Tall Tales

Much of the supposed greatness of Victorian Britain was linked to colonial expansion. Some of our British ancestors benefited from this at home, while others were actively involved in conquering lands on behalf of the Empire. We should not forget that every British victory was a defeat for someone else.

Reports of the events in South Africa on the 22nd and 23rd January 1879 capture the popular imagination more than others. Here is a brief summary from what I can glean online. The moring of 22 January, the commander of the British-Colonial force, Lord Chelmsford, had marched out of a temporary camp at Isandlwana with much of his column to make a reconnaissance in force with a view to bringing the Zulu army to battle. Guarding the camp, he left Lt-Col Pulleine commanding six companies of the 24th Foot, some companies of the 3rd Natal Native Contingent, and two artillery pieces.

As the day progressed, unknown to Chelmsford, the Zulu army slipped successfully between his force and the camp. Pulleine's patrols detected some Zulu movements, but he wasn't unduly alarmed and made no special preparation for defense. Mid-morning Lt-Col Durnsford arrived with more colonial units, and decided to investigate the Zulu movements. In the course of this, one of his units stumbled upon the Zulu army, numbering about 20,000. Apparently the Zulu commander was planning for an engagement the following day, but, having been discovered, the whole army moved to an immediate offensive. Their traditional "buffalo" attack had a strong center, with horns on each flank designed to encircle the camp. There was also a reserve.

The defenders, numbering about 1300, formed a firing line some way out of the camp. For a while firepower from the British-Colonial line held the Zulus at bay. It is thought that Durnsford's units, which had been in action the longest, began to run short of ammunition, and their fire slackened. The Natal Native Contingent, with few firearms in the first place and little ammunition for what they had, retreated, rather than rely on their spears and shields against overwhelming numbers. 

This was all the disorganization the Zulu regiments needed to break into the defensive position. The fight became one of localized skirmishes with defenders fighting back-to-back until their ammunition was expended, and then bayonet-to-assegai until they were all killed. Some took to their heels to escape the battlefield. A treacherous river crossing and the Zulu encirclement made that route hard to escape, although there were a few who survived to tell the tale. A militia army with spears and shields had defeated a professional force armed with the latest technology.

Following this fight, and through the night into the small hours, the Zulu reserve attacked the Rorke's Drift mission defended by about 150 men, situated a few miles to rear of the camp. The defenders were able to fight them to exhaustion, winning 11 Victoria Crosses in one day. Rorke's Drift held, and Chelmsford was able to regroup his column. And the Victorian public could have some consolation for the Zulu victory at Isandlwana.

You can gather from this that I have proof that my 3xgreat uncle Lonsdale Denoon Young was the Lt L D Young killed at Isandlwana on 22 January 1879. With the evidence I reported in the post All Those Gentlemen, I posted a query on the rootschat forum on whether there were sources that might better specify the given names of Lt L D Young. I was not disappointed, and received replies from three people.

Here is the sum of the evidence. The gravesite at Isandlwana can be found on the International Find a Grave Index. According to this site, Lieutenant L D Young belonged to the 2nd Natal Native Contingent. Elsewhere I find he was in the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Natal Native Contingent, which is more likely since this unit was engaged at the battle.

An almost immediate response to my query kindly directed me to a medal award for this campaign. The reference is WO 100 piece 49 (UK, Military Campaign Medals and Award Rolls, South Africa 1877-79). Among the Natal Native Contingent is an award to one Lieutenant Lonsllale [sic] D Young for his service in the Zulu campaign 1879. There is no mention that he was killed, although this must be the same person as buried on the Isandlwana battle-site; this is the only L D Young in the medal list. The two ells in the middle of Lonsllale might have occurred in copying a "d" that was left open. I certainly can find no evidence of Lonsllale itself being anyone's name. I conclude that this and the gravesite are records for Lonsdale Denoon Young. He was 20 years old when he died.

Also in All Those Gentlemen, I went on to speculate that perhaps the two brothers, Heydon Charles and Lonsdale Denoon Young, had emigrated to South Africa together. There are in fact two Youngs listed as medal recipients for the 1879 campaign; the other is only given by initials, and they are H C Young, consistent with my speculation.

Did Heydon Charles Young leave any other documentary footprint in South Africa? I came across a searchable index for South African records, from which the following confirm the presence of Heydon Charles Young.

     1888 Reference GPO307/1888 

          Mr. Heydon Young, Postmaster umBilo: Letter of appointment duly stamped 

          and certified copy thereof.

There is also a recorded generated by MCSE, which I gather is a probate court, so may be a record concerning his death. I do not know what s/sp means, but the name may be for his spouse.

     1912 Reference 44/219 

          Young, Heydon Charles (s/sp Young, Isabella Mary Ann)

But even more remarkably, there are sources that place Heydon Charles Young in the 1879 campaign with his brother, and with a certain amount of controversy. With some help from replies on the rootschat forum, and some digging on google, I discovered the following. According to Ian Knight's Zulu Rising, about a month after the Battle of Isandlwana, a letter in the Echo newspaper 24 February 1879 from one Lieutenant H C Young gave a narrative of the battle. This author claimed to have fought side-by-side with his brother, Lieutenant L D Young, until the latter was killed by a shot to the head. This account was also published in English newspapers. Shortly after this, another officer, Lieutenant Higginson refuted the account in a letter to the Natal Mercury 16 May 1879, claiming that H C Young had fallen out sick the day before the battle. It's possible that H C Young was simply glory-seeking, but from a more sympathetic angle, perhaps, distraught with grief and guilt, he really believed that he had been present at the battle.

And lastly there is this account of Walter Stafford, a bona fide survivor of the battle, who described Lt L D Young's last moments. This account was published in the Natal Mercury, 22 January 1929, a 50th anniversary article (and many thanks to John who sent me this extract):

... The fleet-footed Zulus kept at our heels, and a small gain I had made on them was lost when at one of the dongas I came across a wounded man. After several attempts on his part to get a foot into one of my stirrups I managed to pull him up behind me. He had an assegai wound under his arm and was so weak from loss of blood that I could hardly feel him holding me. He had managed to tell me that he was Young of Lonsdale's Horse [sic] when we got to a donga 12 feet wide. In taking the jump my horse's hind feet did not get a firm hold on the other side and it slipped. While it was recovering itself poor Young lost his seat and fell back.

The Zulus were then right on top of us, and poor Young was killed, although Harry Davis, who had come up, and I did our best for him. A little further on we came across Lieutenant Erskine, unable to go further on account of an assegai wound through the calf of one of his legs...

Young was not in Lonsdale's Horse, and it's possible Stafford misunderstood him saying his first name.

All of this seems quite remarkable to me. It would not perhaps be uncommon to find that a relative had died at a particular battle, but that we should find a published account of Lonsdale's death must be highly unusual. And then there is the controversy surrounding his brother's tall tales. We may have questions about Heydon's motives in this. Indeed, we may have questions about their role in the whole imperial enterprise. But I also think of them about six years before, when the then 19-year-old Heydon picked up his younger brother and signed the discharge register at Christ's Hospital School, a world of adventure before them.

Cairn marking British mass grave at Isandlwana