Gonville Bromhead
 |
Gonville Bromhead c. 1872 |
Gonville Bromhead,
VC (
29 August 1845 â€"
9 February 1892) was a
British 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.
He was 33 years old, and a
Lieutenant in the 2nd Bn.,
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 deffer command to Chard during the Rourke'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.
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 the adjacent churchyard. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the
South Wales Borderers Museum (Brecon, Powys, Wales).
*
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
*
Lt. Gonville Bromhead (biography, photos, memorial details)*
Rorke's Drift (information within Frederick Hitch site)This page has been
migrated from the
Victoria Cross Reference with permission.
