Rico says some movies don't hold up, years later, but Zulu definitely does. The first major role for Michael Caine (photo, right, born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite), it also featured such stalwarts as Stanley Baker (photo, left), Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, a host of minor British actors, and a lot of Zulus, including Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi...
Because the unit (B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot) which found itself defending Rorke's Drift ('drift' being the Afrikaans word for a ford, where Rorke had built a mission station) was a predominantly Welsh one, there were a lot of guys with names like Jones and Williams, which gave us soldiers like Private 593 Jones and Private 716 Jones...
Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders, the most ever received for a single action by one regiment.
No comments:
Post a Comment