Please confirm that you are 18 years or older to continue.
Lt Chard V.C. at Rorkes Drift, Zulu Wars
Statuette of Lieutenant Chard RE who took command of the defence of Rorkes Drift during the Zulu Wars. His calm and excellent tactical ability saved the day and earned him a well deserved Victoria Cross.
Lieutenant John Chard
The Royal Engineers
Rorke’s Drift, 22nd – 23rd January 1879
John Rouse Merriott Chard was born the second son of Mr William Chard and Jane Brimacote and was aged 32 when he won his Victoria Cross at Rorke’s Drift. He was educated at Plymouth Grammar School and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and had seen service in Bermuda and Malta before his posting to the 5th Field Company in Natal.
Chard arrived at Rorke’s Drift on the 19th January to build ponts across the river just below the settlement. He watched Chelmsford’s force depart into Zululand and followed the force with his engineers on the 21st. On the morning of the 22nd Chard rode to Rorke’s Drift. To his disgust he had been ordered back to wait at the crossing. About mid-day sounds of battle could be heard in the distance and in the early afternoon Major Spalding, the officer in charge of the drift decided to ride over to Helpmakaar, a few miles away to hasten reinforcements. His final words, as left were, “I see you are senior, so you will be in charge, although, of course, nothing will happen, and I shall be back this evening early”.
Very soon after, fugitives started to arrive back at the crossing with the story of the disaster at Isandlwana and the startling news that a large force of Zulu’s were on their way. Lt Chard, Lt Bromhead, Acting Commissary Dalton and about 150 men urgently set about building defences with mealie bags and biscuit boxes around the small settlement. Before they were finished the first elements of the Zulu Army were upon them.
The heroic defence of the settlement is well documented and is a remarkable story. What is also remarkable however, is how well Lt. Chard commanded his small, rather dissolute detachment. He did not know the men, and had never seen them in action. Indeed the main part of his force was primarily made up of men under the direct command of Lt Bromhead. The remainder were hospital patients, and a few assorted personnel who had duties in the camp.
Lt Chard displayed immense personal gallantry and leadership throughout the battle, constantly placing himself in exposed positions where he could see and deal with what was happening around his perimeter. He coolly gave clear incisive orders, even when personally involved in hand to hand combat. In every way he displayed the character of a first class field officer of the British Army.
The little force gave extraordinary account of themselves and in the early hours of the 23rd were relieved to discover that the Zulus had withdrawn. They were relieved a few hours later and feted as heroes. After the battle 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded, the names of Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead were added by Lord Chelmsford himself.
We have five finish options for our sculptures:
Cold Cast Antique Bronze – Our classic finish. The sculpture is made with powdered bronze added to the composite. Then it is buffed and polished to highlight the bronze. The colour is similar to that of a Victoria Cross Medal.
Hand Painted – The sculpture is cast in a white ‘China clay’ finish. It is then hand-painted using a combination of airbrushing and hand application. We use high-quality oil paints chosen to our specific specification. We add in shading and distressing to achieve a realistic effect before applying a 20% satin over-finish to protect the sculpture from the effects of time.
Electroformed Silver – Our Electroformed Silver Sculptures make magnificent pieces. We take a China white casting and cover it in a thick (300) micron layer of pure sterling silver. Then we hand-polish the items to achieve a high shine. These pieces require a clean every so often with a silver polish such as ‘Silvo’. These pieces are presented on a Mahogany or Granite base. Complete with a Silver plaque on the front.
Hot Bronze – Our sculptures can be cast in Bronze Metal, reminiscent of an outdoor war memorial. This is a specialised service; contact us for more information.
Pewter - Our Pewter sculptures are made using lead-free pewter; we melt it and centrifugally cast it into rubber or silicone moulds. Once cool, we remove the pieces before fettling, soldering, buffing, and polishing them into a finished sculpture.
Plaque Engraving Info
All our statues include the option of a personalised engraved plaque on the wooden base, at no extra charge.
-
Bronze statues come with a jeweller’s brass plate
-
Pewter/silver statues come with a nickel silver plate
How to Add a Plaque
-
Start by selecting your desired finish and base option.
-
Then click "Add a Plate" - this will open a drop-down menu.
-
Enter your engraving using the line format provided.
-
Presentation bases allow up to 4 lines
-
Mahogany bases allow up to 6 lines
-
Max 35 characters per line
Important Notes
-
If engraving is left blank, no plaque will be included.
Want a blank plate? Just write that in the engraving box. -
Once ordered, please check your confirmation email to make sure your plaque text has gone through.
If it’s missing, it means it didn’t go through - you can either wait for us to get in touch or just email us your engraving directly at sales@balwalk.com. -
Double-check your engraving before sending - any mistakes will mean we need to make a new plate.
-
Text will be centre-aligned and sized to fit the plaque.
Badges
We offer 3D cap badges that can be added to the sculpture base or onto the plaque itself.
If we don’t have a 3D version of the badge you want, we can engrave it directly onto the plaque instead.
In an effort to be more sustainable we've had our outer packaging redesigned to be fully recyclable. Every statue comes in a simple elegant printed brown box with printed fabric tape.
Inside the box the statue will be protected with bubble wrap and special foam bags to minimise the chance of damage in transit.
| Product Code | B19e |
|---|---|
| Price Code | FA |
| Sculpting Scale | 8" |
| Base Material of the Statue | Cold Cast Resin |
| Height Including Presentation Base | 10" / 25cm |
| Width with Presentation Base | 5" / 13cm |
| Depth with Presentation Base | 5" / 13cm |
Please be aware that these measurements are not exact and have been rounded for ease.
As every item is individually handmade the exact dimensions may vary slighty.