Major Gonville Bromhead VC (29 August 1845 – 9 February 1891) was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross (the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces) for his part in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, in which a small British garrison of 139 soldiers successfully repulsed an assault by some 4,000 Zulu warriors.
Born into a notable military family, Bromhead was brought up in Thurlby, Lincolnshire. He entered the 24th Regiment of Foot as an ensign in 1867 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1871. Bromhead's battalion was deployed to southern Africa in 1878 and subsequently served in the Ninth Cape Frontier War and the Anglo-Zulu War. He spent most of the remainder of his career in south Asia, where he was promoted to major in 1883 and saw service in the Third Anglo-Burmese War. He died in 1891 in Allahabad, India, aged 45.
Early life
Gonville Bromhead was born on 29 August 1845 in Versailles, France. He was the youngest child born to Maj. Sir Edmund de Gonville Bromhead, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Judith. He came from a notable military family: his great-grandfather, Boardman Bromhead, fought under Major General James Wolfe at Quebec; his grandfather, Sir Gonville Bromhead, was a lieutenant general who fought in the American Revolutionary War; his father was a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo; and his three older brothers were officers in the British Army.
His family resided at Thurlby Hall in Thurlby, Lincolnshire, and he was educated at Magnus Grammar School in Newark-on-Trent. After purchasing an ensign's commission he entered the 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment of Foot on 20 April 1867, and was promoted to lieutenant on 28 October 1871. Nicknamed "Gunny" by his colleagues,