‘A Vote of Thanks’. Wood engraving. John Tenniel, artist, and Joseph Swain, engraver. 18 x 24.5 mm. Punch (22 March 1879), 127. Mr. Punch acts as the mouthpiece of the nation as he thanks the two commanders at Rorke’s Drift, Lts. John Merriott Chard (left) and Gonville Bromhead (right). Both exhausted characters look up at Punch as if they were surprised by his entrance into what seems like a purely unremarkable occasion. This is the sort of modesty ascribed to British gentlemen, with a box of biscuits, a sign of the everyday rather than extraordinary, included in a sombre, downbeat scene. Both soldiers were decorated with the Victoria Cross for bravery and went on to successful military careers, although neither lived to fifty and died in active service to the empire. The characters were played by Stanley Baker (Chard) and Michael Caine in Cy Endfield’s film, Zulu (1964).
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Bibliography
Punch. 22 March 1879: 127.
Created 27 February 2025