Gonville Bromhead

For Sir Gonville Bromhead, Baronet, see Bromhead Baronets.

Major Gonville Bromhead VC
Gonville Bromhead c 1872
Born	29 August 1845 Versailles, France
Died	9 February 1891 (aged 45) Allahabad, British India
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	c. 1871-1891
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	Anglo-Zulu War Third Anglo-Burmese War
Awards	Victoria Cross

Major Gonville Bromhead VC (29 August 1845 – 9 February 1891) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Bromhead received the Victoria Cross for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879.

Career

Born in Versailles, France, Bromhead was the youngest son of Major Sir Edmund de Gonville Bromhead, 3rd Baronet of Thurlby Hall, Lincolnshire, a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo, by his wife Judith, daughter of James Wood of Woodville, Co. Sligo. His grandfather was Lieutenant-General Sir Gonville Bromhead, 1st Baronet, who served in the American War of Independence and was captured at the Battle of Saratoga.

He had a profound deafness which restricted his promotion opportunities. Bromhead was officially promoted to Lieutenant in October 1871. Aged 33 years and holding the rank of Lieutenant he commanded B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Foot (later The South Wales Borderers) of the British Army which he led during the Zulu War at Rorke's Drift, Natal, South Africa.

Rorke's Drift

During the defence of Rorke's Drift on 22 and 23 January 1879 Bromhead shared the command of the defenders of the post with John Chard, an officer of the Royal Engineers. Chard had received his promotion in April 1868, making Bromhead the junior Lieutenant and second-in-command at the Drift even though he was an infantryman and Chard an engineer. In the movie Zulu, it is stated that Bromhead received his commission only 3 months after Chard when in actual fact it was a full 3 years (after Chard).

Setting a fine example and conducting himself with great gallantry in most trying circumstances during the defence of Rorke's Drift, Bromhead was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Immediately after the battle he was promoted to Captain and then Brevet Major. The citation for his VC was published in the London Gazette on 2 May 1879:

“

THE Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned Officers and Soldiers of Her Majesty's Army, whose claims have been submitted for Her Majesty's approval, for their gallant conduct in the defence of Rorke's Drift, on the occasion of the attack by the Zulus, as recorded against their names, viz.:— For their gallant conduct at the defence of Rorke's Drift, on the occasion of the attack by the Zulus on the 22nd and 23rd  January, 1879. Royal Engineers Lieutenant (now Captain and Brevet Major) J. R. M. Chard 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment Lieutenant (now Captain and Brevet Major) G. Bromhead The Lieutenant-General commanding the troops reports that, had it not been for the fine example and excellent behaviour of these two Officers under the most trying circumstances, the defence of Rorke's Drift post would not have been conducted with that intelligence and tenacity which so essentially characterised it. The Lieutenant-General adds, that its success must, in a great degree, be attributable to the two young Officers who exercised the Chief Command on the occasion in question.

”

Later life

He received a substantive promotion to Major on 4 April 1883.

Bromhead died of Typhoid Fever on 9 February 1891, at the age of 45, at Camp Dabhaura, Allahabad, British India where he is buried in a military cemetery.

The church at Thurlby, North Kesteven in Lincolnshire has a stained glass window dedicated to him. His grandfather, Lt.-General Sir Gonville Bromhead (1758–1822) fought at the Battle of Saratoga, and is buried in its churchyard. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the South Wales Borderers Museum (Brecon, Powys, Wales).

Bromhead was considered to be Irish, despite being born in Versailles, France. His mother, Judith Christine Wood, was certainly Irish, however his father's home was Thurlby Hall, north of Bassingham, near Lincoln. He was educated at the Thomas Magnus Grammar School in Newark, Nottinghamshire where one of the School Houses - 'Bromhead' is named after him.

Gonville Bromhead is a main character in Peter Ho Davies's story "Relief," which appeared first in The Paris Review and was later published in Davies's 1997 collection The Ugliest House in the World.

Film portrayal

In the 1964 film Zulu, Bromhead was played by Michael Caine.

References

Sources

• Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• Richard Howes, John Young

External links

• Lt. Gonville Bromhead (biography, photos, memorial details)
• Rorke's Drift (information within Frederick Hitch site)
• Very rough location of Bromhead's burial site