Haggard, H. Rider; Kerr, C. H. M. (ill.) (1893). "The Tale of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift". In Lang (ed.). The true story book. London; New York: Longmans, Green. pp.132–152.

The Duke of Wellington was famously dismissive of any attempt to create a record of the events of the Battle of the Waterloo. He compared it to trying to remembe who danced with whom a at a Ball. Since eveeryone's recollection is different it is impossible to divine the truth. Whybra, Julian (2004). England's Sons: a casualty and survivors' roll of British combatants for the battle of ... Isandhlwana. One Slice Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-908901-94-1. 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. When a Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors 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 enraptured military history enthusiasts for decades. 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 book includes all the citations for the 11 (yes eleven) Victoria Crosses earned over the 12 hours of fighting. The fighting was hand-to-hand at times, with bayonets being used against spears in the night time.

About Ian Knight

I have not got Sheldon Halls book, so I cannot read it for reference, however, I do note that you say that Sheldon said, "The film is faithful ONLY to the broad general outlines and BASIC sequence of events of the battle of Rorke's Dift. MANY details, including ALL the characterisations, were wholly INVENTED and MANY incidents EMBELLISHED and FICTIONALISED for dramitic effect. You also said that the draft script called for the men to sing an "old Welsh march", One could ask WHY???? Was this not to give the impression that the 24th regiment was Welsh? Morris, Donald R. The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879. Da Capo Press, 1998, ISBN 0-306-80866-8.

Kable wrote: Wasn't part of the discussion on the forum to do with the wrong naming of the 24th at these battles ? Quoting from the Queen's Regs was just to clarify this matter. I'm just an outsider looking on. After the battle, 351 Zulu bodies were counted, but it has been estimated that at least 500 wounded and captured Zulus might have been massacred as well. [37] [40] Having witnessed the carnage at Isandlwana, the members of Chelmsford's relief force had no mercy for the captured, wounded Zulus they came across, [41] nor did the station's defenders. Trooper William James Clarke of the Natal Mounted Police described in his diary that "altogether we buried 375 Zulus and some wounded were thrown into the grave. Seeing the manner in which our wounded had been mutilated after being dragged from the hospital... we were very bitter and did not spare wounded Zulus". [42] Laband, in his book The Zulu Response to the British Invasion of 1879, accepts the estimate of 600 that Shepstone had from the Zulus. [43]

By the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu campaign in January 1879 NEITHER battalion had spent time in Brecon. The 1st battalion, moreover, still contained a high proportion of older, experienced men woh had joined under the 'long service' system that had prevailed BEFORE the establishment of the Brecon depot. The recent time spent at home by the 2nd battalion was reflected in a higher proportion of young recruits who had joined under the 'short service' system. Since the 1st battalion had been at the Cape, a number of men had left it on the expiry of their term of enlistment, and had been replaced by drafts from home; despite this, any MARGINAL increase in the Welsh character of the regiment had fallen rather to the 2nd battalion. In fact, however, where records are available - and they are not always complete or reliable - they suggest there were VERY FEW Welshmen in either battalion during the war. Of the men of the 2/24 who defended Rorke's Drift (B company, together with a handful of patients in the hospital) whose regional origins are known with any certainty, 62 were from England (including 5 from Monmouthshire), 25 were from Ireland and 17 from Wales.