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Date	Original Topic
19th January 2004	Of Interest -Isandlwana By P.F Of Interest-years ago I read a book that had a account of battle of Isandlwana. The author Claimed that years later he was walking on the battle with a Zulu veteran when the author found a regimental badge of the 24th and showed it to the Zulu-remarking to the Zulu of the coincidence that the defeated 24th badge was shaped like the Isandlwana mountain
Date	Replies
19th January 2004	Peter Ewart Yes, this was Bertram Mitford, who relates this brief tale on p18 of his "Through the Zulu Country." (1883) Mitford doesn't actually say the badge was picked up by himself, only that "...I showed him one of these badges, picked up on the field .." but is probably implying that he himself had found it, as he certainly did do a lot of raking around, commenting on the position of the cartridge cases etc., at a time (1882) when he says there were still plenty of smaller items of detritus from the camp knocking about Presumably Bromhead's and Boast's burial parties also picked up larger rubbish (& no doubt small souvenirs) - and from 1879/80 the missionaries certainly used odd bits of material for building purposes as well as finding bones from both armies throughout the 1880s. Mitford also confirms that the Zulu to whom he showed the badge was astonished at the uncanny coincidence when it was pointed out to him. Peter
19th January 2004	P.F Thanks