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Date	Original Topic
3rd December 2002	Should they have been awarded the V.C. By PETE HARMAN I have no intention of causing offence. But did melvill and coghill deserve the V.C. Was it not General Wolseley who said these two officers belonged on the battlefield where the men under them died. And was it true that the relatives of these two officers appealed against the decision.After it was decided they would not get the V.C. Do you think they deserved the V.C.
Date	Replies
4th December 2002	Alan Critchley Good point. I believe that Melvill was merely carrying out orders to save the colour. Somehow, Coghill ended up at the Buffalo River and did go back to assist Melvill. Was it Lt. Henderson who also helped Melvill at the Coffin Rock. He must also merit recognition. As to VCs. There must have been dozens deserved at Isandhlwana but we know of Melvill and Coghill because the colour was recovered a few weeks later. Alan [email protected]
4th December 2002	John Young Pete, In the Anglo-Zulu War Research Society, we considered this sometime ago, I believe I've already posted this article on the forum, but for the benefit of new readers here it is again. John Young, A.Z.W.R.S. When Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Burmester Pulleine realised that all was lost on the bloody field of Isandlwana, he allegedly called for his regimental adjutant, Lieutenant Teignmouth Melvill. Pulleine is alleged to have said to Melvill, �You, as senior lieutenant, will take the colours, and make the best of way from here!� At which Pulleine handed over the cased Queen�s Colour of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment to Melvill. The battle may have been lost but at least regimental honour might still be salvaged. An anonymous witness recorded that the two men shook hands, and Pulleine turned to his men and said, Men of the First Battalion 24th Regiment, we are here, and here we stand, to fight it out to the end!� Melvill rode off in the direction of the Buffalo River towards Natal. As he crossed the saddle of Isandlwana he must have been horrified to see that the Zulu reserve had cut the track leading to Rorke�s Drift. The fugitives from the battlefield, both black and white, were now compelled to flee, panic-stricken, along an unfamiliar route towards the river. Across the rugged terrain the fugitives decamped � over dongas, chasms, uphill and into marshes, but what choice did they have? Only certain death lay behind them! Their only chance of survival was onwards towards the Buffalo River, and hopefully, safety. On reaching the Zulu side of the river at a place called Sothondose�s Drift, Melvill found the river was in full spate. Closely harried by their Zulu pursuers the fugitives threw themselves into the torrent. Melvill was encumbered by his precious charge and was swept from his mount, but still he held the Colour. As he was hurled along in the current, he saw another man clinging to a rock and he shouted to him to �Lay hold!� That other man was Lieutenant Walter Higginson, of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment, Natal Native Contingent, who had also been thrown, from his horse. Higginson grasped the Colour, but as he did so he was torn from the crag, and Higginson and Melvill were in the still water in the lee of the rock. On the Natal bank, Lieutenant Nevill Coghill, of the 1st/24th, turned in his saddle to see his brother officer struggling in the water. Without sparing a thought for self-preservation, Coghill nobly turned his horse back towards Melvill and Higginson; he was going to their rescue. This was an act of tremendous courage as Coghill had so badly sprained his knee only days before that he was incapable of walking, if he were to become dismounted he would not stand a chance of surviving. Higginson later related that Coghill came under fire from the Zulu bank, and allegedly one of the first shots hit Coghill�s horse, and pitched him from the saddle. Now all three men were in the water and under fire from the Zulu. Despite their joint efforts the Colour was wrenched from Melvill�s grasp by the relentless torrent, and whirled out of sight. Exhausted by their efforts, the three men managed to struggle to the Natal bank. Now the Zulu are not a nation renowned for their prowess at swimming and very few of them even attempted to swim across after their prey. This makes the destiny of Melvill and Coghill even more interesting. The men scrambled up the steep slope, with Higginson in the lead, his intention was to find some horses. Melvill aided the disabled Coghill. Coghill apparently shouted, words to the effect of �Here they come!� or, �Here they are after us!� Encouraged by a shout from Higginson, both Melvill and Coghill opened fire on two Zulus, and killed them. Melvill then apparently said, �I am done up, I can go no further.� Coghill concurred, saying, �Nor I�. With their backs against a jutting rock they turned to meet their fate. Higginson had in the meantime found some leaderless men of the Natal Native Horse, a little higher up the slope. He gathered them together and they raced back to the rescue. Higginson was close at hand, when he heard the demise of the two officers, but his view was obscured by the rock. There were a few shots, and the sound of a scuffle. Then a number of Zulus were seen clambering up the slope towards Higginson and his men, realising any resistance was futile, he turned and made good his own escape. The question, which still evokes much local debate, is who killed Melvill and Coghill? The agreed local tradition gleaned from oral Zulu sources tells a different tale to the accepted version of events. Sothondose, a local headman, and his people were watching the course of the events which were unfolding at their river crossing. It is alleged that the Zulu induna, Zibhebhu kaMapita, of the Mandlakazi, the commander of the Udlolo ibutho, called across the river to Sothondose. Zibhebhu urged him to kill the white stragglers, and warned him if he did not, then he would cross the river upstream and deal not only with the whites, but also with Sothondose and his people. Sothondose, coerced by these threats, is alleged to have ordered his adherents to kill Melvill and Coghill. However, with the passage of time, who alive today can truthfully say that this version of events is correct. The Supplement to the London Gazette of 2nd May, 1879, records the following:- Memorandum �Lieutenant Melville [sic] of the 1st Battalion 24th Foot, on account of the gallant efforts made by him to save the Queen�s Colour of his Regiment after the disaster at Isandlwanha [sic], and also Lieutenant Coghill, 1st Battalion, 24th Foot, on account of his heroic conduct in endeavouring to save his brother officer�s life, would have been recommended to Her Majesty for the Victoria Cross had they survived.� In 1879 there was no provision for the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross. It was not until 1907 that the families of these two officers received the decoration. On 4th February 1879 the bodies of the two officers were found by a patrol led by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Wilsone Black, 2nd/24th. Black ascertained the colour was not about either of the corpses, this done they were interred where they had fallen. The following day the Reverend George Smith, Chaplain of Volunteers, of Rorke�s Drift fame, conducted a burial service. Colonel Richard Thomas Glyn, the commander of the shattered No.3 Column, ordered a search of the Buffalo River. The depth of the river had dropped drastically since 22nd January. To protect the search party Black had a sanger, a breastwork, thrown up, and from this position Black observed the search operation. Lieutenant Henry Charles Harford, of the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment, a �special-service officer� attached to the Natal Native Contingent soon found the Colour case. With two other officers of the N.N.C., Captain S. S. Harber and Lieutenant A. F. Wainwright he scoured the location. Harford spotted the Colour pole projecting upwards from the water, he called to Harber who pulled on the pole, the Colour was still attached to it, although it had been damaged by its immersion in the water. Wilsone Black scampered down to the river and amidst great cheering received the Colour from it finders. Black proudly bore the Colour back to Rorke�s Drift where the garrison received it with a rapturous welcome; the Colour was back in the arms of the Regiment again. There were those at the time who condemned the actions of Melvill and Coghill. A venomous attack was made in the press, stating that it was an officer�s duty to remain with his men, no matter what the circumstances, even if he were attempting to save regimental pride and honour. If the alleged facts quoted at the beginning of this article are correct, then at least Melvill was obeying orders. But Coghill? Why had he quit the field, had he too been ordered to do so? I decline to answer these questions myself, but by introducing more of you to these allegations then you can make your own judgement. In doing so consider if you will the cases of two other incidents where officers made off from the field of battle; namely Lieutenant Henry Harward, 80th Foot at Ntombe Drift, and that cause-celebre Lieutenant Jahleel Brenton Carey. Both of men suffered the ignominy of being court-martialled! Not rewarded with Britain�s highest gallantry medal. Were Melvill and Coghill equally guilty of desertion? I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.
4th December 2002	Clive Dickens I can only agree with Alan, Melvill was carrying out orders the doubht's do remain around Coghill though but he was suffering from a badly wrenched knee sustained before the battle began, he may have been told to get out and he may not have it is something none of us will everknow for sure ,Gen Wolseley was certainly very critical of them both that is for certain, On Alans point of dozens of of men who desrerved the VC is bang on both in the Zulu war and other more recent wars, MANY brave deeds have been done but not recognised merely because no officer was present at the time to witness the deed. Clive
4th December 2002	Petee Ewart Pete Wassall was comparatively safe yet turned back to rescue Westwood in the river. They both survived & he got the VC. Coghill was even safer but turned back to rescue Melville in the river. They didn't survive, but surely Coghill's selfless bravery was equal to Wassall's, especially as he lost his horse in the process. And one might say that the Queen's Colour was irrelevant as far as Melville's bravery was concerned (although obviously an element of the story adored by the Victorians, and us too, no doubt!). I suppose his bravery was refusing to give up on a crippled comrade who had already scorned his own safety to rescue him, and trying to carry Coghill all the way up the bank after landing on the Natal side. If Melville had climbed alone, he might just have got away - but Coghill couldn't walk, let alone climb. Mind you, we only have Higginson's word for most of this & he has attracted suspicion himself! There is not a shred of evidence to confirm Melville's orders to save the Colour (the anonymous letter in the Natal paper is presumably considered a possible "plant"?) but I support the idea that he probably did have orders, or at least made a conscious decision, as adjutant, to save it himself - if flight was imperative, presumably he'd have simply dashed with the rest. I think this defends him somewhat against the charge of perhaps leaving rather early. As for the families, well, there hardly seems to have been a single VC in the whole campaign that wasn't lobbied for really hard from the UK, either by family, friends, reg't or even the proposed recipient!!! And not many non-controversial ones either... Peter
4th December 2002	John Young I happened to chance upon a site the other day which put a different slant on things. Apparently both Melvill & Coghill were Freemasons. Now I know this sounds like something out of 'The Man who would be King', but it may be that Coghill, who must have ignored others floundering around in the Buffalo River, turned back to assist not a brother officer - but a brother freemason. Wasn't the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, also a freemason? Odd that the award was granted during his reign? Another masonic conspiracy, who knows? Don't forget the one about Coghill's horse, either - was it shot or not? Or was his spare horse that turned up at Khambula ridden by Mr. Calverley, when Hamu kaNzibe's people joined Wood there? John Young, A.-Z.W.R.S.
4th December 2002	Martin Everett It is easy to debate these matters using todays values. But the authorities of the day decided that these awards should be made. Wolseley was of the old school and thought that officers should not received awards for doing their job. Of course, he did not turn down many awards when he was a general. There only two gallantry awards available at the time of the AZW - VC and DCM. Now there are range of awards available to soldiers. The main point about the VC and DCM in those days was the pension which went with the award. For a private soldier - this represented a 30% increase in pay. We hold the VC in high regard today because of the two world war - the many publications, the media hype, facination by the general public, high auction values, etc. What is interesting about Melvill is that his widow after a personal audience with Queen Victoria in 1879 did receive the pension. Her two sons - one retired as a full Colonel and the other a Brigadier General commanding New Zealand forces. I am glad she received the pension.
4th December 2002	John Young Martin, Can I chime in here - how about Private Joseph Williams at Rorke's Drift? Where was a voice for him? Yet, he did more than his bit in the hospital. Of the surviving members of the hospital guard all of them received the Victoria Cross. Did no-one think about the same memorandum for him - 'would have been recommended to Her Majesty for the Victoria Cross had HE survived.' No champion that might have been heard in high places stated his case for the award. As to Wolseley two letters alluded his name, V.C. - only he tried hard on more than one occasion to add them. He was a vain, selfish man, with an obvious streak of jealousy to boot. Add to that his business interests and endorsements - little wonder he ordered "Crealock's Crawlers" to shave, when he was a company director for a razor company! John Young, A.-Z.W.R.S.
4th December 2002	Lee Stevenson I have raised this question before but is there any eyewitness account/official statement saying that Higginson actually made an attempt to go back for Melvill and Coghill once he had passed them on the hill..... certainly Higginson makes no such claim in his own statement....
4th December 2002	James Garland John, Following on from your comments about freemasons. There is a letter from a Rorke's Drift survivor ( I can't recall which at the moment) that mentions a number of Templars from the 24th who were killed at Isandhlwana. The Templars are a side order of the Masons and it looks as if there may have been a regimental lodge. If this is the case Masonic records should show who were members. If the masonic records still exist they may well contain obituaries of members killed. This may prove to be a new area in which to research. Has anyone already done research in this area. James
5th December 2002	Keith Smith Oh! What a loveley war! Three things to consider on this question: 1. Was Melvill really ordered to save the Colours or was thisd a bit of Victorian melodarama? 2. Melvill's watch stopped at 2.10 pm. Allowing an hour or more to get the Mzinyathi, he probably left the battle quite early! 3. One might wish to question the veracity of Higginson in view of the statements of others such as Barker. Keith
5th December 2002	John Young Keith, Frankly, given the 24th's past record with its Colours, if no-one ordered Melvill, then he as the Adjutant, I submit, may very well have taken the task on himself. Melvill's watch was found stopped ten minutes past two. I don't think it indicated whether it was a.m. or p.m., although I may be wrong. Who is there to say the watch was fully wound on the 22nd January, 1879? Or even that the immersion in the Buffalo River actually caused it to malfunction? No-one I would venture? If the watch is still in existence, and in working-order it might prove to be a useful experiment to discover how often it requires to be wound to maintain time - just a thought. James, Re: Masons - I believe the Freemasons' Hall, in Great Queen Street has a record system of sorts, it might be a lead worth following-up. The present Grand Master, H.R.H. Field Marshal the Duke of Kent, may be interested in the campaign as I saw him at a David Rattray lecture at the R.G.S. John
6th December 2002	Peter Ewart Yes, I'm always slightly surprised when Melville's watch is relied upon as signifying his time of death or submergence in the Buffalo. Perhaps it was due for winding up in the normal way at, say, 1.30 pm but he found himself rather pre-occupied about then? Durnford's brother was apparently certain that the Colonel must have died at 3.40 when his watch had apparently stopped. But it could have run down at any time that day, certainly from around noon onwards when he was rather busy, and may have ticked away for an hour or more after he fell. I would be more convinced if the watch was broken or smashed, although would admit that in Melvill's case the water getting in is a probable reason - but by no means certain enough to use it as an excuse to boost the argument that he may have left early. On the other hand I suppose most officers wound them up at the start of their day? Peter