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Date	Original Topic
9th October 2002	Rourke's Drift By Robert are there any surveys or such showing the details of the rourke' drift defense. I am just curious about the actual dimensions of the area, and where the fortifications where placed? i have hear that the distance between the storehouse and hospital was about 90 feet.
Date	Replies
9th October 2002	Bill Cainan Robert Chard's account of the battle prepared for Queen Victoria, included a number of accurate plans showing the course of the battle. He was a commissioned Engineer Officer and as such would have been trained to produce scaled plans/maps. Most of the books published on Rorke's Drift (eg Ian Knight's "Rorkes's Drift 1879", No 41 in the Osprey Campaign Series) either contain copies of the Chard plan or have plans based on it. Yes, the distance between the Store and the hospital (corner to corner) was about 90 feet. Bill
10th October 2002	Robert Thanks, Any of the site details anywhere on the Web?
10th October 2002	Robert Thanks, Any of the site details anywhere on the Web?
11th October 2002	Peter Critchley A map with details will be going up shortly..
13th October 2002	Peter Critchley As promised, Chard's map is now on the site - If you click on "The Battle" and scroll down to the bottom, you'll see a link. All the best, Peter
14th October 2002	Robert Peter Have you been at the site? If so, the defenders had to be crowded into a small area at the end? Also, did the storehouse have any windows on the south side, or was it just a blank wall. If it was just a wall, where would the defenders have positioned themselves to defend it? Thanks
15th October 2002	Alan Critchley Robert, the storehouse had a verandah and small windows on the south side. This was within the defended position and did not need defending as the north side did. The final redoubt, as well as pgiving some protection to Surgeon Reynolds, would to an extent have obscured the view of events from the storehouse. The present church, built virtually on the site, is obviously not the same design. Alan [email protected]
15th October 2002	Bill Cainan Alan, The other way round ! The storehouse's verandah is on the NORTH side of the building. It is the south side, which faced the Shyiane Terraces, that needed defending. Bill