John Chard

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John Chard bigraphy, stories - Recipient of the Victoria Cross

John Chard : biography

21 December 1847 – 1 November 1897

Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC (21 December 1847 – 1 November 1897) was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He earned the decoration for his role in the defence of Rorke’s Drift in January 1879 where he commanded a small British garrison of 139 soldiers that successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The battle was recreated in the film Zulu in which Chard was portrayed by Stanley Baker.

Born near Plymouth, Chard attended the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in July 1868. He was involved with the construction of naval fortifications in Bermuda and Malta before he was deployed to southern Africa at the start of the Anglo-Zulu War. At the end of the war he returned to a hero’s welcome in England and was invited to an audience with Queen Victoria. After a series of overseas postings he took up his final position in Perth, Scotland. He retired from the army as a colonel in 1897 after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died at his brother’s home in Somerset later that year.

Legacy

Chard was buried in the churchyard by the south east transept of the Church of St John the Baptist. Among the numerous messages of sympathy and floral tributes was a wreath of laurel leaves sent by the Queen, who had remained in contact with Chard and frequently enquired about his health. The wreath bore the hand-written inscription "A mark of admiration and regard for a brave soldier from his sovereign".Greaves (pp.232–233) In 1899 a stained glass memorial window dedicated to Chard was installed in south wall of the church’s chancel. Greaves (p.233) Another memorial donated by the Royal Engineers was placed in Rochester Cathedral.

Welsh actor Stanley Baker portrayed Chard in the 1964 film Zulu which depicted the defence of Rorke’s Drift. Baker acquired Chard’s campaign medal and a "cast copy" of his Victoria Cross at an auction in 1972 but they were sold by his family after his death in 1976. However, in 1996 the Victoria Cross was discovered to be the original rather than a copy after its metallic characteristics were compared with the bronze ingot from which all Victoria Crosses are cast. The medal was subsequently acquired by Lord Ashcroft, owner of world’s largest collection of VCs, and is on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.

Chard was commemorated by the South African military with the John Chard Decoration and the John Chard Medal which were awarded to members of the Citizen Force. Instituted by Queen Elizabeth in 1952, the Medal and the Decoration were awarded for 12 years and 20 years service respectively until 2003 when they were superseded by the Medalje vir Troue Diens and the Emblem for Reserve Force Service.

Victoria Cross, later career and death

Chard remained at Rorke’s Drift for several weeks after the battle and assisted with the construction of a new stone perimeter wall. However, conditions at the camp were poor; Chard became ill with fever and was taken to Ladysmith for treatment. Once recovered he was attached to Colonel Evelyn Wood’s column for the second invasion of the Zulu Kingdom. Meanwhile, Chards report of the battle had been dispatched to England where it was received with enthusiasm by the British press and public.Knight (pp.650–652) The War Office subsequently promoted Chard to captain and brevet major and awarded him and ten other defenders of the station with Victoria Crosses, the highest decoration for gallantry that could be awarded to British troops.Greaves (p.184) The citation for the award was published in the London Gazette on 2 May 1879:

Some of Chard and Bromhead’s superiors, however, were resentful of the adulation bestowed on the pair. Wood took a particular dislike to his new subordinate. Unimpressed with his temperament and sceptical of his role in the battle, he denounced Chard as a "useless officer" and "a dull, heavy man, scarcely able to do his regular work".Greaves (p.181)Greaves (p.186) Lieutenant General Sir Garnet Wolseley, who thought the desperate defence of the Rorke’s Drift was merely a case of "rats [fighting] for their lives which they could not otherwise save" presented Chard with his VC on 16 July. Likely influenced by Wood, he subsequently described Chard as a "more uninteresting or more stupid-looking fellow I never saw".