It's that time of year again when in the run up to the Battle of Rorke's Drift we detail some of the defenders, first up Alfred Saxty

Forgotten Defenders of Rorke's Drift

Private Alfred Saxty was born on 11 March 1859, at Minety, near

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Saxty is far left

Chippenham in Wiltshire. His elder brother, John, joined the army, and Albert enlisted on 12 September 1876. As 849 Private ‘Alfred’ Saxty, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment.
Army life seems to have suited him and promotion was quick, and he reached the
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rank of lance-sergeant on 1 February 1878, the day he embarked for active service in South Africa. He took part in the Cape Frontier War, reverting to corporal on 11 July 1878, and gaining a second class certificate of education. During the Zulu War he was present at the
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defence of Rorke’s Drift. He was promoted to sergeant on 23 January 1879, and for his service he received the South Africa Medal with 1877-8-9 clasp.
He subsequently served at Gibraltar, India, and in Burma. He was found drunk on duty in India in 1881, being reduced to
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private and sentenced to 56 days imprisonment with hard labour. However, his good conduct pay was restored soon after his release, and he had returned to the rank of sergeant by 1885.
Wishing to remain on Foreign Service, he re-engaged with the Bedfordshire
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in 1887, who had been sent to Burma. Upon their return home in 1891, Sergeant Saxty transferred into another regiment on Foreign Service, this time the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Four years later he took his final discharge in Burma on February 28, 1895, having
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18 years.
His service records state that he married Mary Cole in Burma in 1888. He had six children. On his discharge Alfred began work on the Burma railway. However, he went out to work as usual one morning and never returned. Even his medals were left behind.
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He was officially declared dead in 1907 and his wife re-married. However, Alfred Saxty reappeared in 1930 and was admitted to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, not far from where his wife lived in Kensington. There was nothing to indicate what he had been doing or where he
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had been for the intervening 30 years. He left the Royal Hospital at his own request in 1933 and went to live with his sister in Wales.

As one of the last few survivors left alive in 1934 Alfred received an invitation from the regiment to attend the ceremony for the
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Laying up of the Colours in Brecon Cathedral, and he was one of five defenders who attended the Northern Command Tattoo in Gateshead, where the regiment re-enacted the events at Rorke’s Drift, Alfred suffered a heart attack on July 11 1936.
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He was taken to Woolaston House infirmary but was dead on arrival. He was buried with full military honours in Newport.

The following info came from James Bancroft and Pictures from James Mace.
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