Gonville Bromhead
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Gonville Bromhead (29 August 1845-9 February 1891) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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He was a 33 years old lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot (later The South Wales Borderers), British Army during the Zulu War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
Bromhead had a profound deafness, which had restricted his promotion opportunities to this point, it was this disability that prompted Bromhead to defer command to Chard during the Rorke's Drift Siege.
On 22 and 23 January 1879 at Rorke's Drift, Natal, South Africa, Lieutenant Bromhead shared the command of the defenders of the post with an officer of the Royal Engineers (John Rouse Merriott Chard), setting a fine example and conducting himself with great gallantry in most trying circumstances.
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He later achieved the rank of Brevet-Major. He was considered to be Irish, despite being born in Versailles, France, August 29, 1845. His mother, Judith Christine Wood, was certainly Irish, being a native of Woodville, Co. Sligo. However, his father's home was Thurlby Hall, north of Bassingham, near Lincoln. He was known to be very hard of hearing.
In the 1964 film Zulu Gonville Bromhead was portrayed by Michael Caine, in his first starring role.
He died in India where he is buried in a military cemetery. The church at Thurlby in Lincolnshire has a stained glass window dedicated to him. His grandfather, who fought at the Battle of Waterloo, is buried in its churchyard. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the South Wales Borderers Museum (Brecon, Powys, Wales).
The personal journals kept by Bromhead, including those recorded during his action in the Zulu War and the defence of Rorke's Drift were burned by his family at some point between the 1940s and 1950s. The reason given was that they had become mouldy and nobody would have any interest in reading them.
[edit] References
- Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Richard Howes, John Young
[edit] External links
- Lt. Gonville Bromhead (biography, photos, memorial details)
- Rorke's Drift (information within Frederick Hitch site)
Very rough location of where he is buried can be found on Google Earth at: 25° 27' 06.31" N 81° 48' 31.30" E
