Veterans at Isandhlwana ?

Guest

Hi all

The 1/24 th Foot had around half of its soldiers replaced by drafts from home before the start of the zulu war, but 80 % of its NCOSs remained...

That fact that there were many soldiers in this battalion who had never fought in none battles before Isandhlwana ...

What proportion of veterans in the 2nd battalion, even lower!?

And in the other units of this battle ?

In fact there were few veterans at Isandhlwana, ditto for the Zulus ...
Cheers

Pascal

Guest

From after that told me a friend , a specialist of the Zulu war, who wants to remain anonymous, that Ian Knigh wrote in the elite No. 32 of Osprey, pages 11 and 12 (and I had it transcribed above) is completely wrong ...

Who can decide between ...

Cheers

Pascal

Guest

One third of the 1/24th enlisted before 1870 (this includes almost all the NCOs).

A second third of the 1/24th enlisted in the 1/24th in the year 1874, when the battalion was brought up to strength when it moved from Gibraltar to Cape Town (200 of these men had transferred from the 2/24th and were therefore old soldiers).

The third third of the 1/24th enlisted between 1874 and June 1877.

There was no soldier in the 1/24th with less than 18 months’ service. It was a seasoned battalion consisting almost entirely of old soldiers.

10% of the 2/24th enlisted prior to 1872.

30% of the 2/24th enlisted 1872-1874.

20% of the 2/24th enlisted 1875/6.

40% of the 2/24th enlisted in the year 1877.

There was no soldier in the 2/24th with less than 18 months’ service. It was a young but experienced battalion with a hard core (incl. the NCOs) of old soldiers.

The records of enlistment of soldiers of both battalions are in Brecon and the pay lists and muster rolls of both battalions at the National Archives in Kew. The above figures come from those statistics.

Cheers

Pascal

» Barry Veterans
» A GATHERING OF VETERANS.
» Fenland Veterans Tom Burton