‘Colonial’ Rorke’s Drift tribute erased
IT WAS meant to be a simple, factual tribute to the handful of British soldiers who held off 4,000 Zulu warriors at Rorke’s Drift.
But when a member of staff at Dollis Hill Underground station in north London wrote a brief account of the battle on the station noticeboard, they were accused of “celebrating colonialism”.
As a result the notice – which had marked the awarding of 11 Victoria Crosses to men who took part in the defence – was quickly erased.
Transport for London (TFL) issued an apology to “any customers who were offended” by the message. The decision to remove the tribute was yesterday described as “deeply saddening” by historians and a failure to recognise the valour of individuals.
The tribute had been written on the whiteboard at Dollis Hill in time for the morning rush hour, one of many notices posted by underground staff at stations around the capital. On this occasion the notice simply stated: “On this day in history: 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.” The worker who wrote the notice – and subsequently erased it following one complaint – said: “There was no opinion in there, so when someone said they weren’t happy with it, in line with what TFL tell us to do if someone complains and that we should avoid a conflict situation, I just wiped it off. They added: “I’ve got quite an interest in military history and the battle of Rorke’s Drift is quite an important day in British military history, so I put it up there.”
A spokesman for 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.” But Andrew Roberts, the historian, said: “TFL have behaved in a pathetically politically correct way.”
The worker who wrote the Rorke’s Drift notice later replaced it with a quote from Martin Luther King Jnr, stating: “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
‘Our staff share messages on these boards, but in this instance the message was clearly ill-judged’