An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 27 war; but at the tacti- cal level it was a war that had nonethe- less to be fought and won by soldiers. It is the po- litican that commits a nation to war, the soldier who has to sort out the mess. The engagement at Rorke's Drift involved a defence so vigorous, a contest so immediate, that it was only the 'now' of hand-to-hand combat that counted; the moment was all that mattered: lose that moment and everything was lost. The fighting was as ferocious as it was fiery, as frantic as it was fierce. Amazingly the British garrison was to suffer very few fatalities; only 17 in all, amongst whom four were Irish. The real hero of the defence of Rorke's Drift was not Lt Gon- ville 'Gunny' Bromhead (played in the film by Michael Caine) or Lt John Chard (played by Stanley Baker) but an Irishman, born in London; acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton. In fact, the cumulative presence of Irishmen at Rorke's Drift, including native Irish-born, others born of Irish parents in Britain, and those with Irish names and con- nections, suggest the Irish par- ticipation numbered some 30 or so of the defenders. The event is also noteworthy for the awarding of the highest number of Victoria Crosses to a single unit for a single action; seven being awarded to members of the 24th Regiment of Foot (2nd Warwickshire). In all, 11 VCs were awarded for actions during this battle and there is a distinct Irish connection to four of those who were in receipt of this honour. Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, Surgeon James Henry Reynolds (Dublin), Lt Bromhead (75% Irish), and Pte John William Fielding, born in Abergavenny, Mon- mouthshire, Wales, to Cork City parents. Another Corkman, Assistant Commissary Walter Dunne, who was highly exposed to fire from gunshot and spears while he built the final fall-back position, the Redoubt, out of 200lb mealie bags, was nominated for a VC but was not finally granted one. In a separate, earlier and unconnected action, Lt Neville Coghill, born in Drumcondra, Dublin, but of a Cork fam- ily with strong associations to Castletownsend, together with a Lt Teignmouth Melvill, made a bold bid to save the Queen's Colour of the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot, removing it from the battlefield at Isandlwana to prevent it falling into Zulu hands. This undertaking was to cost them both their lives but they succeed in their task and were subsequently to become the first posthumous recipients of the Victoria Cross. (The colour in question when the unit was stationed in the Curragh Camp). The outpost at Rorke's Drift comprised two thatched-roof buildings, the first of which was the house built around 1849 by another Irishman, Jim Rorke, a hunter, trader, farmer, and once part-time soldier who saw service in one of the many Cape frontier wars against the Xhosa. Seeking new adventures, he travelled north to the then new and remote frontier between Natal and Zululand where he settled on a plot of land on high ground above a favoured fording site (or 'drift'). Over the following 20 years built his storehouse and his trading relationships on both sides of the Buffalo River. It became known as 'Jim's Land', or KwaJimu to the Zulus. On his death the trading post was sold and converted into a Swedish missionary station. When the British took back the site they converted it into an unfortified improvised supply depot. On his death, Jim Rorke was buried nearby at the foot of a hill named Shiyane ('eyebrow') where he remains to this day. Many fresh graves would be dug alongside his on 23rd January 1879. Lt Col Dan Harvey's book 'A Bloody Night - The Irish at Rorke's Drift' (a follow-on from his book last year, 'A Bloody Day - The Irish at Waterloo', reveals the story of those Irishmen at Rorke's Drift and does an invaluable service in helping to remember them properly. Their bravery is something that should be upheld and acknowledged as a source of national pride, and an example of inspirational bravery. A bloody Night - The Irish at Rorke's Drift " is published by H-books, Cork, ISbN: 987-3- 9504276-0-8 The defence of Rorke's Drift, painted by Lady Elizabeth Butler (née Thompson) (1880) Sketch of Rorke's Drift defences with signature of Lt John Chard R.E. © Royal Regiment of Wales Museum, Brecon Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton VC Victoria Cross recipient Colonel John Chard VC

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