Rorke's Drift: A New Perspective, by Neil Thornton

Fonthill Media, 2016, Kindle edition

Earth! render back from out thy breast

A remnant of our Spartan dead!

Of the three hundred grant but three,

To make a new Thermopylae!

Lord Byron 

Corporal Francis Atwood of the Army Service Corps was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his exploits at the defence of Rorke's Drift. As the Commanding Officer pinned the medal to his chest, he alluded to Leonidas and his band of three hundred Spartan warriors who held the pass at Thermopylae in the face of a 'great barbarian host'. He hoped that as poets had sung of Thermopylae some 2,000 years after the battle, so the 'small but intrepid band of men who fought and died, but held their ground against a savage foe' at the 'glorious defence of Rorke's Drift', would be similarly acclaimed down the ages. 

Zulu

Partly due to the 1964 film, Zulu, the events of 22-23 January 1879 are unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon. My first encounter with this 'new Thermopylae' was by means of that film. There were two cinemas in Newport, South Wales where I grew up, the Odeon and the ABC. For some reason the ABC decided to screen Zulu, which was originally released two years before I was born. I was still a kid when my parents took me to see it in all its big screen glory. In the interval I went to buy an ice cream. The film restarted before I returned to my parents. I was confronted by a the image of a massive Zulu brandishing an assegai at me. I ran back to my mum and dad as quickly as my legs would carry me. Since that startling first encounter I have probably watched Zulu more times than any other film.

I've also done a bit of casual reading about the defence of Rorke's Drift and watched the occasional documentary, so I was aware that while the film was based on an historical event, some dramatic licence was used in retelling the story. The regiment wasn't called the South Wales Borderers at the time, but the 2nd Warwickshire Regiment of Foot. The stirring 'Men of Harlech' sing off between the British soldiers and the Zulus before the final wave of attack was more Hollywood than history. 

There we are. The main aim of this book isn't simply to debunk Zulu, however, but to provider an accurate historical account of the defence of Rorke's Drift. The author, Neil Thornton alludes to Martin Luther's emphasis on sola scriptura, which took him back to the sources of the Christian faith in the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament. In Thornton's case, he determined to review the primary sources, rather than simply repeat the received wisdom found in secondary literature. His account offers fresh insight into the evacuation of the sick from the hospital at the height of the battle

 Rorke's Drift must fall?

The heroic defence of the mission station has been celebrated as one of the most illustrious episodes in British military history. The reason for British intervention in what became South Africa isn't quite so illustrious. A great game was being played by the great European powers to carve up Africa. The author neither condemns or condones British imperial adventurism. The geopolitical context of the iSandlwana massacre and defence of Rorke's Drift is sketched out simply to provide the backdrop to the military campaigns. The men who fought at Rorke's Drift admired the noble bravery of their opponents, but racist overtones are undeniable in the contemporary accounts, which speak of the British soldiers shooting  down countless assegai-wielding N******. Woke hadn't been invented back then. History is a messy business that was forged by less than perfect human beings, often acting from mixed motives, with ordinary squaddies caught up in the thick of it. Whatever we might think of British Imperialism, there are certainly things to admire about the defence of Rorke's Drift.  

 Courage

Around 150 British and other soldiers stationed at the Rorke's Drift faced Zulu forces estimated at 3,000 warriors. Some of the men of 2nd Warwickshire Regiment stationed at the mission station under the command of Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead wished they could have joined their comrades as they invaded Zulu territory in a quest to engage with the enemy. When news filtered through that a column of over 1,300 British soldiers had been cut down at  iSandlwana on 22 January, the reports were greeted with horror and disbelief. Zulu warriors who similarly had been denied their shot at glory on that field of battle were now making their way towards Rorke's Drift for what looked like a straightforward victory. 'You will all be murdered and cut to pieces!' cried a mounted messenger from the scene of slaughter. 

Bromhead's orders were to stand firm. Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers was supervising the building of ponts across a nearby river. As the superior officer he assumed overall command of the defence of Rorke's Drift. With the benefit of advice from Acting Commissary James Dalton Chard began to organise the defences, setting up a wall of mealie bags and stationing men to defend the hospital. 

Thornton describes the ensuing action in gripping detail from the first shots fired at the enemy by Private Hitch. The vastly outnumbered men of the 2nd Warwickshire kept the Zulu forces at bay by bullet and bayonet. While all showed great courage, some went well beyond the call of duty. Private Hook did sterling work in defending the hospital and helping evacuate the sick. Bromhead, Chard and Dalton fought alongside their soldiers, often in the most dangerous and exposed positions. Men fought on although injured and terribly weary. Defeat seemed inevitable, but the soldiers were determined to stand together and not lose their lives cheaply. 

In Zulu, the Swedish clergyman Otto Witt is portrayed as a drunk and a coward. In real life, Witt fled the scene before battle commenced to look after his family at nearby Msinga. The mission station chaplain, Reverend George Smith remained at Rorke's Drift, however. He did his bit too, making sure the men were supplied with cartridges, which earned him the nickname 'Ammunition Smith'. The chaplain moved among the soldiers offering words of rebuke and encouragement, 'Don't swear men, don't swear, but shoot them boys, shoot them!'. 

The Victoria Crosses and Distinguished Conduct Medals detailed in chapter 7 were well deserved, 

Leadership

Bromhead, Chard and Dalton showed themselves hugely capable and courageous leaders at the defence of Rorke's Drift. They thought and acted quickly to shore up the mission station's defences. At Chard's instructions a final redoubt was constructed out of mealie bags and biscuit boxes. Blind spots were covered. Bromhead led small detachments of men to reinforce the line where the battle was at it fiercest. There was no petty rivalry between the two Lieutenants. After the siege was lifted, Bromhead visited his wounded men and ensured they received the best possible treatment. After the action some higher up officers held a low opinion of Bromhead and Chard. Despite their outstanding leadership at the defence of Rorke's Drift, they were deemed to be rather ordinary men. Thrusting, ambitious types unfairly looked down on them. True leadership isn't flashy. Competence, courage and the ability to inspire confidence when it counts are the thing. 

Tragedy

Chapter 7 not only details the VCs and DCMs awarded to the men who fought at Rorke's Drift, it also shows what became of the heroes of that battle in later life. While some lived to reach a good old age, others died before their time. Some of disease, others in destitution, One man took his own life, the balance of his mind disturbed. It struck me as particularly tragic that men who had fought so hard to live should then die in such miserable ways, Ecclesiastes 9:11. 

Thornton provides a well-researched and compelling account of the action. The book loses a bit if steam after chapter 6, Salvation, where the mission station is relieved and the siege lifted. Unlike King Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans, the majority of the defenders of Rorke's Drift thankfully lived to tell the tale. There is a fair bit if repetition in chapter 7, Gallantry Recipients, which stricter editing could have avoided. Chapter 8 and a number of appendices detail the thinking behind the author's proposed two stage evacuation of the hospital. 

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get at the truth behind Zulu. If only Richard Burton was around to narrate a version of the book for Audible.