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

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You state above: “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” . What is your source for this, Martin ? 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. 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)

This small outpost was defended by a garrison of around 150 British and Imperial troops. So, when a Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors turned their attention to it, the odds of the British surviving were staggeringly low.

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. A Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors had 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 fascinated military history enthusiasts for decades. 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)

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. The bottom line is this. The film made it appear that the 24th was Welsh, it was not, it also made it appear that the regiment contained more Welshmen than the few 'forigners from England', it did not, it gave the impression that the 24th was very much a Welsh regiment by singing 'Men of Harlech', which was not the regimental song of the 24th at the time, and this never happened anyway, it made it appear that most V.C's went to Welshmen, they did not, it did state that the regiment was called the SWB, even if it was Richard Burton saying it at the end of the film, the name of the regiment was given has being the SWB, which it was not. By that time, the garrison had sustained 14 dead. Two more were mortally wounded and eight more – including Dalton – were seriously wounded. Almost every man had some kind of wound. They were all exhausted, having fought for the better part of 10 hours and were running low on ammunition. Of 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission, only 900 remained. [36] Aftermath [ edit ]

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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." Also, as mentioned, one member of Stevenson's 2nd/3rd NNC, Corporal William Anderson, was killed by British fire while fleeing the station just prior to the arrival of the Zulus. 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] You can question whether his unquestioning defence of the qualities of Chard and Bromhead is wholly justified but that is a small quibble 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.

As the figures suggest, both battalions of the 24th LARGELY reflected the general pattern of regional origins within the British Army at the time; the MAJORITY of them were English, many of them were Irish, and SOME were Scottish and Welsh. hours prior to Rorke's Drift, the Zulus had massacred 1300 British soldiers at iSandlwana, about 6 miles away. Survivors from this massacre passed by Rorke's Drift as they were fleeing, telling the men there what was coming their way. He goes beyond the eleven V.Cs when he provides biographies of all the men awarded medals and his collection of accounts and recollections is a valued addition to the corpus Morris, Roy Jr. (August 2005), Military Heritage, Volume 7, No. 1, p.8). [ full citation needed] Discusses Rorke's Drift and the politics of the Victoria Cross. The point is well worth remembering when reading this "New Pespective" on the renowned battle of Rorke's Drift based only on primary sources of the survivors. I had mild concerns about this book simply becasue the title suggests a revisionist approach that this book makes no effort to atttempt.The statistics I quoted were as a result of the point you raised about long service men. YOU stated “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” (and Ian Knight does NOT say this, you have misinterpreted what he has written !). Do you not agree that the statistic of 75% of B Company having been trained at Brecon tends to disprove your statement ? The 1st battalion, 24th regiment, spent much of the 1870's in Mediterranean garrisons - Malta and Gibraltar - before being despatched directly to South Africa in November 1874. The 2nd battalion was based in Aldershot in 1874, Dover from August 1875 and Chatham from 1877 prior to its departure for the Cape in February 1878. Throughout that time both battalions continued to receive recruits through the efforts of recruiting sergeants ACCROSS THE COUNTRY, although there had been a SLIGHT increase in recruits from the area covered by the district depot as a result of its association with the local malitia. 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). The Royal Regiment of Wales". Rrw.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012 . Retrieved 9 November 2012.