Nevill Coghill (VC)
Nevill Josiah Aylmer Coghill | |
---|---|
24th Regiment of Foot | |
Battles/wars | Anglo-Zulu War |
Awards | Victoria Cross |
Nevill Josiah Aylmer Coghill VC (25 January 1852 – 22 January 1879) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Family and early life
Born in
Coghill was educated at
Battle of Isandlwana
Coghill was twenty-six years old and a
On 22 January 1879, after the disaster of the
Legacy and award of Victoria Cross
Two weeks after the battle, Coghill and Melvill's bodies were found by a search party[6] and both buried at Fugitive's Drift.[7] Major-General Dillon informed Coghill's father in a letter, that had it not been for the valour of his son, the Colour would have fallen to Zulu hands. Coghill's father donated his son's trophies including a Zulu shield to the Museum of Science and Art, now the National Museum of Ireland.[8] Coghill and Melvill were amongst the first soldiers to receive the VC posthumously in 1907. Initially The London Gazette mentioned that had they survived they would have been awarded the VC.[9]
A few months after the Battle of Isandlwana, a French battle artist, Alphonse de Neuville painted Coghill and Melvill's actions when they were pursued by Zulu warriors.[10]
The attempted escape of Melvill and Nevill Coghill was depicted in the 1918 silent film Symbol of Sacrifice.[11] Coghill was portrayed by Christopher Cazenove in the 1979 film Zulu Dawn as a polite and humorous officer.[12][13][14] In the film, he is friends with Melvill; their heroic actions when they crossed the Buffalo River in a desperate attempt to return the Queen's Colour back to Natal was depicted in the film.
Coghill's great-great-great grand-niece, Jane Mann, in 2014, passed a painting (of her ancestor and Melvill pursued by Zulus) by contemporary military artist Jason Askew to the Victoria Cross Museum.[15]
The Colour which Coghill and Melvill tried to save was recovered and is on display at Brecon Cathedral in remembrance of their valour as well as other soldiers killed during the battle. Coghill's Victoria Cross is permanently displayed at the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh in Brecon, Powys, Wales.[7] At Haileybury College, a leadership programme for pupils in Removes is named in his honour.[7][dead link]
References
- ^ Haileybury Website - Details of military medals
- ^ "No. 24705". The London Gazette. 4 April 1879. p. 2676.
- ^ "No. 27986". The London Gazette. 15 January 1907. p. 325.
- ^ ""FOR VALOUR" AT FUGITIVES' DRIFT - South African Military History Society - Journal".
- ^ "No. 27986". The London Gazette. 15 January 1907. p. 325.
- ^ "The Gazette hall of fame: Melvill and Coghill". The Gazette. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ a b c "Nevill Coghill VC". haileybury.com. Explore Haileybury. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "A father's tribute? The war trophies of Lieutenant Nevill Coghill VC". historyireland.com. History Ireland. 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "No. 24717". The London Gazette. 2 May 1879. p. 3178.
- ISBN 9780141015699. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-19-879412-7.
- ^ Anthony Hayward (8 April 2010). "Christopher Cazenove obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
He was....the Zulu War hero Lieutenant Coghill in Zulu Dawn (1979)
- ^ "Zulu Dawn (1979)". bfs.org.uk. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ Ian Nathan (3 August 2006). "Zulu Dawn Review". Empire. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ David Ross. "Historians uncover colourful truth about officer's last stand". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 24 March 2016.