Zulu War history in
historical Zulu War art
prints and pewter figurines by leading Zulu War military artists published
by Cranston Fine Arts, the military print company,
On
January 22nd 1879, during the Zulu War, the small British field hospital
and supply depot at Rorkes Drift in Natal was the site of one of the most
heroic military defences of all time. Manned by 140 troops of the 24th
Regiment, led by Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, the camp
was attacke by a well-trained and well-equipped Zulu army of 4000 men,
heartened by the great Zulu victory over the British forces at Isandhlwana
earlier on the same day. The battle began in mid afternoon, when British
remnants of the defeat at Isandhlwana struggled into the camp.
Anticipating trouble, Chard set his small force to guard the perimeter
fence but, when the Zulu attack began, the Zulus came faster than the
British could shoot and the camp was soon overcome. The thatched roof of
the hospital was fired by Zulu spears wrapped in burning grass and even
some of the sick and the dying were dragged from their beds and pressed
into the desperate hand-to-hand fighting. Eventually, Chard gave the order
to withdraw from the perimeter and to take position in a smaller compound,
protected by a hastily assembled barricade of boxes and it was from behind
this barricade that the garrison fought for their lives throughout the
night. After twelve hours of battle, the camp was destroyed, the hospital
had burned to the ground, seventeen British lay dead and ten were wounded.
However, the Zulus had been repulsed and over 400 of their men killed. The
Battle of Rorkes Drift is one of the greatest examples of bravery and
heroism in British military history. Nine men were awarded Distinguished
Conduct Medals, and eleven, the most ever given for a single battle,
received the highest military honour of all, the Victoria Cross.
The Defense of Rorke's Drift by Alphonse De Neuville.
Battle of Isandhlwana. Zulu victory over the British forces on 22nd January 1879 about 100km north of Durban. Lord Chelmsford led a column of forces to seek out the Zulu army camped at Isandhlwana, while patrols searched the district. After receivi......
2 print editions available from £35.00 1 canvas print edition available from £460.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
The story of historys most famous rearguard action, The story of the extraordinary events of January 22nd 1879 has never lost any of its fascination. The defence of Rorkes Drift by a handful of British redcoat soldiers provides history with a tale o......
Private Robert Jones. Decorated for conspicuous bravery and devotion to the wounded at Rorkes drift. Private Robert and William Jones, posted in a room of the Hospital facing the hill, kept up a steady fire against enormous odds, and while one worke......
2 print editions available from £80.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £3200.00 1 ex-display print available from £50.00
On January 22nd 1879, during the Zulu War, the small British field hospital and supply depot at Rorkes Drift in Natal was the site of one of the most heroic military defences of all time. Manned by 140 troops of the 24th Regiment, led by Lieutenant ......
3 print editions available from £37.00 3 canvas print editions available from £390.00
The two forces meet on 4th July 1879 at Ulundi. Several thousand Zulus surrounded the British infantry which formed a square with the 17th Lancers at its centre. When the Zulus attack faltered the 17th Lancers were ordered to charge. Reproduced by P......
1 print edition available from £25.00 2 canvas print editions available from £390.00
The painting depicts the climax of the Zulu attacks at the defence of Rorkes Drift. The Zulus were unable to effectively penetrate the mealie bag defenses at Rorkes Drift, even though they succeeded in burning down the hospital, and peppering the st......
3 print editions available from £60.00 3 canvas print editions available from £390.00 Original available : £3000.00
By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry,......
2 print editions available from £35.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
Crouching low behind their shields, the warriors of the uThulwans, iNdlondo and uDloko regiments advance around the foot of Shiyane hill. Led by their commander, Prince Dabulamnzi kaMpnade, the main Zulu force attacks the British outpost at Rorkes D......
2 print editions available from £30.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £1600.00
By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry......
2 print editions available from £40.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
The Battle at Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an action in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, immedi......
2 print editions available from £60.00 3 canvas print editions available from £375.00
Last stand of the 24th South Wales Borderers at Isandhlwana during the Zulu War. The battle of Isandhlwana, a Zulu victory over the British forces on 22nd January 1879 about 100km north of Durban. Lord Chelmsford led a column of forces to seek out ......
2 print editions available from £90.00 1 canvas print edition available from £460.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £2500.00 1 ex-display print available from £50.00
Men of the 24th of foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the conclusion of the battle, hundreds of Zulus lay dead. Ac......
2 print editions available from £90.00 2 canvas print editions available from £590.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
The painting shows one of the two seven pounder guns and gun team attempting to retreat at speed as they are overrun. The British force consisted of 2 guns and 70 men of N Battery, 5th Brigade, Royal Artillery, 5 companies of 1st Battalion, the 24th......
During the battle for Rorkes Drift, 24th Warwickshires man the improvised ramparts of the inner barricade as the Zulu attack reaches its height. ......
2 print editions available from £90.00 2 canvas print editions available from £590.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original Sold.
Acting Assistant Commissary J.L. Dalton commissariat and transport department and colour sergeant F. Bourne, during the battle at the front wall about 6pm at Rorkes Drift. Frank Bourne was born on the 27th April 1854 in Balcombe Sussex, when Bourn......
2 print editions available from £30.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £3900.00
The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4th July 1879. Ulundi became the last battle to be fought during the Zulu war and the British victory finally broke the military power of the Zulu Nation. The battle began at 6 a.m. w......
By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry,......
4 print editions available from £14.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
Men of the 24th Foot defend Rorkes Drift against an overwhelming number of Zulus near the barricades, and the hand to hand fighting. Surgeon Reynolds can be seen attending a wounded soldier. ......
2 print editions available from £50.00 1 canvas print edition available from £460.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £2600.00
Scouts find the bodies of Melville and Coghill with the colours nearby. In fact, the Colours were lost in the river and were found later, both men were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant Melville was the adjutant of the 1st Battali......
2 print editions available from £14.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
On the 11th January 1879, a British Force under the command of Lord Chelmsford crossed the Buffalo River into Zululand. A small garrison was left at Rorkes Drift. The force consisted of 1600 British troops, mainly from the 1st and 2nd Battalions 24......
2 print editions available from £37.00 2 canvas print editions available from £450.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
At the end of the Battle of Isandhlwana, the last few soldiers of the South Wales Borderers, 24th Regiment of Foot, hold out till their last rounds of ammunition in the foothills of the mountain. ......
Private Wassall, whilst escaping the debacle of Isandhlwana, was being pursued by Zulu warriors as he made his way down the Buffalo River, the border between Zululand and Natal. Wassall rode his Basuto pony into the river, but upon hearing a cry for......
2 print editions available from £75.00 2 canvas print editions available from £370.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 1 ex-display print available from £50.00
Colour-Sergeant Frank Bourne of the 24th Regiment at the Defence of Rorkes Drift during the Zulu attack on Rorkes Drift. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne, 2nd battalion South Wales Borderers. Frank Bourne was born on the 27th April 1854 in Balcombe Sus......
Depicting Private Hook and Private Williams, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot inside the burning hospital at Rorkes Drift, 7pm January 1879. At about 6 pm the Zulus first forced their way into the hospital building where some thirty patients were......
2 print editions available from £30.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £4200.00
DHM1499. Capemounted Rifled against Shakas Zulu Impis c.1827 by Chris Collingwood. ......
2 print editions available from £90.00 2 canvas print editions available from £590.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £13000.00 1 ex-display print available from £50.00
Corporal Allen and Corporal Lyons, B. Company 2nd Battalion 24th Foot Rorkes Drift Back Wall, 6pm January 22nd 1879. After the initial Zulu assault on the back wall of the post failed at about 4.30pm, a fire-fight broke out between Zulu snipers pos......
2 print editions available from £30.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £4200.00
Battle of Isandhlwana. Zulu victory over the British forces on 22nd January 1879 about 100km north of Durban. Lord Chelmsford led a column of forces to seek out the Zulu army camped at Isandhlwana, while patrols searched the district. After receivi......
2 print editions available from £90.00 2 canvas print editions available from £460.00
Pencil detail of men of the 24th of Foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) standing in preparation to repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the conclusion of......
2 print editions available from £40.00 Original available : £400.00
Ian Knight and Ian Castle.<br><br>If Islandlwana was the supreme humiliation of the British Empire at the outset of the 1879 Zulu War, then the heroic epic of Rorkes Drift , fought on the same day, was its redemption. The defence of this isolated mi......
The original study for Wounded which was not used due to the size of the figures compared to the rest of the series even though as an oil study it shows more detail and is probably the best in this series of studies by Mark Churms. ......
Defending the barracades, men of the 24th of Foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the end of the battle, hundreds of ......
Fix bayonets and die like British soldiers do! ORDER TO BRITISH TROOPS. An authoritative account of the Zulu War of 1879. The Redcoat campaign in Zululand in 1879 holds a special place in the pantheon of military history. Its two most famous battles......
After coming out of the British Square The 17th Lancers charge by the 58th Regiment. The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4th July 1879. Ulundi became the last battle to be fought during the Zulu war and the British vic......
2 print editions available from £90.00 1 canvas print edition available from £460.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £2600.00
A solitary soldier of the 24th Reg. fights off the Zulu warrior in hand to hand combat with bayonet fixed as many more advance on him to seal his fate. Last stand of the 24th South Wales Borderers at Isandhlwana during the Zulu War. The battle of I......
The centre drawing shows the last groups of soldiers of the 24th South Wales Borderers at Isandhlwana during the last of the battle as the force consisting of 2 guns and 70 men of N Battery, 5th Brigade, Royal Artillery, 5 companies of 1st Battalion,......
2 print editions available from £32.00 Original available : £700.00
Zulu, Kaffir and other African Campaign medals. South Africa Kaffir War 1834-1853, Ashante War Medal 1873-1874, South Africa Zulu and Basuto Wars 1877-1879, British South Africa Companys Medal Matabeleland, Rhodesia, Mashonaland 1890-1897, Central A......
Lt. John Rouse Merriot Chard, Royal Engineers.At about 3.30 on the afternoon of 22nd January 1879, Lieutenant John Rouse Merriot Chard, Royal Engineers, was supervising repairs on the military pont on the Mzinyathi river, at the border crossing at R......
2 print editions available from £20.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00 Original available : £3900.00
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zululand in South Africa, a Zulu force of som......
2 print editions available from £60.00 3 canvas print editions available from £375.00
Print shows from left: Trooper of the Natal Carabiniers, Officer of the Natal Carabiniers, Imperial Light Horse, Natal Police Trooper of the Natal Mounted Police and Durban Light Infantry. ......
1 print edition available from £14.00 Original available : £130.00 1 ex-display print available from £9.00
Lt. Melvill rescues the British colours from the field at Isandhlwana, South Africa. For this action, he was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Lieutenant Melville was the adjutant of the 1st Battalion, the 24th Foot. Melville collected the ......
Private William Jones VC is shown in the art print standing in fornt of the doorway in the hospital as the Zulu warriors break into the hospital and rush the entrance. Private Robert Jones. Decorated for conspicuous bravery and devotion to the woun......
Depicting one of the nighttime Zulu attacks on Rorkes Drift. The South Wales Borderers defend the outpost by the light of the burning hospital building. ......
Individuals shown: Lieutenant G. Bromhead, Lieutenant J.R.M. Chard, Private F. Hitch, Corporal W.W. Allen, Private W. Jones, Private J. Williams, Private R. Jones, Surgeon J.H. Reynolds, J.L Dalton and Private A. Hook. ......
Private Alfred Henry Hook VC won his Victoria Cross while defending Rorkes Drift with his company (B Company) 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot and for heroic actions while inside the burning hospital at Rorkes Drift, 7pm January 1879. During the desperate......
By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry,......
3 print editions available from £37.00 2 canvas print editions available from £450.00
The painting shows Lieutenant T. Melville along with Lieutenant N J A Coghill attempting to Save the Queen's Colours of the 1/24th and fight their way out of the Battle of Isandhlwana. Lieutenant Melville was the adjutant of the 1st Battalion, t......
2 print editions available from £14.00 Postcard edition available : £2.00
By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front
of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall.
Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the
mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare
men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were
dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on
Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including
Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 14th. Surgeon
Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda
at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a
determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with
spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the
patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into
the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too
great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been
hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front
mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives
throughout most of the coming night. Text supplied by Zulu War Author Ian Knight.
The VC Winners: Lieutenant J.R.M. Chard, R.E.; Lieutenant G. Bromhead, 2/24th;
Surgeon J.H. Reynolds, A.M.D.; Acting Assistant Commissary J.L. Dalton, C. &
T.D.; Corporal Allen, 2/24th; Corporal C.F. Schiess, N.N.C.; Privates F. Hitch,
A.H. Hook, R. Jones, W. Jones, J. Williams, 2/24th.
The DCM Winners: Col. Sgt. F.E. Bourne2/24th; 2nd Corp. F. Attwood, A.S.C.; 2nd
Corp. M. McMahon, A.H.C.;Wheeler J. Cantwell, R.A.; Pte W. Roy, 1/24th.
