£72,000 for Rorke’s Drift hero’s medal
A ZULU War medal awarded to a soldier shot in the epic British defence of Rorke’s Drift has sold for a record £72,000.
Most of the thousands of Zulu warriors in the battle carried spears but some had rifles picked up during the massacre of British forces at Isandlwana the previous day.
One’s shot killed a soldier and the bullet went on to hit the nose of Corporal James Bushe, whose South Africa medal was auctioned this week.
After the battle he washed his wound in a puddle beside Lieutenant John Chard, who won the Victoria Cross and was played by Stanley Baker in the 1964 film Zulu.
Cpl Bushe offered his commanding officer his towel to use first.
They were honoured for being among 140 soldiers who saw off 4,000 Zulus at Rorke’s Drift mission station in 1879.
Cpl Bushe’s medal was sold by a collector in New Zealand and bought by an anonymous internet bidder.
London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb said: “James Bushe was an exceptionally tough soldier, even by the standards of the Victorian era.”
Cpl Bushe, from Dublin, worked as a tailor before enlisting in the 24th Regiment of Foot in 1870, age 18. He served with the 2nd Battalion in the Kaffir War and later in the Zulu War.
Afterwards, he served for a further 12 years in Europe, India and Burma.
Lt Chard wrote to Queen Victoria: “I was glad to wash my face in a puddle, in company with Corporal Bushe, whose face was covered with blood.
“With the politeness of a soldier, he lent me a dirty half of his towel.”