80 AWARDED FOR VALOUR
respective commanding officers. The Duke of Cambridge did not hesitate
in confirming their recommendations and forwarding them along with his
own endorsement to the War Office.^25
The problem arose with the continuing trickle of recommendations from
the defense of the mission station. Each originated from a different chain
of command: Surgeon James Henry Reynolds was nominated by the Army
Medical Department; Corporal Ferdnand Christian Scheiss by the Natal Native
Contingent; Commissary James Langley Dalton and a soldier named Dunne
by Lord Chelmsford and Lieutenant Chard. Dalton in particular was lauded
by Chard as the originator of the plan to defend the station rather than try
to outrun the impis. Nor was he the passive ammunition bearer portrayed
in the movieZulu: ‘the deadliness of his fire did great service and the mad
rush of the Zulus met its first check.’^26 At length the Duke felt that the event
was being milked for valour: ‘We are giving the VC veryfreelyI think, but
probably Mr Dalton has as good a claim as the others who have got the Cross
for Rourke’s Drift defense. I don’t think there is a case for Mr Dunne.’^27
Dalton did get the medal. A total of 11 VCs were won at Rorke’s Drift. In
addition to the three won at Isandhlwana on 22 January, this made a rather
high two-day total.
The effect of the Duke of Cambridge’s disapproval was a drastic reduction
in the number of VCs granted in the 1880s. The British Army was as busy
in this decade as it had been in the last, conducting campaigns throughout
the empire against both tribal and more settled enemies. Only 21 Crosses
were granted. This trend continued into the 1890s, with only 27 VCs won
between 1890 and 1898. The scope and scale of the Second Boer War
shattered this pattern, and once again raised concerns as to the frequency
of bestowal.
In this instance Lord Kitchener served as the filter for recommendations
coming out of the field:
I think that some steps should be taken to discourage recommendations
for the Victoria Cross in Civilized Warfare in cases of mere bringing in of
wounded or dismounted men. The case of Lt Price, herewith forwarded,
well exemplifies my point; his efforts to bring in Lieutenant Delmahay
and Private Sheddon resulted in the former being again wounded and the
latter killed.^28
Here Kitchener made the distinction that the nature of the enemy had an
impact on the caliber of the heroism. The Boers, a civilized foe, did not carve
up wounded survivors as did Pathans or Zulus, thus making the retrieval of
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