Lieutenant, B Company, 2/24th Regiment — Rorke's Drift Co-Defender
"They came on again and again, and we had to keep beating them back."
Gonville Bromhead commanded B Company of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment — the infantrymen who made up the bulk of the Rorke's Drift garrison. He was partially deaf, which had slowed his promotion. Under Chard's overall command, Bromhead organized the infantry defense, assigned positions, and fought through the night of January 22-23. His conduct throughout was exemplary. He received the Victoria Cross jointly with Chard and was promoted to captain. He and Chard were briefly the most famous officers in the British Army and then, in the way of Victorian celebrity, gradually forgotten. Bromhead died in 1891 in India of typhoid, a major, still partially deaf, still not yet forty-six years old. The 1964 film 'Zulu' made him famous again — played by Michael Caine — and created a somewhat fictionalized rivalry between Chard and Bromhead that the historical record doesn't support.
Did you know?
Michael Caine's portrayal in the 1964 film Zulu — charming, aristocratic, slightly frivolous — bears limited resemblance to the actual Bromhead, who was quiet, professional, and partially deaf. The film created a fictional rivalry with Chard for dramatic effect. Caine's performance won him international recognition. Bromhead's grave in India remained unmarked for many years after his death.
January 22–23, 1879 · 517 total casualties
Rorke's Drift earned eleven Victoria Crosses — the most for any single action in the medal's history. It became the Victorian military legend and was partly constructed to offset Isandlwana's embarrassment, but the defenders' courage was genuine.
August 29, 1845
🌅 Birth
Born at Versailles, France
January 22–23, 1879
⚔️ Battle
Commands B Company infantry at Rorke's Drift through twelve-hour night battle
1879
🕊️ Postwar
Awarded Victoria Cross; celebrated across England with Chard
February 9, 1891
✝️ Death
Dies of typhoid fever at Allahabad, India, aged 45