Was Your Ancestor at Rorke's Drift 1879?

The Defence of Rorke's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville

GARRISON AT RORKE'S DRIFT
The list below was compiled from the following sources:

1. Lieutenant Chard's list (at the Museum of the Royal Regiment of Wales, Brecon).
2. Colour Sergeant Bourne's list (also at the Museum of the Royal Regiment of Wales, Brecon).
3. Bourne's amended list.
4. Major Dunbar's list of January 1880.

THE DEFENDERS:

1st Battalion, 24th Foot
Sergeant Wilson; Privates Beckett, Desmond, Horrigan, Jenkins, Nicholas, Parry, Payton, Roy, Turner, Waters.

'A' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Drummer Meehan; Privates Lyons, Manley, Scanlon, Sears.

'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Lt. Bromhead; Colour Sergeant Bourne; Sergeants Gallagher, Smith, Windridge; Lance Sergeant Thomas; Corporals Allen, French, Key, Lyons, Saxty; Lance Corporals Bessell, Halley; Drummers Hayes, Keefe; Privates Ashton, Barry, Bennett, Bly, Bromwich, Buckley, Burke, Bushe, Caine, Camp, Chester, Clayton, Cole, Collins, Connors, Timothy Connors, Davies, Davis, Daw, Deacon, Deane, Dick, Dicks, Driscoll, Dunbar, Edwards, Fagan, Gee, Hagan, Harris, Hitch, Hook, Jobbins, Evan Jones, John Jones (970), John Jones (1179), Robert Jones, William Jones, Judge, Kears, Kiley, Lewis, Lines, Lloyd, Lockhart, Lodge, Lynch, Marshall, Martin, Mason, Mireham, Moffatt, Augustus Morris, Frederick Morris, Morrison, Murphy, Neville, Norris, Osborne, Parry, Pitt, Robinson, Ruck, Savage, Shearman, Shergold, Smith, Stevens, Tasker, Frederick Taylor, Thomas Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Michael Tobin, Patrick Tobin, Todd, Tongue, Wall, Whetton, Wilcox, John Williams, Joseph Williams, John Williams, Thomas Williams, Caleb Wood.

'D' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Drummer Galgey;
Privates Adams, Chick, Haydon.

'E' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Lance Sergeant Taylor;
Private (934) John Williams.

'G' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Sergeant Maxfield;
Privates Conolly, Partridge.

'H' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Private Evans
General Staff
Colour Sergeant Mabin.

'N' Battery, 5th Brigade, Royal Artillery
Bombadier Lewis; Gunners Evans, Cantwell, Howard.

Royal Engineers
Lieutenant Chard; Driver Robson.

2nd Battalion, 3rd Foot
Sergeant F.A. Millne.

90th Perthshire Volunteers
Corporal Graham.

Commissariat and Transport Dept.
Acting Commissariat Walter Dunne;
Assistant Acting Commissariat
James Langley Dalton;
Acting Store Keeper, Louis Byrne.

Army Service Corps
Second Corporal F. Attwood.

Medical Staff Corps
Surgeon James Reynolds,
Mr William Pearse.

Hospital Corps
Corporat Rowland Miller;
Privates Luddington, McMahon.

Natal Mounted Police
Troopers Green, Lugg and Hunter.

1st Battalion, 3rd Natal Native Contingent
Lieutenant Adendorff; Corporals Anderson, Doughty, Mayer, Scammell, Schiess, Wilson; Private Umkungu.

Civilians
Rev. George Smith
Daniells (Ferryman)
Unnamed servant to the Revd. Smith.

CASUALTIES

Killed in action:
1861 Private William Horrigan
1st Battalion, 24th Foot
841 Private James Jenkins
1st Battalion, 24th Foor
625 Private Edward Nicholas
1st Battalion, 24th Foot
623 Sgt. Robert Mayfield
'G' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
987 Private Robert Adams
'D' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
1335 Private James Chick
'D' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
969 Private John Fagan
'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
1769 Private Garret Hayden
'D' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
1051 Private John Scanlon
'A' company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
1398 Private Joseph Williams
'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
801 Private Thomas Cole
'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
Louis Alexander Byrne, Assistant Storekeeper
Trooper Sydney Hunter,
Natal Mounted Police
Corporal Michael Anderson, 2nd Battalion,
3rd Natal Native Contingent
Private Umkungu, 1st Battalion 3rd Natal Native Contingent.

Died of wounds
135 Private William Beckett,
1st Battalion, 24th Foot.
1328 L/Sgt. Thomas Williams,
2nd Battalion, 24th Foot.

Wounded in Action:
568 Private Desmond.
447 Private Waters,
1240 Corporal Allen,
1112 Corporal Lyons,
1362 Private Hitch,
1812 Private Tasker,
James Langley Dalton,
Corporal Scannel,
Corporal Schiess,
1373 Private Hook,
Drummer Keefe.

DECORATIONS:

Victoria Cross
Eleven defenders won the Victoria Cross -- the highest number ever awarded for a single action.
Lieutenants Chard, Bromhead; Corporal Allen; Privates Hitch, Hook; R. Jones, W. Jones, J. Williams, Surgeons Reynolds, James Langley Dalton, Corporal Schiess.

Distinguished Conduct Medal
Colour Sergeant F. Bourne; Privates W. Ray; Gunner J. Cantwell; Second Corporal F. Attwood; Private M. McMahon (awarded 15th January 1880 but cancelled as he was later found guilty of theft and being absent without leave on 19th January 1880).

The defenders of Rorke's Drift: 

B Company 2/24th Warwickshire Regiment

Acknowledgement
Graham Mason, AZW Researcher, who compiled this list from the sources given above.