Zulu battle soldier's medal could reach £20k at auction

The medal of 1524 Private Joseph Bromwich 2-24th Foot, who fought in the Ango-Zulu War, was inherited by a Black Country couple through their family but they had no idea of its value.

Private Bromwich, who is buried in Bilston, served in the Battle of Rorke's Drift in South Africa, aged just 22, alongside his elder brother Charles.

Around 150 British and colonial soliders defended the mission station for 12 hours against a Zulu force of thousands.

The battle was the inspiration for the 1964 blockbuster movie Zulu, starring Michael Caine and Stanley Baker.

His South Africa medal, which has an 1877 to 1889 clasp, will now go to auction at Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge on Saturday and is estimated to be sold for up to £20,000.

Nicholas Davies, director at Fieldings Auctioneers, said: "After hearing medal expert Mark Smith on the Antiques Roadshow, the Black Country couple decided to bring their South Africa medal into a valuation day.

"The vendor had undertaken some research but had no idea of the potential value.

"We are estimating it could fetch between £15,000 and £20,000. It is a very special medal."

Private Bromwich was born in St Mary's, Warwick, on November 18 1856, enlisting into the 28th Brigade 24th Foot, Second Warwickshire, on August 27, 1877, stating his civilian trade was a porter.

He transferred the day after to the First Battalion 24th Foot, Second Warwickshires, and on January 31 1878 to B Company of the Second Battalion 24th Foot.

He was present at the Defence of the Rorke's Drift Mission Station on 22 and 23 January 1879, with his name appearing on the roll completed by Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard VC of the Royal Engineers, which was completed just days after the action.

Private Bromwich was discharged from the Army in 1882, suffering from hepatitis.

He settled with his Bilston-born wife Betsy, in Aston, where he opened a boot and shoe repairing shop with his small army pension and then moved to Selly Oak, where he took employment as a shoe repairer.

But there were actually many Black Country and Birmingham men amongst the British troops who stood up against 4,000 Zulus. Of the 122 men, from the 24th Warwickshire Regiment at Rorke's Drift on 22 January 1870, 49 were English, 32 were Welsh, 16 were Irish and there was one Scotsman. The 24th Regiment heroes had a makeshift barricade of bags and boxes against the Zulu warriors on the Tugela River in Natal Province, South Africa.

In what became the ultimate underdog victory, four are believed to have been born and bred in Warwickshire, with Private Joseph Bromwich, who later lived in Bilston, and his elder brother Charles included.

Sergeant Joseph Lenford Windridge, played by Joe Powell in the 1964 film, lived in Aston. Sergeant Anthony Clarke Booth, who was born near Nottingham, was part of a guard of soldiers of the 80th Regiment protecting a convoy of wagons which was camped on the banks of the Ntombe River on March 7, 1879.

The 1901 census shows them as having a daughter named Elina, who had been born in Birmingham.

They later moved to the Black Country, setting at 5 Duke Street, and Private Bromwich continued to work as a boot and shoe repairer.

His wife died in 1914 and the following year, he was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. He died on the February 25 1916, aged just 60, and is buried in an unmarked grave in a Bilston Cemetery.