Rorkes Drift

Despite the British ultimatium, King Cetshwayo had made it clear that his warriors were not to cross in Natal. He only wanted them to defend their lands. However, in the aftermath of the Battle of Isandlwana, under the command of Prince Dabulamanzi, Zulus of the uDloko, uThulwana, iNdlondlo and iNdluyengwe regiments defied Cetswayo and crossed the Buffalo river into Natal. They had been part of one of the ‘horns’ in the attack at Isandlwana and had missed out on the action. Zulu tradition meant that to pass into manhood, warriors must ‘wash their spears’ in blood. They saw the mission station at Rorkes Drift as the ideal place to do this.

James Rorke had originally built a trading station before it was taken over as a mission station by Reverand Otto Witt and his family. The army had taken over now with one building used as a store and the 2nd building as a hospital where had 35 patients at the time of the attack. At around 4pm, the 4,000 Zulus started their attack on Rorkes Drift which was defended by just 139 men. Repeated attacks by the Zulus were fought off until after dark when they set fire to the hospital roof. Over the next hours, the occupants dug through walls to escape the fire and the Zulus. The survivors made it across to the defences around the store where skirmishes continued all night. Eventually the Zulus withdraw at dawn. The defenders had fired more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition and over 500 Zulus lay dead. The British had lost 17 men.

The defence of Rorkes Drift is well known in British military history. This single action saw the award of more Victoria Crosses than any other action. A total of 12 were awarded. A 13th would have been awarded by Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne DCM took promotion instead of the VC as it meant a larger pension for his family. He was also the last survivor of Rorkes Drift to pass away on 8 May 1945 (VE Day) with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Visiting Rorkes Drift

The Rorkes Drift Battlefield is located in a remote part of KwaZulu Natal which means if traveling from either Johannesburg or Durban, an overnight stay is needed. More information about traveling to KwaZulu Natal and other parts of South Africa on our African website – http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/ KwaZuluNatal.htm