Was he at Rorke's Drift?

[RobinEssex]

In October 1934 my gt gt grandfather, John William Theobald, was the subject of an article which appeared in Lincoln's 'Chronicle and Leader' newspaper.

The headlines to the article were:

A KING IN A CRATE

Lincoln Veteran of the Zulu War.

Thrilling Memories

Cetywayo Bretrayed By His Cooks.

Here are some extracts from the article:

'When he was 20 ( 1874) Mr. Theobald gave up woring on the land to join the Royal Artillery. As a groom , he sailed to South Africa  with horses of the regiment in 1879,.....

Mr.Theobald was one of the gallant band of 60 men who defended the small mission station of Rorke's Drift, on the border of Zulu-land, against repeated attacks of 3,000 Zulu warriors, and he was present at the capture of King Cetywayo, which resulted in the appointment of an English resident and the division of the country in 13 districts, each governed by an independant chief. Ulandi was the chief military kraal wheer the king resided.

According to Mr. Theobald, Cetywayo was not found when the troops visited Ulandi, but the soldiers surprised two Zulu men and a woman, cooking a hearty meal over a glowing fire.

The officer in charge had the men arrested with a view of questioning them as to the whereabouts of the king and the remainder of the tribe, but for  along time the natives would not speak. At last however, combines were produced  and the blacks gave in. King Cetywayo and his wives and his tribesmen were arrested . The royal family were hustled into a large box, the tribesmen and their women werer packed into other boxes. and the prisoners were taken to Cape Town much to the joy of the soldiers.

In 1882 Mr. Theobald was discharged from the Army on account of ill-health.'

My main interest is in if my gt gt grandfather was at Rorke's Drift or if he was just spinning a yarn 55 years after the event?

Various lists have been produced as to who was at Rorke's Drift but there seems to be additions all the time so i'm not sure just how reliable these lists really are.

Any comments / info would be appreciated.
Cheers
Rob   

[neil1821]

Hi Rob,
Welcome to Rootschat!!   

My first thought is that I'd suspect the accuracy of that article, especially as it states 60 defenders of Rorke's Drift (there were more like 140 defenders).

As you say, there are a couple of rolls of Rorke's Drift defenders that differ in the detail. The list I would trust most is the following:
http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/roll.htm

Will check the medal roll, see if I can spot him.
Neil

[Arfur Mo]

Hi Rob,

I can't really add to what Neil has said with respect to your gggrandfathers reputed service at the defence of Rorkes Drift, you can see a copy of Lt Chards original roll of the defenders here;

http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/ChardRoll.html

King Cetshwayo and his wives were transported from Ulandi in an army field ambulance, I would think that the idea of his being 'packed into a box' is a reference to his immediate capture when he and his family and followers were surrounded by a strong mounted escort,thus 'boxing them in', either that or it is a reference to the box shape of field ambulance,they certainly weren't put into crates!

Regards,

Arf

[RobinEssex]

Hi Neil, Hi Arf
......thank you both  for your replies and links.
Mucho appreciated. 

I think maybe on the balance of evidence that John Theobald wasn't involved which is slightly disappointing.

I always did find it strange that he didn't go into any detail of Rorke's Drift during his interview instead of concentrating on Cetywayo's capture.

Maybe he was in the area but not actually involved in the action?

I'm just grateful that he wasn't camping near by and went over to complain about the noise !!   

[neil1821]

This could be him from the medal roll:

1028 Driver J. Theobald,  A-Battery, 6th Brigade, Royal Artillery
received South Africa medal wilth clasp for 1879

You could look for his service record at Kew.

Neil

[RobinEssex]

Neil,
you're a star.....thanks very much for the info.

I do have a couple of post-war photos of John ,proudly wearing his medal....I just wish i had a scanner to show you.

Thanks again for all your help. 

[BAT]

Dear Robin,
Your Great Great Grandfather was my Great Grandfather. I have his army paybook, papers and other momentos including his sharpshooting medallion which he is wearing in the 1934 newspaper article. I have an original copy of the article which I will need to re-read but I don't think there is any mention of his service at Rorke's Drift in his paybook although there is records of various stations and medals received. His campaign medals all passed to my uncle,(one of his grandsons).
Regards,
Bernard

[Dave Francis]

Hi Bernard - and a very warm welcome to RootsChat!

I don't think the original poster (Robin) has visited us for a few months. If you want to contact him more directly, click on his name and send him a Personal Message (PM). He should then get an email telling him that you have tried to make contact.

Kind regards

Dave

[BAT]

Thanks Dave, I will try that.
Regards,
Bernard