Bromhead & Chard after the Battle of Rorkes Drift.

Posts : 1261 Join date : 2010-04-12

Is it known if Bromhead & Chard remained friends after the Battle Of Rorkes Drift. Is there any documentation that shows they stayed in touch or even met up for a reunion of some kind.

Guest

Hi all

The only thing that is certain is that they have suffered a lot of jealousy ...

Salute

Pascal

Did they not become acquainted at RD?
They were not friends before RD to my knowledge - happy to be corrected. I like to think though that after an experience like RD, they would have remained bonded, if not acquinted from there on.
Is there any record of Chard having attended Bromhead's funeral in 1891?

Subject: Bromhead & Chard after the R.D. Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:20 pm

Hi Tasker .
Not sure if they were friends before R.D or not . As Bromhead died in India I doubt very much that Chard would have been at the funeral , where was Chard when Bromhead died in 1891 ?.
cheers 90th. Salute

Guest

Hi all

They knew each other before the DR ?

Salute

Pascal

Pascal MAHE wrote:: Hi all

They knew each other before the DR ?

Pascal

I would have assumed not, but am happy to be directed to any evidence that they did.

Guest

Hi all

Say they knew him by sight.

Salute

Pascal

Subject: Bromhead & Chard after the R.D. Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:48 am

Hi Pascal .
Who says who knows who by sight ??????. Sorry , dont understand what your previous post meant . Salute

cheers 90th.

Guest

Hi Gary

They had not already seen ? Before January 22, 1879 ?

Salute

Pascal

Subject: Bromhead & Chard after the R.D. Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:58 am

Hi Pascal.
We dont know for sure if they knew each other or not , so most likely the answer is no , as they were in differant Regts.
They most likely met at R.D as they were there for a few days before the column crossed the river into zululand . I'd say they didnt know each other prior to arriving at R.D .
cheers 90th. Salute

Guest

Yes Gary

, before reaching RD, they were never seen this, but between their respective arrivals and 22, as officers, have caused it to know ...

Salute

Pascal

Hi All

I think they may have known eachother prior to Rorkes Drift.
For one, they were in the same Brigade and would most likely have attended field exercises together in England and or in South Africa.
Also officers from all regiments, I have read, attended a mess function prior to their advance into Zululand where they were probably introduced to one another.

Eddie,

I imagine that they met for the first time on 19th January 1879, when John Chard and his small advance party of Royal Engineers arrived at Rorke’s Drift.

JY

Hi John

Yes, I agree that they could have met for the first time on 19th January 1879, but they could have also met prior to that, when all officers attended a function and dinner, prior to the advance into Zululand.
I have read it somewhere, maybe in a newspaper article that they attended a dinner prior to the advance, I will have to look it up again.

Eddie,

John Chard only arrived in Durban on 5th January 1879, prior to that he had been at sea. Little chance to indulge in any of the niceties of messing or other social interactions with fellow officers.

His small advance party were hampered by adverse weather and road conditions getting upcountry, hence his arrival at his assignment just three days prior to the action on the 22nd January 1879.

Therefore giving him little opportunity to acquaint himself with the task at hand, let alone mess with many other officers apart from those at Rorke’s Drift.

I can only assume that you are referring to when both battalions of the 24th messed together prior to their advance.

JY

Hi John

Yes I probably do refer to that get together. So taking that into consideration it is unlikely they met until the 19th, as you said previously. Doubt he attended that dinner.
Cheers

The dinner was held just before the two battalions moved from Helpmekaar to Rorke's Drift - and presumably might have been held about the 8th January. I doubt that Chard, even if he'd been there at that time, would have been invited to the 'family reunion'.

Hi Julian

Agreed

It was just before the 30th anniversary of Chillianwallah (13th Jan).

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