Frank Bourne

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Frank Bourne (1854 - 8 May 1945) was an English soldier and a recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), which was (until 1993) the second level military decoration awarded other ranks of the British Army, for "outstanding coolness and courage" at the battle of Rorke's Drift.

Born in Balcombe, Sussex in 1854, Bourne enlisted in the Army at Reigate on 18 December 1872, aged 18 years 8 months. He was promoted to Colour Sergeant by 1878. On 22 and 23 January 1879 at Rorke's Drift, Natal, South Africa, Bourne was one of the defenders who held off a much larger Zulu force.

He was commissioned in 1890, retired in 1907, and reenlisted in 1914 for the First World War. At the end of the war, he was given the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE).

Bourne lived at 16 King's Hall Road, Beckenham and is buried in Beckenham Cemetery.

In the 1964 film Zulu, Bourne was portrayed by Nigel Green.

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