Colonel John Chard VC, who led the defence of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War of 1879, at rest in a Somerset churchyard in the village of Hatch Beauchamp.

Today is the anniversary of the action during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 in which John Chard, then a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, led the successful defence of Rorke’s Drift.  Earlier on the 22nd a Zulu army had overwhelmed and all but annihilated a British force of around 1,500 at nearby Isandlwana before moving against the mission station at Rorke’s Drift and its 130 defenders. The Zulus attacked in the late afternoon and the fighting continued overnight.

What connection has John Rouse Merriott Chard with Somerset?

He is buried in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church in the village of Hatch Beauchamp around 5 miles south-east of Taunton.  While still serving in the British Army, having attained the rank of Colonel, he was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue - he was a life-long pipe smoker - and spent his final weeks staying with his brother who was the Rector at Hatch Beauchamp.  Unmarried, he died on November 1st 1897 just short of his fiftieth birthday.

Another connection with Somerset is that Chard was present at the final defeat of the Zulus at Ulundi, on July 4th, a battle in which the Somerset Light Infantry played a prominent role.  My great-grandfather, a regular soldier in the Somerset Light Infantry, also took part at Ulundi.

Colonel John Chard VC has an impressive marble tomb in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church and also a memorial window in the south chancel.