MELVILL, Teignmouth
Lieutenant. 1st Battalion 24th Regiment *
London Gazetted on the 2nd May, 1879 and 15th January, 1907 *
Born on 8th September 1842 at London.
Died at the hands of the Zulu at Buffalo River, Zululand.
Memorial on Fugitive's Drift, Natal, South Africa, also an inscription on the Colour Pike the 24th Regiment and at St Winnow's Church, Cornwall.
Digest of Citation reads:
After the Zulu massacre at Isandhlwana, South Africa, Lieutenant Melvill made gallant effort to save the Regimental Colours. He and Lieutenant Coghill, who had tried to help, were pursued by Zulu warriors and they experienced great difficulty trying to escape across the swollen River Buffalo. The two officers* were overtaken by the Zulus and after a short but gallant struggle the two officers were overpowered and killed. The Regimental Colour, which had gone drifting downstream during the struggle, was retrieved from the River Buffalo 10 days later.
* South Wales Borderers.
* The London Gazette reported on 2nd May 1878, that had these two men lived, they would surely have been awarded the Victoria Cross. This was confirmed on 15th January 1907 when it was awarded to both men posthumously.