Image ID: 05959

Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead V C (1845-1891) Hero of the zulu wars

Courtesy of Magnus Church of England School

Newark
Newark on Trent
England

Gonville Bromhead, whose family came from Thurlby in Lincolnshire, attended the Magnus Grammar School in Newark, Nottinghamshire, for four years between 1860 and 1864. At the age of 22, three years after leaving the Magnus Grammar School, he enlisted as the Ensign in the 24th Regiment of Foot, embarking on a military career which would occupy him for the rest of his life. After four years he was promoted to lieutenant, gaining early battle experience in the South African War of 1878. In January 1879, England was surprised and alarmed to learn of the Zulu victory at Isandhlwana, where a force of six full companies from the Warwickshire Regiment and the 24th Regiment of Foot were almost completely wiped out in a matter of hours. They had been overwhelmed by a force of 4000 Zulus, who despite possessing inferior weapons, had flung themselves against the soldiers in such numbers that their ammunition was quickly exhausted. The tragedy was that, in the belief that any attack could be easily repulsed, cases of ammunition had remained firmly screwed shut when the soldiers needed them most. British military honour was in tatters, and it was feared that the whole of Natal would be overrun. The only obstacle in the Zulu's way was the tiny British military outpost at Rorke's Drift, which guarded a narrow pass into the neighbouring country. The mission church and hospital at Rorke's Drift was defended by only 138 officers and men. When news reached then of the massacre at Isandhlwana the senior officers at Rorke's Drift, Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead, realised that it was up to them. The post was quickly made ready for defence, with mealie bags and boxes of rations biscuits being used to create a corral from behind which the soldiers could fire on their attackers. These defences had been barely completed when some time after 4pm on January 22 1879, the attack began. As successive waves of men attacked the camp, the battle raged into the night, the field of fire illuminated by the burning remains of the troop hospital. Remarkable, Bromhead and his men saved Rorke's Drift, leaving 371 of their attackers dead on the battlefield. Bromhead was mentioned in despatches and later in the year, at Utrecht, was awarded the Victoria Cross. Back in England, the city of Lincoln presented him with a jewelled sword and illuminated address, while the tenants of Thurlby Hall made him the gift of a revolver, which Bromhead kept with him throughout the rest of his life. In Newark, the Magus paid tribute by naming one of its school houses after him. Bromhead, at the age of 34, had received the highest military honour that his country could bestow. For many this would have been the signal to live out the rest of his life in some less dangerous occupation. Bromhead, however, entertained no such notion, and resumed his military career with renewed vigour. After serving in South Africa, Gibraltar and the East Indies, he was posted to Secunderabad, in India. In February 1891, at the age of 46, he was taken ill with enteric typhoid fever and dies. Gonville Bromhead VC, is buried in the military cemetery in Allahabad.

Date: 1880

Organisation Reference: NCCE000935

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