The Battle of Rorkes Drift is amongst the most popular battles in the history of the British army. It had been around this little mission station near the border of Zululand and Natal where a few thousand Zulus attacked a garrison of around 140 British soldiers. The British fought for their lives through the night and by morning, the Zulus had gone. The top award for gallantry in the British Army is the Victoria Cross and the defence of Rorkes Drift saw twelve VCs awarded, greater than in every other individual action in the past.

The battle was portrayed by the Stanley Baker movie “Zulu” and one of many leading characters who performed with distinction at Rorkes Drift, ultimately did not get a Victoria Cross. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal which is ranked second behind the Victoria Cross. On top of that, Bourne was also offered a commission yet he declined. Being the 8th son in the family, there wasn’t any money available and this would be a period when money was used to buy commissions for officers within the British Army.

Even so, Bourne was destined to be a career soldier and a very good one as well. Just after South Africa, he was deployed to both India and Burma before finally earning his commission eleven years following the Battle of Rorkes Drift. He eventually retired from the British Army in 1907. Only 7 years afterwards, World War I broke out and so Bourne re-enlisted in the army. By the end of the Great War in 1918, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was made an OBE. He left the military again, on this occasion once and for all.

A result of the actor who portrayed Bourne in the film Zulu, a good number of folks believed Frank Bourne to have been in his mid-50s during the time of the Battle of Rorkes Drift however in truth he was simply 24 years old. Soon after the stop of World War I, Bourne lived in old age in Beckenham, South London and he was the last survivor of the battle to pass away at the age of 91 on 8th May 1945, the day the Second World War in Europe came to an end.