To get a definitive answer you would have to apply the same criteria to EACH individual, and quite frankly the information to do that is just not available. So, just because a soldier says he’s from Merthyr Tydfil, is not proof that he was Welsh !! Nor because he’s called Jones, or Evans, etc. And how accurate are the enlistment records ? The documentation may well have been done by someone who was not a Welsh speaker, and it is much easier for a “Sais” (Englishman) to write down and spell, for example, “Monmouth” rather than “Pontllanfraith” The Royal Regiment of Wales". Rrw.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012 . Retrieved 9 November 2012.

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." Of the principle characters only 5 (Owen, Thomas, Williams 612, and the two Jones’) are portrayed as Welsh.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). 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.

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.Kearney, L. H. (16 March 1940). "40,000 Cheered When Wagstaff's 1914 Team Beat Australians With Eleven Men". Sunday Mail (Brisbane). 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] In this classic work, Anglo-Zulu War experts Lee Stevenson, Alan Baynham-Jones and Ian Knight examine a wide range of personal testimonies from those present at Rorke’s Drift, while also presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety. By reading this account, readers will gain an impressive, unique breadth of knowledge about one of the most epic battles in British history. This updated edition includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides.