Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
During our recent trip to Fugitive’s Drift Lodge in Kwa-Zulu Natal, one of the battle sites we visited was Rorke’s Drift. This site is better know it seems than Isandlwana although the battle occurred on the same day, 22 January 1879. May this is because of the movie, Zulu, featuring Michael Caine which presents a [slightly inaccurate] version of this battle.
Rorke’s Drift was a Swedish mission station that was commandeered by the British Army prior to its invasion of Zululand. The rectory was in use as a hospital and the church as a store room for ammunition and supplies.
On the afternoon of 22 January 1879, after the successful Battle of Isandlwana, a force of approximately 4,500 Zulu warriors, crossed the Buffalo River into Natal and attacked Rorke’s Drift. The station was defended by just over 100 British troops and there were 29 men recovering in the hospital. 300 Basuto troops assisted with building the fortifications of the station, but fled when the attack began.
Here are some of my photographs from the day:
The British troops built a makeshift fortress out of sacks of mielies and biscuit boxes as part of their defence.
You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2021/01/28/trinity-church-et-al-thursday-doors/
If you are interested in South African history, my new historical paranormal book about the Great South Africa War is now available here: https://tslbooks.uk/product/a-ghost-and-his-gold-roberta-eaton-cheadle/
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What a wonderful and enlightening post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Thank you, Robbie, for taking the time to load all your photos and compose the article.
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My pleasure, DAnny. I find this history very interesting and I didn’t know it. Somehow the entire Anglo-Zulu war was skipped when I studied history at school.
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Your visit to this battlefield has produced several interesting posts and some very nice photos. Thank you for sharing your experience with us at Thursday Doors. I love reading about history, but it is often so sad. I’m glad sites like this get preserved. Maybe, if we learn enough from history, we can avoid battles in the future.
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I love history, Dan, and must try to insert these points of interest into my posts. Back to the UK next week [smile]. I don’t think there are many battles like this anymore. Everything is done with drones and electronics now.
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I look forward to seeing you in the UK.
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Just reading your account of the battle and seeing the photographs, I get the sense that the place holds many ghosts.
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Most of the British soldiers who survived this battled suffered from terrible PTSD, Liz. I am sure it was very frightening to be attacked by a wave of people carrying assegais’ and shields. The Zulu war cries are very scary too.
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I couldn’t begin to imagine. I expect the soldiers would have been trained for a certain type of combat.
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This was all improvisation. At this time, the British troops were unprepared for battle with the Zulu warriors.
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Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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Thank you, Ed.
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Excellent history. I don’t know much about South African history beyond the obvious. Very interesting.
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This history is knew to me too, Jacqui. I have investigated further and discovered a fascinating place linked with Zululand and this war called Ghost Mountain. It is calling me to write about it, but I have to do mom’s book first.
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I am always amazed about what I don’t know that I don’t know. Thank you for sharing as you do. It’s always interesting. 🙂
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Thank you, Annette. I studied history at school and I never knew about these battles and this war. I was so interesting to learn about it.
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Robbie, is your latest book now available?
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Hi John, it is not on Amazon yet. That takes another 6 or 7 weeks, unfortunately. It is available in the UK now.
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thanks fo ruth update Robbie, I will promote it as soon as if’s available here in the US!
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Thank you, John.
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I enjoy your historical posts, Robbie. I looked for your book on Amazon US and didn’t see it yet. But I promise I’ll check back. 😀
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Hi Diana, it is only available in the UK at the moment which is why I’m keeping the promotion low key. It will be 6 to 8 weeks before its on Amazon USA. Thanks for your interest and support.
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🙂
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so did the British survive the attack?
and good luck with your move!
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HI Jim, 17 British soldiers were killed and 300 to 500 Zulu warriors. The Brits were running out of ammunition so if the Zulus hadn’t left when they did, they would have been slaughtered.
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they were greatly outnumbered; amazing that any of them survived…
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A profound moment, Robbie. I remember the Michael Caine movie. There are so many stories that are easily forgotten. Your commitment to historical writing is essential if we are to remember…. Thank you!
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I am delighted you found this post interesting, Rebecca. I love history and enjoyed learning about a period of SA history I didn’t know much about.
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PS I found your art blog.
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Still an interesting historical event. It’s neat you went there.
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It is very interesting, Chelsea. I am glad we visited this area and the battlefields.
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Wow–I knew nothing about this–and I quite like Michael Caine’s work. I always like it when I learn a forgotten bit of history. It must have been very intense for the poor British soldiers, holed up behind biscuit boxes of all things. I’ve read a great deal about our American Civil War, though, and the courage required to face down a larger foe is the same. Thanks for sharing this. : )
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All battles are simply awful, Cathleen, and I think it takes a lot of courage to face any foe in a battle. I have learned a bit about the American Civil war recently through books I’ve read. A terrible war.
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Thank you for sharing your journey, Robbie. I learned a lot through the accounts and the photos. Congratulations on your new book. I look forward to ordering it once it’s on Amazon. 💗
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I remember reading my own accounts of the America (US Native Peoples)… I’ve been told that current history books do a severe disservice by condensing that time into paragraphs instead of devoted chapters and giving the Native Peoples their due respect. It is after all those now in charge that make those decisions on what history is taught.
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