Soldiers Who Should Have Received the Victoria Cross
"The Victoria Cross was created for valour and extreme courage, beyond that normally expected of a British soldier in face of the enemy…" - Richard Burton, at the end of the film, Zulu. Twenty-four Victoria Crosses were awarded during the Anglo-Zulu War. But what constituted valour and extreme courage beyond that normally expected of a British soldier? General Sir Garnet Wolseley, who replaced Lord Chelmsford at the end of the war, was an outspoken critic of many Zulu War VCs. He spoke harshly about the eleven awarded to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, who he described as, "Rats trapped in a hole." Wolseley expressed the VC should be awarded to those who risked their lives in the saving of others. But what of those who did perform acts of extreme bravery, who met the 'Wolseley standard,' yet were denied? Four worth considering are Captain Charles Shervinton of the Natal Native Contingent, Sergeant Major Simeon Khambula of the Edendale Horse, Sergeant