In the brilliant book 'Blood on the Painted Mountain' by Ron Lock, Mossop details the suicide of a companion during the flight from Hlobane.

Do we know who this was? And were there other recorded instances of this occuring?

Mossop says he knew him well, but would not mention his name!

Hi All
In a book entitled Running the Gauntlet (Memoirs of Adventure) by George Mossop states the following:-

When Mossop reached the top of the route down the steep mountain, he saw a disorganised mob of white men shooting at Zulus, who shot and stabbed at them as they tried to escape. He met a friend, whom he asked if he thought there was any chance of getting away. “’Not a hope!’ the man said just before he blew his brains out.”

I often thought about Capt Younghusband's situation at the end. Is it fair to assume they knew all was lost, so took the easy way out by charging down, knowing it to be a certain death.

Verbal Zulu narrative describes the moment that a british soldier with 'long fair whiskers' running down the hill at Isandlwana after his ammunition had run out - this was thought to be Younghusband

Back to my initial question - and I do not think that this death counts as suicide as what other choice did he have?

Not Suicide Dave. Younghusband made the right decision with his gallant charge. We will never know how many of the enemy were killed during this charge but I bet they took quite a few with them. The Zulus still had firearms so rather than just standing there waiting to be shot, he and his men died like hero’s fighting the enemy.
(Not one of the numbers running towards fugitive trail)

Hi all .
Fairly certain this has been covered previously . Ian Knights ' Companion To The Zulu War ' has more instances of
suicides . At Eshowe Pvt . W. Knee 99th Regt on the 21st Feb left the camp , he had been ill for some time , weaved his
way through the perimeter lines and was found face down in the stream the following morning . His death was listed as suicide
as there was no evidence that the zulu had killed him . Sgt Stratton 2 / 24th had killed himself in a skirmish on the Cape Frontier
6 mths before the Regt marched to zululand . This happened as he appeared cheerful to his men , and in the midst of a desultory
fire fight with the Xhosa in which he was at little obvious risk - He had suddenly called out a brief farewell then blew his brains out
with his rifle ! . Another instance an un-named Pvt of the 99th was in hospital at Ft Pearson , suffering from fever , when on the 13th
March he suddenly dragged himself out of his sick bed , ran down the hill top towards a steep cliff which dropped down to the
Thukela river - and promptly threw himself off . Lt. Robert D'Ombrain 1 / 1st NNC shot himself on the 8th April 79 near Fort Cherry
at Kranskop , above the Middle Drift . D'Ombrain reported to the Forts medical officer on the 6th April suffering from the effects
of a hangover . He was prescribed an appropriate remedy and retired to his tent . Over the next two days he complained of feeling
ill , friends said he spent most of his time in bed , smoking . He couldnt stomach solid foods , he seemed to be verging on Paranoia
was restless and fretful . He was also convinced the men of his regt were talking about him in isiZulu a language he didnt understand
He warned one visitor that ' They are Coming ' and to another ' There was only One Woman who had threatened him ' both comments were regarded as being the product of incipient fever . He had shot himself with a M.H , he placed the barrel in his mouth
, wedged a riding crop across the trigger , then pulled it with his foot . Ian knight goes on to say ' It may well be that a number of men
did commit suicide at Isandlwana , and their stories are simply not recorded ' . Ian says - However there were a significant number
of self inflicted deaths among the irregular corps at Hlobane . Trumpeter Reilly of the Border Horse , dismounted from his exhausted
horse , fired several shots at the enemy from close range , then killed himself . The zulu induna , Sitshitshili KaMnqandi saw one man ' as he approached turning his carbine and shooting himself '. Another most famous case maybe Cecil D'arcy VC F.L.Horse.
He apparantly wandered off during the night from a friends place and was found 28th Dec 1881 some 4 mths later . his death was
attributed to exposure . More details on these items are on pages 193 - 196 .
cheers 90th :confused: