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{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = <small>[[Colonel]]</small><br />John Rouse Merriott Chard
| honorific_suffix = [[Victoria Cross|VC]]
| image = John Chard.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1847|12|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Plymouth]], Devon, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1897|11|01|1847|12|21|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hatch Beauchamp]], Somerset, England
| placeofburial =
| allegiance = {{flag|British Empire}}
| branch = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| serviceyears = 1868–1897
| rank = [[Colonel]]
| unit = [[Corps of Royal Engineers]]
| commands =
| battles = [[Anglo-Zulu War]]
* [[Battle of Rorke's Drift]]
* [[Battle of Ulundi]]
| awards = [[Victoria Cross]]
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[Colonel]] '''John Rouse Merriott Chard''' {{Post-nominals|post-noms=[[Victoria Cross|VC]]}} (21 December 1847 – 1 November 1897) was a [[British Army|British Army officer]] who received the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest military decoration for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He earned the decoration for his role in the [[Battle of Rorke's Drift|defence of Rorke's Drift]] in January 1879 where he assumed command of the outpost and a small garrison of 139 soldiers and successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 [[Impi|Zulu warriors]]. The battle was recreated in the film [[Zulu (1964 film)|''Zulu'']] (1964), in which Chard was portrayed by [[Stanley Baker]].

Born near [[Plymouth]], Chard attended the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich|Royal Military Academy]] in Woolwich and was commissioned into the [[Royal Engineers]] in July 1868. He was involved with the construction of fortifications in the [[Bermuda Garrison]] (three years) and at [[Malta]] (two years) before he was deployed to southern Africa at the start of the [[Anglo-Zulu War]].

At the end of the war, he returned to a hero's welcome in the UK and was invited to an audience with [[Queen Victoria]]. After a series of overseas postings, he took up his final position in Perth, Scotland. He retired from the army as a colonel in 1897 after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died at his brother's home in [[Somerset]] later that year.

==Early life==
Chard was born at Boxhill near [[Plymouth]] on 21 December 1847 to William Wheaton Chard and his wife Jane Brimacombe.<ref name="odnb" /> He had two brothers and four sisters. His elder brother William Wheaton Chard served with the [[Royal Fusiliers]], rising to the rank of colonel, and his younger brother Charles Edward Chard became rector of a parish church in [[Hatch Beauchamp]], [[Somerset]].<ref name="REM" /> He was educated at [[Cheltenham Grammar School]] and Plymouth New Grammar School. After a period of private tuition, he enrolled at the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich|Royal Military Academy]] in [[Woolwich]].<ref name="odnb"/>

On 14 July 1868, Chard received a commission as a lieutenant in the [[Royal Engineers]] and continued his training at [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] for the next two years.<ref name="Greaves230">Greaves (p.230)</ref> He was posted to [[Bermuda]], along with Lieutenant HP Knacker, in 1870 to construct fortifications at the Naval Dockyard near [[Hamilton, Bermuda|Hamilton]]. He returned to England four years later for his father's funeral.<ref name="REM"/><ref name="Greaves230"/>

He was assigned to [[Malta]] to assist with the improvement of the island's sea defences.<ref name="REM"/> He returned to England in 1876, where he was based at [[Aldershot]] and Chatham, and was assigned to the 5th Company Royal Engineers.<ref name="REM"/><ref name="Greaves231">Greaves (p.231)</ref>

==Rorke's Drift==
[[File:Elizabeth Southerden Butler, Lady Butler (1846-1933) - The Defence of Rorke's Drift - RCIN 405897 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''[[The Defence of Rorke's Drift]]'' (1880) by [[Elizabeth Thompson]]. Chard is shown in the centre directing the defence with [[Gonville Bromhead|Bromhead]]]]
On 2 December 1878, the 5th Company Royal Engineers were sent to the [[Colony of Natal]] in response to a request from [[Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford|Lord Chelmsford]], commander of the British forces in southern Africa, for an additional unit of engineers to assist with preparations for the [[Anglo-Zulu War|invasion of the Zulu Kingdom]].<ref>Greaves (p. 81)</ref> After their arrival on 5 January, Chard was dispatched with a small group of sappers to repair and maintain the [[Cable ferry|punts]] at one of the few crossings of the [[Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)|Buffalo River]], which ran along the border of Natal and the [[Zulu Kingdom]].

A short distance downstream was Rorke's Drift, an isolated [[mission station]] used as a staging post for the British invasion force. It consisted of two thatched bungalows about {{convert|30|m}} apart—the western building was used as a hospital, and the eastern building had been converted into a storehouse.<ref>Knight (p. 565)</ref> Garrisoned at the Drift were Chelmsford's [[quartermaster general]], Major Henry Spalding, a company of the 2nd Battalion [[24th Regiment of Foot]] commanded by Lieutenant [[Gonville Bromhead]], and a large company of the 3rd [[Natal Native Contingent]] (NNC).<ref>Knight (p. 492)</ref>

Chard's group arrived on 19 January and set up camp near the crossing. On the morning of 22 January, he received an order that his sappers were required at [[Isandlwana]] {{convert|10|mi}} to the east, where Chelmsford had set up an advanced camp for his main invasion column, which had marched into Zulu territory two weeks before. However, when he arrived, Chard was informed that only his men were required and that he should return to Rorke's Drift.<ref>Knight (p.369)</ref> While at Isandlwana, Chard had witnessed a Zulu army approaching the camp in the distance and upon his return to the Drift at about 1 pm, he informed Spalding of the situation.<ref>Greaves (p.102)</ref>

Spalding decided to depart the Drift to hurry British reinforcements en route from Helpmekaar, but before he left, he checked a copy of the [[British Army List|Army List]], which confirmed that Chard was senior to Bromhead. Therefore, Chard, a "notoriously relaxed" man with no combat experience, was unexpectedly placed in command of the small garrison.<ref name="Knight564">Knight (p.564)</ref>

[[File:Alphonse de Neuville - The defence of Rorke's Drift 1879 - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|300px|''The defence of Rorke's Drift'' (1879) by [[Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville]]. Chard is shown on the right of the painting in pale trousers.]]
Unconcerned by the presence of the Zulus nearby, Chard returned to his tent by the river crossing. He was soon after disturbed by two NNC officers on horseback who informed him that the camp at Isandlwana had been overwhelmed and annihilated by the Zulus.<ref>Knight (pp. 561–562)</ref>

Returning to the station, Chard found Bromhead and Assistant Commissary [[James Langley Dalton|James Dalton]] had already instructed the troops to use [[mealie]] bags to construct a defensive perimeter between the storehouse and hospital. Chard consented and by 4 pm the hastily constructed perimeter was complete.<ref>Greaves (p. 109)</ref> Soon afterwards, the Zulu ''[[impi]]'', which contained some 3,000–4,000 men, was sighted advancing on their position. This caused the NNC troops to panic and desert the station, reducing the number of defenders from around 350 to approximately 140 (including 30 sick and wounded).<ref>Greaves (p. 12)</ref> Chard immediately ordered an additional barricade of biscuit boxes to be built across the inner perimeter to provide a smaller fall-back area should the Zulus overwhelm a part of the thinly manned perimeter.<ref>Knight (p. 570)</ref>

The first waves of Zulu assault were repulsed by British volley fire, but the attackers pushed on relentlessly, particularly along a vulnerable section of the British perimeter by the hospital, which became the centre of fierce hand-to-hand combat.<ref>Greaves (pp. 115–117)</ref> With British casualties mounting, Chard ordered his troops to withdraw behind the biscuit boxes, which left the western half of the station in Zulu hands, including the hospital, which was subsequently set alight by the attackers.<ref>Greaves (pp. 118–120)</ref> Once inside, Chard ordered the construction of a redoubt made from a tall pyramid of mealie bags to provide shelter to the wounded and form the last line of defence.<ref>Knight (p. 591)</ref> The Zulus continued to attack in intermittent waves during the night, but they were illuminated by the burning thatch, which enabled the defenders to spot their advances. By 5 am, the exhausted Zulus had abandoned the attack. After British reinforcements arrived later that morning, Chard counted 351 dead Zulus scattered around the perimeter.<ref>Knight (p. 613)</ref><ref>Greaves (p. 143)</ref> The British suffered 17 killed and 10 wounded.<ref>Greaves (p. 159)</ref>

==Victoria Cross, later career and death==
Chard remained at Rorke's Drift for several weeks after the battle and assisted with the construction of a new stone perimeter wall. However, conditions at the camp were poor; Chard became ill with fever and was taken to [[Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal|Ladysmith]] for treatment.<ref name="Greaves231"/> Once recovered he was attached to Colonel [[Evelyn Wood (British Army officer)|Evelyn Wood]]'s column for the second invasion of the Zulu kingdom.<ref name="odnb"/> Meanwhile, Chard's report of the battle had been dispatched to England and received with enthusiasm by the British press and public.<ref>Knight (pp.650–652)</ref>

The [[War Office]] subsequently promoted Chard to captain and [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] major and awarded him and 10 other defenders of the station with [[Victoria Cross]]es, the highest decoration for valour that could be awarded to British troops.<ref name="REM"/><ref>Greaves (p.184)</ref> The citation for the award was published in the ''[[London Gazette]]'' on 2 May 1879:<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24717|page=3177|date=2 May 1879}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=THE Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned Officers and Soldiers of Her Majesty's Army, whose claims have been submitted for Her Majesty's approval, for their gallant conduct in the defence of Rorke's Drift, on the occasion of the attack by the Zulus, as recorded against their names, viz.:—

For their gallant conduct at the defence of Rorke's Drift, on the occasion of the attack by the Zulus on the 22nd and 23rd  January, 1879.

Royal Engineers Lieutenant (now Captain and Brevet Major) J. R. M. Chard

2nd Battalion 24th Regiment Lieutenant (now Captain and Brevet Major) G. Bromhead

The Lieutenant-General commanding the troops reports that, had it not been for the fine example and excellent behaviour of these two Officers under the most trying circumstances, the defence of Rorke's Drift post would not have been conducted with that intelligence and tenacity which so essentially characterised it.

The Lieutenant-General adds, that its success must, in a great degree, be attributable to the two young Officers who exercised the Chief Command on the occasion in question.}}

[[File:Presenting Victoria Cross to Major Chard.jpg|thumb|Wolseley presenting the Victoria Cross to Chard at Inkwenke Camp]]
Some of Chard and Bromhead's superiors, however, were resentful of the adulation bestowed on the pair.<ref name="Knight564"/> Wood took a particular dislike to his new subordinate. Unimpressed with his temperament and sceptical of his role in the battle, he denounced Chard as a "useless officer" and "a dull, heavy man, scarcely able to do his regular work".<ref name="Knight564"/><ref>Greaves (p.181)</ref><ref name="Greaves186">Greaves (p.186)</ref> [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Sir Garnet Wolseley]], who thought the desperate defence of the Rorke's Drift was merely a case of "rats [fighting] for their lives which they could not otherwise save", presented Chard with his VC on 16 July. Likely influenced by Wood, he subsequently said of Chard that a "more uninteresting or more stupid-looking fellow I never saw".<ref name="Knight564"/><ref name="Greaves186"/>

Chard was present in the British [[Infantry square|square]] during the decisive victory at the [[Battle of Ulundi]] and remained in Africa until the end of the war.<ref name="Greaves231"/>

His arrival back in [[Portsmouth]] in October 1879 was greeted with celebration. In addition to a series of presentations and dinners bestowed in his honour, he attended [[Balmoral Castle]] to dine with [[Queen Victoria]], who was impressed by his modest and unassuming demeanour.<ref name="odnb"/><ref name="Greaves190">Greaves (p.190)</ref>

Chard returned to duty at [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]] in January 1880 and was posted to [[Cyprus]] in December 1881. His brevet majority was substantiated on 17 July 1886 and he returned to England in March 1887 to take up a position in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]].<ref name="Greaves231"/> He was ordered to [[Colony of Singapore|Singapore]] in December 1892 and received a promotion to lieutenant colonel.<ref name="Greaves231"/> He returned to England in 1896 and took up his final post as Commanding Royal Engineer at [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], Scotland, and was promoted to colonel on 8 January 1897.<ref name="Greaves231"/>

While stationed in Perth, Chard—a lifelong pipe smoker—was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue.<ref>Knight (p.687)</ref> He underwent two operations: the second—which took place in March 1897—resulted in the removal of his tongue but despite this it was reported that he could still converse clearly.<ref name="Greaves231"/> However, by August it was discovered the cancer was terminal and Chard retired to his brother Charles' rectory at [[Hatch Beauchamp]], Somerset.

After two weeks of "terrible suffering", Chard died on 1 November 1897.<ref name="REM"/> He was unmarried.<ref name="REM"/> He was buried in the churchyard by the south east [[transept]] of [[Church of St John the Baptist, Hatch Beauchamp|The Church of St John the Baptist]] in [[Hatch Beauchamp]], Somerset.

==Legacy==
[[File:Chard's Webley RIC.jpg|thumb|Chard's [[Webley RIC|Webley Revolver]] on display at the [[Royal Engineers Museum]]]]
Among the numerous messages of sympathy and floral tributes was a wreath of laurel leaves sent by the Queen, who had remained in contact with Chard and frequently enquired about his health. The wreath bore the handwritten inscription "A mark of admiration and regard for a brave soldier from his sovereign".<ref>Greaves (pp.232–233)</ref> In 1899 a stained glass memorial window dedicated to Chard was installed in the south wall of the church's [[chancel]].<ref>Greaves (p.233)</ref> Another memorial donated by the Royal Engineers was placed in [[Rochester Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rochester.anglican.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&download=37:rochester-link-october&id=1:rochester-link&Itemid=237|title=Why visit Rochester Cathedral|work=Rochester Link|publisher=[[Diocese of Rochester]]|format=PDF|page=9|date=October 2011|access-date=2 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="DNB" /> A display at the [[Royal Engineers Museum]] in [[Gillingham, Kent|Gillingham]], Kent, commemorates Chard's leadership at Rorke's Drift and includes the [[Webley RIC|Webley Revolver]] he used in the battle.<ref>{{cite web|author=Visually Impaired Person Awareness|url=http://vipauk.org/enter/muse/se/s125.html|title=Royal Engineers Museum|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref>

Welsh actor [[Stanley Baker]] portrayed Chard in the 1964 film [[Zulu (1964 film)|''Zulu'']], which depicted the defence of Rorke's Drift. Baker acquired Chard's campaign medal and a "cast copy" of his Victoria Cross at an auction in 1972; they were sold by his family after his death in 1976.<ref name="Greaves190"/> However, in 1996 the Victoria Cross was discovered to be the original rather than a copy after its metallic characteristics were compared with the bronze ingot from which all Victoria Crosses are cast. The medal was subsequently acquired by [[Michael Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft|Lord Ashcroft]], owner of the world's largest collection of VCs, and is on display at the [[Imperial War Museum]], London.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/britain-at-war/8068500/Lord-Ashcroft-interview-Our-bravest-of-the-brave.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509030615/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/britain-at-war/8068500/Lord-Ashcroft-interview-Our-bravest-of-the-brave.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 May 2013|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|title=Lord Ashcroft interview: Our bravest of the brave|date=16 October 2010|access-date=2 February 2013}}</ref>

Chard was commemorated by the South African military with the [[John Chard Decoration]] and the [[John Chard Medal]], which were awarded to members of the [[Union Defence Force (South Africa)|Citizen Force]]. Instituted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, the Medal and the Decoration were awarded for 12 years and 20 years service, respectively, until 2003, when they were superseded by the [[Medalje vir Troue Diens]] and the [[Emblem for Reserve Force Service]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dod.mil.za/sasoldier/2006/soldoct06.pdf|title=Chard medals returned|work=South African Soldier|publisher=[[Department of Defence (South Africa)|Department of Defence]]|page=14|date=October 2006|access-date=2 February 2013|archive-date=13 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713221625/http://dod.mil.za/sasoldier/2006/soldoct06.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="odnb">{{cite ODNB|id=5137|last1=Vetch|first1= R.|last2= Jones|first2= M. |date= 3 January 2008|title=Chard, John Rouse Merriott (1847–1897), army officer }}</ref>

<ref name="REM">{{cite web|url=http://www.remuseum.org.uk/biography/rem_bio_chard.htm|title=Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard VC|publisher=[[Royal Engineers Museum]]|year= 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100609173743/http://www.remuseum.org.uk/biography/rem_bio_chard.htm |archive-date= 9 June 2010 |url-status=dead|access-date=2 February 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB|wstitle=Chard, John Rouse Merriott|last=Robert Hamilton|first=Vetch|authorlink=Robert Hamilton Vetch|volume=1|supplement=1}}</ref>

}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|first=Adrian|last=Greaves|title=Rorke's Drift|year=2002|publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell Military Paperbacks]]|isbn=978-0-3043-6641-5}}
*{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Knight|title=Zulu Rising: The Epic Story of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift|year=2010|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]|isbn=978-0-330-44593-1}}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Brazier |first=Kevin |title=Victoria Crosses of the Zulu and Boer Wars |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |date=2018 |isbn=978-1-39-909913-4}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/vc/chard.htm John Rouse Merriott Chard] (biography, photos and memorial details)
*{{NPG name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chard, John Rouse Merriott}}
[[Category:1847 births]]
[[Category:1897 deaths]]
[[Category:Anglo-Zulu War recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War]]
[[Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:British recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:Deaths from oral cancer]]
[[Category:Royal Engineers officers]]
[[Category:Burials in Somerset]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon]]

John Chard - Revision history

imported>Keith H99: /* Further reading */ cite book Brazier