This image is the cover for the book Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There, Volume II

Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There, Volume II

"Yes you have beaten us; you had the best guns, but we have the best men...But we’ll fight again in two or three years’ time." – Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande (who led the Zulu at Rorke’s Drift) On 22 January 1879, during the final hour of the Battle of Isandlwana – one of the greatest disasters ever to befall British troops during the Victorian era – a very different story was about to unfold a few miles away at the mission station of Rorke’s Drift. A Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors had turned their attention to the small outpost, defended by around 150 British and Imperial troops. The odds of the British surviving were staggeringly low. The British victory that ensued, therefore, would go down as one of the most heroic actions of all time, and has fascinated military history enthusiasts for decades. In this classic work, Anglo-Zulu War experts Lee Stevenson, Alan Baynham-Jones and Ian Knight examine a wide range of personal testimonies from those present at Rorke’s Drift, while also presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety. By reading this account, readers will gain an impressive, unique breadth of knowledge about one of the most epic battles in British history. This updated edition includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides. Providing personal, microscopic accounts of events, while at the same time presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety, this second volume completes the collection of accounts of the defenders of Rorke’s Drift and also includes contemporary accounts of those who saw the immediate aftermath of the battle.

Lee Stevenson, Ian Knight, Alan Baynham-Jones

Lee Stevenson has a long-standing fascination with the Defence of Rorke’s Drift thanks to his late father, Ray, who sparked his interest with a gift of a book about the Anglo-Zulu war when Lee was fourteen. Forty years later he is still researching the lives of the men who fought and has written numerous articles for magazines and regimental journals. In 2003, along with his friend and fellow Rorke’s Drift enthusiast Alan Baynham-Jones, he published their joint collection of first-hand accounts and stories written by the defenders, Rorke’s Drift - By Those Who Were There. This is an expanded and updated version of that book.

Greenhill Books