Soldier honoured for bayonet charge on Taliban

The UK Telegraph ^ | Sep 28, 2012

[HenpeckedCon]

Bravo Cpl. Jones. Another story that gives me hope for my ancestors!

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

The 24th Regiment wasn’t a Welsh regiment at the time of Rorke’s drift, and its regimental depot was in Warickshire, and its regimental march was ‘Warwickshire Lads’ It was only after the Cardwell Reforms of 1881 that the 24th Became a Welsh Regiment (The South Wales Borderers). Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of those who fought at Rorke’s Drift were Englishmen, not Welshmen.

[Ozymandias Ghost]

Thx for the historical input.

There seems to be some disparity amongst various authorities as to the composition of the soldiers of B Company, 2/24th at Rorke's Drift as well as the regimental march at that time. I note that Ian Knight concurs w/your account and indicates “only 19 men of B Company, 2/24th (had) any type of Welsh connection.”

Link: http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/myths/myths.htm

That said, Norman Holme says the following:

“Of the 122 soldiers of the 24th Regiment present at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 49 are known to have been of English nationality, 32 were Welsh, 16 were Irish, 1 was a Scot, and 3 were born overseas. The nationalities of the remaining 21 are unknown.”

Link: http://www.1879zuluwar.com/t4805-the-welsh-soldiers-and-others-at-rorke-s-drift-1879

But, he also states that only 4 soldiers of the entire company were from Warwickshire.

(Source: Norman Holme (1999) The Noble 24th p. 383)

Numerous sources, other than Knight, list “Men of Harlech” as having been the regimental march of the 24th Regiment of Foot/2nd Warwickshire and some also list “Warwickshire Lads.”

Links:
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishinfantry/24thfoot.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Regiment_of_Foot

From the historical references I have seen it appears that the number of Warwickshire men in the regiment reached it's peak between the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th century; however, their numbers had fallen off dramatically by the 1879. That comports w/Holmes comments cited above; where roughly 25% of the company was of Welsh extraction while roughly 50% were Englishmen (but less than 4% were from Warwickshire).

Note that at the link above to Ian Knight's comments the following is also included:

“There have been some accounts (primarily David Charles of Fugitive's Drift) where it was said that ‘Men of Harlech’ was sung as the men of the 3rd column crossed the river at Rorke's Drift on the their way into Zululand...”

At any rate, you are quite correct in stating that the majority of B Company, 2/24th were Englishmen at the time of the Battle of Rorke's Drift. I certainly did not mean to imply that the 24th Regiment of Foot was primarily a Welsh regiment at that time; although, obviously, quite a few Welshmen were part of the company that defended Rorke's Drift.

As to the location of the regimental depot, this source indicates: “...the Regimental Depot had been established at Brecon, in South Wales, in 1873...”

Link: http://www.englisc-gateway.com/bbs/topic/11935-rorkes-drift-popular-myths/

While it appears quite possible that “Men of Harlech” might have been sung by some of the soldiers who passed thru Rorke's Drift, it does seem logical and probable that you and Knight are correct in stating that the official regimental march of the 24th would have been “Warwickshire Lads” at the time of Rorke's Drift and up until 1881.

Again, I appreciate your comments and if you have more to add to help clarify the events surrounding the Battle of Rorke's Drift I welcome them.

Regards,

-Geoff