In December 1878 the British High Commissioner to South Africa (Sir Bartle Frere) set in motion plans to incorporate the independent Kingdom of Zululand into Britain's South African colony. Frere did so by sending a challenging ultimatum to the Zulu king Cetshwayo and when the British offer of incorporation was rejected Lord Chelmsford was despatched with a military force to invade Zululand, which they did on 11 January 1879. Part of Chelmsford's force included the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 24th Regiment of Foot (it was unusual to see both battalions of the same regiment on the same operational deployment).

'If I am called upon to conduct operations against the Zulus, I shall… show them how hopelessly inferior they are to us in fighting power, although numerically stronger'. Lord Chelmsford - written in 1878 before the invasion.

Having crossed the Buffalo River and a day's march beyond the Zululand border the British pitched camp at Isandlwana. Unfortunately, they failed to develop any substantial defences; some have reported that the hard ground and a shortage of entrenching tools, plus an underestimation of Zulu fighting abilities contributed to this tragic failure. The 24th of Foot provided most of the British force in the encampment below the Isandlwana mountain. On 22 January Lord Chelmsford, split his forces leaving the 1st Battalion of the 24th  (i.e. 5 of its companies) and a company of the 2nd Battalion to guard the camp. Chelmsford set off with the remainder of his force including the 2nd Battalion of the 24th of Foot to find and engage the Zulus. Later around midday, a Zulu force of 20,000 warriors attacked the British camp, which was manned by approximately 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and 400 civilian non-combatants; the 1st Battalion of the 24th of Foot formed the bulk of this protective force.

Turning to the Dukies in the 24th of Foot who are believed to have died at Isandlwana, certainly five of the six recorded on the chapel memorial were accounted for in the London Gazette's casualty list of 15 March 1879, these being: 

·      Colour Sergeant Frederick Henry Wolfe – who left the school on 17 March 1860, joining the 1st Battalion, Army Number 617

·      Private William Gregg – who left the school on 8 September 1866, joining the 1st Battalion, Army Number 1423

·      Private Charles Samuel Lowe – who left the school on 20 October 1868, joining the 1st Battalion, Army Number 1649

·      Private Richard Lowe – who left the school on 25 January 1872, joining the 1st Battalion, Army Number 1841

·      Private William J Retford – who left the school on 28 October 1868, joining the 1st Battalion, Army Number 1650. 

However, William Henry Morris (who left the school on 27 July 1868 and joined the 24th of Foot) was not identified in the Isandlwana casualty despatch in the Gazette. So, it appears Morris may not have been killed at the main battle or for that matter during the defence of the Rorke’s Drift; neither does he appear on the subsequent post-January 1879 death lists, so his inclusion on the memorial tablet is a puzzle. What is clear is that a Corporal William H Morris is recorded as retiring from the army in 1881, so he never died in the Anglo-Zulu War and the memorial tablet in the chapel is inaccurate.

There is no doubt that the decisive Zulu victory at Isandlwana blunted the first British invasion of Zululand. Of the 1,800 or so in Chelmsford's force, over 1,300 were killed, most of them Europeans. As to Zulu casualties, no one has come up with a definitive figure, but many historians estimate that between 1,000 and 1,500 may have been killed in their assault on the British encamped at Isandlwana. In looting the camp, the Zulus carried off 1,000 Martini-Henry rifles, two field artillery guns, 400,000 rounds of ammunition, three regimental colours, 2,000 draft animals and 130 wagons. Even with the heroic defence of Rorke's Drift, it was clear that the British Empire had suffered its worst defeat at the hands of an indigenous force armed with massively inferior military technology. The appalling losses at Isandlwana did cause the British to take a much more cautious approach in the heavily reinforced second invasion which resulted in the defeat of the Zulu King at the Battle of Ulundi on 4 July 1879.

As with most of the Great Britain’s military adventures in foreign lands old boys of our school where there in the frontline making the ultimate sacrifice. Although there appears to be a big question mark over one of the six soldiers in the 24th of Foot memorialised in our chapel, the collective bravery of the five who did die at Isandlwana under what must have been terrifying battle conditions is undisputed.