Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard (21 December 1847 – 1 November 1897) was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross (the highest military decoration for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces) for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879 where he assumed command of the outpost, with a small garrison of 139 soldiers, and successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors.

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 fortifications in the Bermuda Garrison (three years) and at Malta (two years) 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 the UK 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. He died at his brother's home in Somerset later that year.

Early life

Chard was born at Boxhill near Plymouth on 21 December 1847 to William Wheaton Chard and his wife Jane Brimacombe.

thumb|Wolseley presenting the Victoria Cross to Chard at Inkwenke Camp

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". 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 said of Chard that a "more uninteresting or more stupid-looking fellow I never saw".

Chard was present in the British square during the decisive victory at the Battle of Ulundi and remained in Africa until the end of the war.

His arrival back in Portsmouth in October 1879 was greeted with celebration. In addition to a series of presentations and dinners bestowed in his honour, he attended Balmoral Castle to dine with Queen Victoria, who was impressed by his modest and unassuming demeanour.

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 II 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.

Chard was portrayed by Welsh actor Stanley Baker 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; they were sold by his family after his death in 1976. 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 the world's largest collection of VCs, and is on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.

References

Further reading

  • John Rouse Merriott Chard (biography, photos and memorial details)