Rare Hand Written Signed Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony William Durnford, Who Was Killed in

Rare Hand Written Signed Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony William Durnford, Who Was Killed in Action at the Battle of Isandlwana and Was Blamed for the Loss of the Battle Because of his Actions in Splitting the Force from the Main Camp, the ink written single sided letter is dated 19.12.78, just over a month before he was killed at Isandlwana. The letter is in relation to a cheque being sent for the purchase of some cattle. Signed clearly to the lower section A W Durnford. Some light foxing to the letter. Placed in a removable mount on a collectors page with a photograph of Durnford and printed details. Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony William Durnford was born into a Military Family on 24th May 1830 in Ireland. In 1846 Durnford entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He gained a commission into the Royal Engineers and served at Chatham and in Scotland. His first overseas posting was to Ceylon. He volunteered to go to the Crimea but was rejected. He served in various overseas positions as an Engineer and rose steadily through the officer ranks. In 1871 he was posted to South Africa arriving on 23rd January 1872 in Cape Town, still never having seen active service. He was, however, promoted to Major on 5th July 1872 and Lieutenant Colonel on 11 December 1873. In the 16 months following his arrival in the Cape, Durnford spent the greater portion at King William's Town. He was later stationed at Pietermaritzburg, where he was befriended by Bishop Colenso, and he joined Theophilus Shepstone on an expedition to crown King Cetshwayo. Durnford saw some action during the pursuit of Langalibalele at Bushman's River Pass, where he showed great courage but received two assegai stabs, one in his side, the other in his elbow; severing a nerve thus paralysing his left under-arm and hand for the rest of his life. Durnford managed to shoot two of his assailants with his revolver and to extricate himself. His Natal Carbineers had abandoned him, but his loyal Basuto troopers stood by him. In 1878 Durnford, as the senior Royal Engineer officer in the colony, served on Sir Henry Bulwer's Boundary Commission to investigate the disputed border between the Transvaal and the Zulu Kingdom. Later that year he was given the task of planning the formation of an African auxiliary force which soon became the Natal Native Contingent (NNC). Durnford was one of the most experienced officers of the Anglo-Zulu War --"commanding presence, untiring energy and undoubted powers of leadership", he was also apt to be headstrong, and was threatened with loss of command by Lord Chelmsford. Assigned to lead the No. 2 Column of Chelmsford's invasion army into Zululand, Durnford commanded a mixed force of African troops including the Natal Native Horse and a detachment of the 1st Regiment Natal Native Contingent. On 20 January, Durnford's force was ordered to Rorke's Drift to support Chelmsford's column. That evening, a portion of the No. 2 Column under Durnford arrived at Rorke's Drift and camped on the Zulu bank, where it remained through the next day. Late on the evening of 21 January, Durnford was ordered to Isandlwana. Around 10:30 am on the morning of 22 January, Durnford arrived at Isandlwana from Rorke's Drift with five troops of the Natal Native horse and a rocket battery. Durnford was superior in rank to Brevet Lt.-Col. Henry Pulleine, who had been left in control of the camp by Lord Chelmsford, and by tradition would have assumed command. Durnford did not over-rule Pulleine's dispositions, however, and after lunch he quickly decided to take the initiative and move forward to engage a Zulu force which Pulleine and Durnford judged to be moving against Chelmsford's rear. Durnford asked for a company of the 24th, but Pulleine was reluctant to agree, since his orders had been specifically to defend the camp. During the Battle of Isandlwana his policy was, in effect, to ride to the sound of the guns, "and attack the Zulu wherever they appeared". He was well respected by his native Basutos. Moreover, the actions of Durnford and his command effectively halted the left horn of the Zulu army until their cartridge boxes began to run dry. This was no small accomplishment considering the Left Horn included the in Gobamakhosi regiment, "The Benders of the Kings". Their ammunition supply expended, Durnford and his troopers fought their way back to the "saddle" that separated the wagon park from the rest of the camp. In one last valiant effort, Durnford, after ordering his native troopers to escape, perished with a mixed group of colonial volunteers, members of the Natal Mounted Police and infantrymen of the 24th Regiment of Foot, after they had held apart the horns of the Zulu army long enough to enable many survivors to escape. Durnford's body was later found lying near a wagon, surrounded by the bodies of his men. In a number of accounts of Durnford’s last stand he was said to be encouraging his men until the last. Durnford was used as a scapegoat for the disaster at Isandlwana, it was said that his eagerness to take part in a major action and his choice to take his men away from the main camp, caused the disastrous defeat at the hands of the Zulus.