Interesting point Pete makes about Rorke’s Drift.
However good a film Zulu was though, it seems the truth of the event was very different to the film.
Buuuzzzzz…time for a new thread!
I’ve read that there was some incredulity amongst his fellow officers about the award of the VC to Gonville Bromhead as he was not known for his military abilities, he also apparently suffered some degree of deafness, factors that may have lead to him ‘relinquishing’ command to John Chard.
James Dalton was awarded his VC at a later date than the others who took part in the action and was apparently only awarded the medal at all after some outcry by those who credited him with being the driving force behind the fortification and successful defence of Rorke’s Drift.
Another popular misconception, perpetuated by Stanley Baker, is that most of the defenders were Welsh.
‘Zulu’ is not historically accurate, no doubt about that…but it is still an excellent film!
My great great great Uncle George took part in the battle, I still have a Zulu knife that he liberated during the conflict, the cloth sheath is stained with blood, the family used to have a shield and assegai also from that event, but they have been shamefully lost.
I’ve tried to track him down without success.
What a fantastic piece of personal history to be able to research.
The coolest hero was Bronco Layne, played by Ty Hardin…he appeared as a spy/SS US army implant in the ‘Battle of the Bulge’, then dissapeared.
Not the MP in the classic ‘Does the road to Ambileve still lead to Malmedy?’ moment?
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