Although more associated with Cwmbran, John Fielding was actually born in Abergavenny’s Merthyr Road on May 24, 1857. Private John Fielding, who served as private John Williams, was one of the 150 men who successfully defended the remote British outpost known as KwaJimu (‘Jim’s Land’) against a horde of 4000 angry Zulus hellbent on spilling British blood.
The Tried and Trusty Martini-Henry Rifle
Aided and abetted by the trusty Martini-Henry rifle, albeit, ‘with some guts behind it’, Fielding was one of the courageous few who successfully repelled wave after wave of the most powerful and feared warrior nation that Africa had ever nurtured.
The Despised Colonial Red Coats
Fresh from slaughtering an entire British garrison at Isandlwana on the morning of that fateful day (January 22, 1879), the 4000 Zulu battle-hardened warriors then turned their attentions to the tiny British garrison situated on the banks of the Buffalo River in Natal, South Africa. Determined to rid their beloved homeland of the despised colonial red coats, the Zulus attacked with all the wild abandon of a patriot’s zeal as the British boys, miles from the green, green grass of home, gritted their teeth, steadied both hand and aim, and put steel in their resolve as they faced down certain death.
The Battle of the Heroic Hundred
After a battle which continued throughout the night and into the early hours of the following morning, a Zulu army, which had suffered heavy casualties, saw the British relief column approaching and finally withdrew. It eventually transpired that the British had lost only 17 men in what became known as the battle of the 'Heroic Hundred', while the Zulus had lost 300. Both sides showed incredible valour.
Against all Odds
John Fielding enlisted first in the Monmouthshire Militia in February 1877 and later that year joined the 24th Warwickshire Regiment of Foot. It is not known why Fielding used the Williams alias when he enlisted. A 21-year-old Fielding was in the mission hospital when the Zulus attacked and alongside fellow soldier Private Alfrred Hook, held the hospital against all odds until their ammunition ran out. The two soldiers then fought hand to hand and eyeball to eyeball with the enemy to allow the hospital’s patients to escape with their lives.
The Last of the Eleven
Fielding received his VC from Major General Anderson at Gibraltar in March 1880. He served in India in 1880-1883 before transferring to the reserve. In 1914 he became the recruiting Sergeant for the South Wales Borderers. He married Elizabeth Murphy and had three sons and two daughters. One son was killed while serving during the retreat from Mons in 1914. Fielding was the last of the eleven Rorke’s Drift VC holders when he died in 1932.
The Film ‘Zulu’
32 Years later in 1964, Fielding and his brothers in arms exploits were immortalized in the film Zulu, featuring Michael Caine and Stanley Baker. Although in actual historical fact there was no ‘battlefield singing contest’ between the British and the Zulus, and the Zulus did not sing a song saluting fellow warriors before departing peacefully, the film, guaranteed the name Rorke’s Drift would be forever synonymous with courage and resolve against the odds.
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