Battle of Rorke’s Drift II: The shameful surrender
Oh-so-PC Lily Allen brands Tube tribute to great British victory ‘colonialist’... and cowardly train bosses instantly say sorry
SINGER Lily Allen has provoked outrage after accusing Tube workers of ‘celebrating colonialism’ by commemorating the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.
She was responding to controversy over a sign at Dollis Hill station marking the clash, famously portrayed in the 1964 Michael Caine film Zulu.
Incredibly, Transport for London apologised for the sign, which was displayed on Tuesday morning. A video circulated online showed a worker at the Jubilee Line station in North West London rubbing the message off a noticeboard that is normally used for quotes to lift commuters’ spirits.
The message, titled ‘On this day in history’ read: ‘On the 22-23 of January 1879 in Natal South Africa, a small British garrison named Rorke’s Drift was attack [sic] by 4,000 Zulu warriors.
‘The garrison was successfully defended by just over 150 British and Colonial troops. Following the battle, eleven men were awarded the Victoria Cross.’
In the video, a woman’s voice could be heard complaining: ‘That [noticeboard] is supposed to be for uplifting comments, not for celebrating colonialism, so I’m glad you’re wiping it off!’
Miss Allen shared the clip, with the caption: ‘Too right’.
TfL said: ‘Our staff across the network share messages on these boards, but in this instance the message was clearly ill-judged. We are speaking with our staff to remind them of what is and isn’t acceptable.’
By then, Miss Allen, 32, had apparently deleted her original tweet. But she continued to criticise those who accused her of trying to whitewash history to suit her Left-wing views.
She said she found celebrating Britain’s colonial past ‘disgusting’ and mocked one critic by suggesting his knowledge of the period was based on having ‘watched Zulu once’.
Retired Army officer Colonel Richard Kemp hit back, writing online: ‘I have no idea who “Lily Allen” is but quite clearly she is an ill-informed virtue-signaller. It is quite right that we remember the heroic actions of our soldiers in history. Maybe she should head to South Africa and tear down the Rorke’s Drift Museum.’
The worker who wrote the message is an Army reservist from a military family, it emerged. He told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The battle of Rorke’s Drift is quite an important day in British military history, so I put it up there. I never meant to offend anyone.’
Historian Andrew Roberts told the paper: ‘TfL have behaved in a pathetically politically correct way. It’s sad that some members of the public can’t differentiate between a factual tribute to extraordinary example of British heroism, of which everyone should be proud, and the rights and wrongs of a particular period.’
Miss Allen’s outbursts have embroiled her in a number of rows. A fortnight ago she apologised over claims she made about the victims of the Rochdale child grooming gangs.
Last year she accused the media of downplaying the toll in the Grenfell fire, in which 71 died, claiming 150 had perished.
A representative for Miss Allen was approached for comment.