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Date	Original Topic
16th October 2002	Hospital Occupants By Ian Essex Does anyone know of a 'definite' list of ALL persons in the hospital at the time of the Zulu attack? Or...considering this website...does anyone have an opinion as to who was in the hospital at the time of the Zulu attack?
Date	Replies
17th October 2002	John Young Ian, As to the hospital patients I take it that you have read Lee Stevenson's findings in his book 'The Rorke's Drift Doctor'? Lee states: 'There is no contemporary list of those sick and injured men who were in Reynolds' care at Rorke's Drift. ...' However, Lee attempts to establish the identities of hospital patients on pages 190-197, of those identified we can obviously deduct certain names suchas Schiess, who fought outside of the hospital, and Lieutenant Purvis who left with Otto Witt. I conject that the names of those men left, together with the men of the hospital guard would give us a fair inkling as to who was present during the attack on the hospital. John Young, Chairman, Anglo-Zulu War Research Society.
27th October 2002	Ian Essex Thanks for the reply John, I haven't read the book. Christmas comes but once a year...Why did Purvis get to go and no-one else? Do we know what was wrong with him?
27th October 2002	John Young Ian, Lieutenant T. Purvis, 1st/3rd N.N.C. - severely wounded at the storming of Sihayo's stronghold on 12th January, 1879 - shot in the arm. I am assuming he had his own horse there, and it was on that he left in company with Witt. I don't know if he had friends or family at Msinga, which may have provoked him to go with Witt. John Young, Chairman, Anglo-Zulu War Research Society.
27th October 2002	Lee Stevenson Purvis is reported to have received a bullet wound to the deltoid muscle of his left arm. Whilst recovering in hospital from this wound he went down with a rather nasty case of dysentery. The wound to his arm is said to have left his arm permanently disabled. One account puts Lt. Purvis at Helpmekaar on the evening of the 22nd January 1879