Dramatic Moments. DEFENCE OF RORKE’S DRIFT

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 101, 23 January 1935, Page 7

Dramatic Moments. DEFENCE OF RORKE’S DRIFT

It has been said that in all the annals of the British Army there is no record of any company of men having been in a tighter corner than the little garrison at Rorke’s Drift. It was in January 1879 that the amazing incident took place. Rorke’s Drift is ou the TugeJu River, about 23 miles from Durban, and here 4000 picked Zulus swept down on about 120 men, half of them iu hospital. Lieutenants Chard and Brombead were iu charge, and the attack was made with only a few minutes’ warning.

There was ’ ttle more defence than n few piles of mealie bags and some boxes of biscuits. The odds were sometiling like 40 to one. The terrible attack was made in the early part of the night, and the desperate fighting went otl'for ten hours. Charge after charge was made by the Zulus, and charge after charge was shattered by the cool British, who were audacious in hoping to hold out for five minutes against such overwhelming odds —and with every possible disadvantage. But the hours went by, and courage never failed, and heroic deeds were done — eight V.C.’s were won in that single engagement, the greatest number ever earned at one time —and in the grey light of the early morning the Zulus made one last attack, and being driven oft', fled, leaving 300 dead on the field. The British bad ten killed and 17 wounded, and as the enemy ran away a cheer rang out from the little band. The charge of the Light Brigade, Sir Eyre Quote's battle against Hyder Ali, and Rorke’s Drift—these were, perhaps the British Army’s proudest achievements before the Great War.