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DateOriginal Topic
23rd January 2004Chard's Report.
By Steven Etchells
I have been reading Adrian Greaves book - Rorke's Drift, and in it he claims that Chelmsford's Staff Officer Major Clery was responsible for writing not only Chard's report but Bromhead's as well. Has anyone heard this claim before?
DateReplies
23rd January 2004Julian whybra
and the primary source evidence for this is quoted as...??
23rd January 2004Tony Livesey
I know I`ve read Chard`s report on the battle but I can`t recall ever reading about Bromhead`s. Have I missed something and if so does anyone know where to find it?
26th January 2004Paul Summers
Greaves' book provides copies of both of Chard's reports and Bromheads. He points out the simililaity of the script and is clearly of the opinion the reports written at Rorke's drift were not written by the claimed signatories. There is alos a copy of Glyn's report and a transcript of Bourne's Radio broadcast.
26th January 2004John Young
In attempt to try and make this clear, to those who haven't troubled to reading Dr. Greaves' book, this isn't a report per se, it is in fact the submission of Bromhead as their commanding officer, of the acts of bravery performed by those of his company who were recommended for the Victoria Cross. This submission appears almost verbatim in 'The Supplement to The London Gazette' of 2nd May, 1879.

This submission, together with Chard's report may very well have been written in the same hand, possibly I venture to suggest a clerk who recorded them. Then, again I suggest, that they were endorsed by the author of those remarks, as the signatures match the ones I have in my collection.

John Y.
26th January 2004Lee Stevenson
There is a 'version' of Chard's report at the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office), Kew in which parts are in Chard's handwriting (compared to authenticated samples of his handwriting), "Rorkes Drift 25th January 1879", whilst the bulk of the report is then written by someone else to which Chard has added his signature, plus a few minor additons - "Private Hook, 716 Robert Jones, Private Roy etc"

Bromhead's 'report,' as John has already mentioned, (the original of which is also in the National Archives), accompanies the official recommendations for the awards of the Victoria Cross to members of the 24th and is not, in my opinion, his 'report' of the action at Rorke's Drift.

However it is interesting to note that Frank Bourne later recalled that Bromhead had written a 'despatch,' of which Bourne "had to copy," but it was not sent in was it was then ascertained that Chard was in fact the officer in command....

Excuse the plug but all of these have been reproduced in RORKE'S DRIFT - BY THOSE WHO WERE THERE plus transcripts of Bourne's two radio broadcasts, 1934 and 1936...

Lee Stevenson