Posted on 06/29/2014 7:34:22 AM PDT by bd476
“I’m sorry the family was upset but seeing the slothful Hicks finally moved to action and heroics is what filmmaking is all about!”
His name was Hook, not Hicks. In the movie he is called Hooky.
My grandfather was born in New Zealand in 1865..
My mother’s father...
His McClimont/Irvine parents and older siblings werer Presbyterians who came from County Down, Ireland to Ayrshire, Scotland to the ancient family hometown for 2 years and then onto New Zealand in 1863..
My great grandfather was born in 1861, I think.
“We saw all of these movies including “Khartoum.””
In the first ‘Godfather’ movie Khartoum was the name of the expensive horse that had it head cut off and wound up in that movie director’s bed.
My great grandfather was born/baptized in County Down in 1835..
My grandfather was not married until he returned from South Africa so he was already older when his 15 children were growing up..
My mother was born in 1912, in the middle..
When WWII started and 6 of my grandfather’s 7 sons enlisted to fight he said he would wait until they all came back..
The 5 who fought the Japanese in the Pacific all came home but the favorite son in Europe died in Italy in Dec 1944..
Granddad died a couple of years later..
This is a Hollywood myth. Granville Bromhead, was an experienced professional soldier. He had 12 years service as an infantry officer prior to Rorks Drift. He was not an arrogant elite.
Not quiet. The Zulu warriors that attacked Rorks Drift,
had been part of the Zulu force that overran the British forces at Isandlwana. These men did not get into the that fight. So they decided to attack the British at Rorks Drift. Their attack started late in the afternoon of the same day as Isandlwana, and lasted through the night and into the next day.
My great grandmother died in the 1920s I believe. My great grandfather died in 1948. Lived a good long time. I think he used to talk a lot about the Fuzzy Wuzzies (there’s a good ole racist name, lol!) and how Africans would tie their enemies down on red ant hills. My mother was crazy about him - he was Irish but spoke with a Cockney accent because he was in the army with a London troop. He called her “Ducky” which is a very old English term of endearment.
The Battle of Isandlwana was over by around 4 pm on the 22nd of January. The 4000 Zulus that attacked Rorks Drift had been assigned a roll in the Isandlwana battle, but the battle was over before they could participate. These warriors continued their march to Rorks Drift and attacked the British there around 4:30 pm 22 January.
Probably a better, more recent source than “Washing of the Spears” is Lt.Col. Mike Snooks two books on the subject.
The first is “How can Man Die Better” about Isandlwana, first edition is 2005. The second is “Like Wolves on the Fold” about Rorke’s Drift published in 2006. Snook commanded the Royal Welsh Regiment before his retirement from the British Army. Both books go to great lengths to dispel many of the myths about these battles from authors with little military experience and the Hollywood types in their movie versions of these battles. These two books are some of the best military histories I have ever read.
As a Scot, I am fascinated. Even more so as a proud Ayrshireman.
I assume that they went from Scotland to Ireland originally in the 17thC Plantation of Ulster, then later returned to Scotland?.
Any idea where the ‘hometown’ was in Ayrshire?. As I said, I am an actual Ayrshireman and would be delighted to answer any questions you have about Ayrshire or Scotland or Britain.
I saw “Blithe Spirit,” in which Rex Harrison starred when he was quite young, and it was amazing to hear that big, resonant voice coming from a slender fellow hardly older than my sons.
His first starring role. He had 16 mostly uncredited film parts under his belt. A few credited bit parts.
But he was almost completely deaf, which is why he was with a tiny reserve garrison and not the main body which was slaughtered at Isandhlwana.
Uh oh. When the scotsman shows up we will all be corrected for the next few hours...
Agreed but his first name was Gonville and the battle was Rorke's Drift. Attention to details is probably what kept them alive in that battle.
As for the aftermath, the movie has it correct in that there were only 11 Victoria Crosses (VC) awarded with a 12th mentioned in dispatches, Private Joseph Williams, as being worthy but being deceased, was ineligible. The British did highlight this David & Goliath battle not only for real heroism but also to distract from the disaster of the Isandlwana defeat.
Interesting fact from the movie, lead actor Stanley Baker (Chard) bought what he thought was a copy of Chard's VC at an auction in 1972 which Baker's family sold after his death in 1976. In 1996 that same 'copy' was found to be genuine as its metal content matched to all of the other contemporary VCs .
I need something to fill my sad life, don’t I?.
LOL
How about trying crossword puzzles?!
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