Caption 23.

Background
On 11 January 1879, British and Colonial troops invaded the Zulu Kingdom, the
most powerful African kingdom remaining independent in Southern Africa. The inva-

Clash of Empires
sion was planned and executed by a British official on the spot, without the sanction
of the Government in London. The events that followed have become one of the most
Caption 24.
famous and studied conflicts of the Victorian Era – the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. Within two
weeks, the Zulu army successfully defeated a British and Colonial field force at the Battle
of iSandlwana, destroying half a column and forcing the rest to retire, besieged another at
Eshowe and halted the advance of a third in the north of their country. The Zulu victory
at iSandlwana would prove the greatest single defeat to be inflicted on the British Army
during the Victorian era.

the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War

A smaller engagement at a place called Rorke’s Drift, just across
the border from iSandlwana, would capture the popular imagination
for generations to come as a single company of British infantry,
supported by medical, Commissariat and Colonial troops, held
off a vastly superior force of Zulus for over twelve hours. No
less than eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for the action,
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
including seven to members of the 24th Regiment – a record When British & Colonial forces invaded the Zulu Kingdom on 11 January 1879, they ignited one of the most famous conflicts of the Victorian era.
number to a single regiment for a single action, to date – and In July 2023, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History at the Royal Philatelic Society London will host a public exhibition displaying more than 500 postal,
that includes all the battles of World War I and World War historical, and cultural objects exploring the context, history, and ongoing legacy of this Clash of Empires. The exhibition’s narrative will begin in the early
II. The fighting at Rorke’s Drift and iSandlwana would years of the 19th century with the emergence of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona and the rise of the Zulu Kingdom and go all the way through to 2019,
be immortalized for modern audiences through two 140-years after the start of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. The depth and scope of this exhibition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see the intertwined

July 2023
epic films – Zulu (1964) and Zulu Dawn (1979). Zulu stories of this important history told through hundreds of artefacts.
features Stanley Baker portraying Lt. John Chard and Caption 26.
Michael Caine in his first starring role as Lt. Gonville
Bromhead, the two senior officers in-charge at Rorke’s
Drift. Another famous family’s story would be forever
intertwined with the Anglo-Zulu War when the son of Empe-
Caption 25. ror Napoleon III, Prince Imperial Louis Napoleon was killed by the Zulus while Spear Museum of Philatelic History
accompanying the main British force of the re-invasion as an observer in the early
summer of 1879. Though their main army was defeated in July 1879 and their King
15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW
captured in August, the Zulu people and royal family continued their struggle against colo-
nial authorities in the decades that followed. All of this and more will be interpreted through
hundreds of artefacts on display in Clash of Empires: The 1879 Anglo-Zulu War.

To receive future exhibition updates,

email Alexander Haimann, FRPSL, [email protected].
THE 1879 ANGLO-ZULU WAR

Caption 28.
Caption 27.

Caption 23. Letter sent by Lt. Gonville Bromhead from Rorke’s Drift on 22 April 1879 to his sister. Ten days la-
ter, it was announced that he would be receiving the Victoria Cross for his role in the defense of Rorke’s Drift;
Caption 24. South Africa campaign medal awarded to 701. Private M. Evans. 2-24th Regiment; Caption 25. 1879 Wyld’s
published map of Zululand used by an officer of the 2/4th King’s Own; Caption 26. 24th Regiment other ranks’ helmet plate;
Caption 27. Zulu knobkerrie / isiwa; Caption 28: 1880s carved horn featuring British soldiers and Zulu warriors.
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 History of the Zulu People – ‘Not Tears Enough To Mourn’; The War after iSandlwana
from Shaka to Cetshwayo

‘The End of a Great European

Dynasty; Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte and the Zulus

Caption 2.
Caption 1.

The Coming of the Red

Soldier; the Road to War
Caption 13.

Caption 12.
Caption 3. Caption 14.

‘Warding Off the Falling Tree’ Zulu Defeat

and the capture of King Cetshwayo Caption 17.

Caption 15.

Caption 4.

Caption 5.
Caption 16.
First Shock; Battles of iSandlwana
and Rorke’s Drift, January 1879

Caption 11. The War and Its Legacy

Caption 7. Caption 18.

Caption 6.
Caption 10.

THE 1879 ANGLO-ZULU WAR

THE 1879 ANGLO-ZULU WAR

Caption 8. Caption 20.

Caption 9. Caption 19. Caption 21. Caption 22.

Caption 1. 19th century Zulu brass neck ring / Ubedu | Caption 2. 19th century Zulu status armband / Ingxotha | Caption 3. 7th Frontier War inscribed powder horn | Caption 4. 24th Regiment officers’ belt buckle | Caption 5. Photograph of Lord Chelmsford, commander of invasion forces | Caption 6. Envelope sent by 1/24th Captain
G. V. Wardell on the eve of the invasion. Wardell would be killed on 22 Jan at Battle of iSandlwana | Caption 7. Wooden wagon canteen recovered from iSandlwana battlefield by Trooper W. Nelson, Natal Mounted Police | Caption 8. Swinburne-Henry carbine marked with Natal Mounted Police inventory number on barrel. Suppose-
dly recovered from iSandlwana battlefield | Caption 9. A canvas carry-all, nicknamed a “housewife,” belonging to Pvt. William Beckett, KIA at Battle of Rorke’s Drift. This item was present at the battle and sent back with other possessions to his family | Caption 10. Original portrait of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona in full war-dress by
Richard Scollins | Caption 11. 19th century Zulu Isihlangu regimental war shield, probably uNokhenke ibutho | Caption 12. British foreign service pith helmet worn by Major Hazlerigg on campaign in Zululand, 1879 | Caption 13. 30 January 1879 edition of The Natal Colonist sent to Manchester, England featuring news of the British
defeat at iSandlwana the previous week | Caption 14. Silhouetted mourning card for the Prince Imperial | Caption 15. Wood puzzle featuring the story of Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, made around the time of his visit to England in 1882 | Caption 16. Military telegram announcing the capture of King Cetshwayo on 28 August 1879
| Caption 17. Photograph of King Cetshwayo at Cape Castle during his imprisonment | Caption 18. A group of European visitors met with King Cetshwayo at Cape Castle on 17 February 1882. On 20 February, the party wrote to him asking for his signature and the King obliged. His script name was the only word the King learned
to write | Caption 19. Promotional poster for 1964 film Zulu | Caption 20. Bible presented by the The Ladies’ Rorke’s Drift Testimonial Fund to Lt. John Chard after his successful defense of Rorke’s Drift | Caption 21. One of Director Cy Enfield’s production scripts for the filming of Zulu | Caption 22. Pair of decorative Zulu earplugs.
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