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The Rorke's Drift Guestbook


DateMessages (page 13 of 50)
10th August 2005Brett Roby
Where would I find the report of the annialation of the 3 colunms prior to the battle at Rourkes Drift?

Regards,

B. Roby
6th August 2005L Miller (Canada)
I guess maybe I'm at the wrong site to say this seeing as this is devoted to the Victoria Cross recipients, but what about the bravery and pride of the great Zulu warriors? Surely today we've realized the incredible losses of cultures and peoples because of Imperialism. The film Zulu ends with the Zulu warriors saluting the British troops, recognizing their bravery, etc. That should be remembered too.
6th August 2005Martin
Thnsk for this great website - fascinating stuff, those brave soldiers deserve this memorial to them!!! Hope to get to rourkes drift one day.
4th August 2005nick field
I loved the film as a kid and now I'm reading Saul Davids 'Zulu'. I'm now determined to get to Isandlwana and Rourkes Drift one day. And to top it off, a work colleague's just told me that his wife is the great great granddaughter of Frederick Hitch. How about that!? Great site.
3rd August 2005ceri
hiya i am doing a project on john fieldings/williams for my humanities course i school i wondered if any body a photograph of john and henry together ? thank you
31st July 2005Griffith Davies
A truly great battle and film. A fine example of Welsh bravery and Celtic fire.

Land of my fathers.
26th July 2005becky
My relative William Manley was a survivor of Rorkes Drift..can anyone tell me more..Thanks
22nd July 2005ABA IMO
I am a relative of John Rouse Merriot Chard. This is a very informative web site and interesting. It is good to see that these brave sodiers are being remembered
22nd July 2005Patrick Daniel Gallagher
Dear Madam Johnson:
It is with my utmost respect that I write to you now. Were it not for Lt. Chard's "keen" eye, I truly feel that the Drift would have been overrun. He was the solitary Engineer..."in the right place, at the right time." With respect to the movie "Zulu", I think that the screenwriters said it all when they had Stanley Baker say..."I came here to build a bridge." It is the "Classic" British understatement! I truly think that is why I love you Brits so much! Although...Sergeant-to-Corporal...I have a place deep within my heart for Corporal Allen..."We Ain't Finished The Bridge Sir!" I thank you for allowing me to say "thank you" to the British people. "We Ain't Finished The Bridge Sir!" Thank you Corporal Allen. And THANK YOU the Great Peoples of Brittania!
Sincerely, Just an ordinary Yank.
20th July 2005Helen Johnson(Nee Chard)
I am a relative of John Rouse Merriot Chard. This is a very informative web site and interesting. It is good to see that these brave sodiers are being remembered.
18th July 2005Ilaria Pratesi
I'm a great fan of colonial history,expecially of the British Empire, and I've never seen such a well organized website! It's really full of interesting information that is normally difficult to find. It's a pleasure to see that a lot of people are sharing my greatest passion...congratulations!
16th July 2005Steve Francombe
I stumbled upon this great site after watching 'Zulu - the true story' on UKTV History this morning as I was intrigued by the part played in the defence of Rorke's Drift by James Dalton and also the terrible fate of some of the survivors dying in poverty and despair. Zulu is one of my all-time favourite films and I commend dispelling the myths that have grown from this. Most memorable moment for me in the film is the compassion and humanity Hook shows to Max Field and I like to think it bears some truth in what portrays 'Brothers in Arms'.
11th July 2005William Stephey
As an American, I find myself couriously interested in British military history,as it is the history is the prelude to greater works ,even the establishment of the American Colonies required soilders to secure the inital settlements.
Wether or not the endeavours have been true and right ,or corrupt and evil it is the remeberance of the soilder and his hardship ,his duty ,and his sacrifice,and the sacrifice of his family that needs to be remebered.This Web site helps do just that it acknowledges the heroic actions of ordinary men .but it lays out the known truth accurately it tells a story not just of the Days of the Colonial British Empire,but it tells the story of our own people even our soilders today even us .
thank you
11th July 2005richard higgs
my great grandfather was a member of the 2/24 regiment of foot. He survived ulundi and lived to come back to abingdon in oxfordshire.
11th July 2005Matt Denton
History means alot to me and this section of history and those memerable days of isandhlwana and rorkes drift should not be forgotten and deserve to be remembered correctly and this site just that.
kepp the memories of those soldiers alive.
4th July 2005Al D
Just stumbled across this site and I had to contribute. I am an ex British Soldier (Royal Engineers) who served my first tour with 5 Field Squadron in Germany from 1988 to 1992.

The history of 5 Field Squadron, as far as I'm aware, goes way back into the mists of time. Originally, it was known as the 5th Field Company (Back in the dys when they used to go to battle on bi-cycles!)... the very same company that John Rouse Merriot Chard was dispatched from in order to build a bridge at Rorkes Drift. Sadly, the reminder of the company was decimated by the Zulu's!!!

Every year, members of 5 Field Squadron engage in a celebration of the battle of Rorkes Drift, they celebrate the heroisim and determination of Lt Chard and the history of the Squadron since then. This usually involves lots of alcohol and another viewing of ZULU....

It is true to say that Rorkes Drift has created a profound respect for our forbears, a history which we are proud of and will continue to celebrate as long as 5 Field Squadron exists.
3rd July 2005Julie charlwood
henry hook was my gt gt gt grandfather!!!
is nice to know he is remembered
25th June 2005Andy Gerrard
Probably the best website I have come across - fantastic
21st June 2005Coll
I thought I'd just leave another message in the guestbook to say how much I have enjoyed being involved in the discussions, even though my own contributions may not have been very interesting.

I hope I didn't bore people too much with my topics about Col. Durnford and also my replies on other topics about him.

It is thanks to this site and all of the contributors, that my interest in the AZW and projects connected to it, which I had abandoned years ago, have now been reactivated.

Thanks to all of you, this year has been the most I've talked (e-mailed - but you know what I mean) about the AZW, since my interest started over a decade ago.
15th June 2005Patrick Daniel Gallagher
I think that it would be grand to see in writing, some of the feelings of Officer and enlisted in their letters home. I am focusing on the Battle of Gettysburg...I would hope that the descendants of the soldiers at the "Drift" may be able to share some light on their forbearers thoughts and feelings. At Gettysburg..."Excerpts from John Gordon to Fanny Gordon"..."I would like to have seen you once more before you left,but these are times that try us in many respects...God bless you my dear wife, and it comes right from my heart. My confidence, I think, is pretty strong. I trust in Him. Pray that I may trust Him more and pray with Faith". 30 April 1863..."How far we will march no one seems to know..I doubt that General Lee himself knows. Oh Fanny, what shall I say to you? How shall I tell you what I feel this night? If I could only lay my arms around my dear wife-and press her close to this heart...if down my sunburnt cheeks a tear shall fall..do not think me effeminate or unmanly. For it is only when my heart is overwhelmed by such thoughts as I have this night...that I shall never again hold my Life and My Princess in these arms. AFTER THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG..."God has spared my life, I am yet alive. Thousands of as good and brave men as our country contains, lie dead upon the battlefields of Pennsylvania...yet...I am spared. I who so liitle appreciate God's peculiar favors to me. Yet, I am spared. My Brigade has been greatly complimented! But Darling, these things mean very little to me. I rarely give them a second thought. My soul is too much burdened with the terror of this war to think of such things. My separation from you...the Soul of my happiness on this Earth...the awful uncertainty as to the future...the seemingly endless bloodshed that is to take place...the thousands of lives lost in the last horrid battle...all conspire to render every personal compliment and idle talk of glory as exheedingly worthless to me. However, these times are too serious to think much of personal considerations. But I have been peculiarly fortunate, and have made without an effort to do it...some reputation as a commander. My Dear Girl, what shall I say to you, to give you an idea of my heart aching, when I think of our separation. Why Darling, except in the midst of Battle, you are scarcely out of my thoughts. Indeed, I am not at all sure that I do not think of you in Battle. I am quite sure that the idea occurs to me,of the desolation which would reign in your heart if I should be killed. This thought occured to me at the last battle at Gettysburg. Goodbye. The Lord of Hosts bless you my Dear Wife and my little boys. I am trying to rely upon the same protection I have felt in other battles. My Saviour I trust is my friend. If I am spared...it is on His account. Goodbye again my Sweet Angel Wife.
13th June 2005Patrick Daniel Gallagher
"Aye" remember only 14 years earlier..2 July 1863...The "Battle of the Wheatfield"..."Gettysburg"...1st Minnesota Regiment of Volunteers...378 men...Gen Sickles "rode down the Line"..."What Regiment is this?" "FIRST MINNESOTA was the reply!!! "Can You Hold This Line?..." Gen....Sickles reply was thus...We shall take our Fight to the Enemy!!. Of the 378 soldiers of the 1st Minnesota...only 17 soldiers walked down from the heights...."So Much For Rorke's Drift!!!
13th June 2005Patrick Daniel Gallagher
"Aye" remember only 14 years earlier..2 July 1863...The "Battle of the Wheatfield"..."Gettysburg"...1st Minnesota Regiment of Volunteers...378 men...Gen Sickles "rode down the Line"..."What Regiment is this?" "FIRST MINNESOTA was the reply!!! "Can You Hold This Line?..." Gen....Sickles reply was thus...We shall take our Fight to the Enemy!!. Of the 378 soldiers of the 1st Minnesota...only 17 soldiers walked down from the heights...."So Much For Rorke's Drift!!!
11th June 2005J Couper
As a descendant of James Rorke, I should be most interested to hear from other descendants of his. Would also be interested to learn more about him and the family should anyone have details. Thanks for a great website.
8th June 2005graham beavis
great site
sad to see that j. r.m. chard & g. bromhead
and others did not live to a ripe old age
they deserved it...
8th June 2005Patrick Daniel Gallagher
Again...kudos to Corporal Allen...B Company, 2nd Battallion, 24th Regiment-of Foot. And I quote..."We ain't Finished the Bridge Sir!" Thank God there was an "Officer of Engineers" present at the drift! For he had an intuitive eye for defensive positioning. Lt. Chard (even though he was a lowly engineer)...was the true Savior of the Drift. I can only ask..."What truly transpired at Islandwanah"? How was it possible that three columns of elite British Infantry could be defeated, nay...annihilated by a native force of warriors weilding only buffalo-skin shields and "assegais". Yet...36 hours later...a single company held off the onslaught of 4,000 zulus? You Brits never cease to amaze me! I am Irish (Green)...Sergeant...11Bravo...Infantry.
Hey Guys...:WE AIN'T FINISHED THE BRIDGE...SIR!" Although I am Catholic...I say now...and I shall say forever...Thank God the Brits are on our side!"
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