George Smith (chaplain)
chaplain in the British Army
'Padre' George Smith (8 January 1845 – 26 November 1918), an army chaplain, was a defender of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War of 1879, an action which saw the awarding of eleven Victoria Crosses.
Biography
He was born in Docking in Norfolk in 1845, the youngest of three sons of William Smith (1801–1877), a master shoe-maker who employed two men in his business, and Frances, née Peacock (1805–1876). In 1861 aged 16 he was lodging at an address in King's Lynn in Norfolk where he was working as a railway clerk.
'Padre' George Smith served as a missionary in South Africa from 1870. However, he is best remembered for his part in the famous defence of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War of 1877–1879 which won him the praise of several officers involved in that action in their reports. As an assistant army chaplain, and therefore a non-combatant, Smith played a supportive role in the defence, where he distributed ammunition to the soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot (2nd Warwickshires) who were manning the barricades. Smith was not portrayed in the 1964 film Zulu.
After the Zulu War he was often referred to as "Ammunition Smith". As an assistant army chaplain, and therefore technically a civilian, Smith was not entitled to receive a campaign medal or other award for his part in the defence. Instead he was offered, and accepted, a position as a regular army chaplain.
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