Life in Newburgh on Ythan

By Talpa

The Anatomy Lesson

As a result of the recent storms at sea there are many dead guillemots lying on the shoreline. Nature's butchers and recyclers are now busily at work.
The scene raises a contemporary problem; is it now possible to take a photograph on our coastline that doesn't include an item of plastic detritus? There is at least one piece visible here.

The "extra" was taken at Rorke's Drift near to the Isandlwana  battlefield, the subject of yesterday's extra. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead, immediately followed the British Army's crushing defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, and continued into the following day.
Just over 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the mission against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The massive Zulu attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the tiny garrison, but were ultimately repelled. Eleven Victoria Crosses, Britain's highest military honour,  were awarded to the defenders. The piles of stones on the ground show the outlines of the original mission buildings and defences. The defence of Rorke's Drift formed the basis for the 1964 film Zulu.

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