Anglo-Zulu War Artefacts from the Battle of Khambula

A collection of ten Boxer .450 brass cartridge bullet cases, used in Martini-Henry rifles during the battle between British forces and the main Zulu army. 93 grams total, 18-63 mm



Found by Zulu natives living at Khambula, South Africa, 1990s-early 2000s. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.

The battle resulted in a heavy defeat for the Zulus, who had been full of confidence from their earlier victories against the British at Isandlwana and Hlobane.

A collection of twelve Boxer .450 brass cartridge bullet cases, used in Martini-Henry rifles during the battle between British forces and the main Zulu army. 100 grams total, 17-60 mm



Found by Zulu natives living at Khambula, South Africa, 1990s-early 2000s. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.

The battle resulted in a heavy defeat for the Zulus, who had been full of confidence from their earlier victories against the British at Isandlwana and Hlobane.

Comprising: paper sleeve with handwritten label 'Inside - My Souvenire [sic] Story of the Grille with Ships Official Stamp - ML 171 Crew'; four small monochrome prints of vessel 'Q17' and a motor launch, two with Admiralty endorsement dated 23 May 1945; seven larger matt monochrome prints of vessel at sea from deck view with crew members and pursuit of enemy vessel; two glossy monochrome prints, one of vessel ML 171, the other of ML 114, each with docks and harbour in the background; typed paper document with title page 'Aviso "Grille" ' and 'Ship's Official Stamp' above a stamp with eagle supporting a wreath with swastika and legend 'Kriegsmarine - Dienststelle f.p.Nr. M06006'; inner pages with typed text (freshened in places by hand): 'Aviso " Grille". Aviso "Grille" (tr. Despatch Ship "Grasshopper" was built at the Hamburg shipyards of Blohm & Voss as a present from the German Nation to their Führer. She was launched in December 1934 and commissioned in May 1935. The result was a lovely, graceful ship with a speed of 27 knots, some 145 metres (approximately 546 feet) long and displacing just under 3,000 tons. She would gladden the heart of any sealover. Her crew of 245 were very proud of their ship and were, no doubt, specially selected ratings and officers. In those days Adolf Hitler was still [a] "man of the people" and so the accommodation onboard that was his was in keeping with that profession of ideals - austerity, utility and comfort. There was none of the sybaritic luxury and grandioseness of those later years that gave rise to the Eagle's Nest at Berchestgarden [sic] and the Reichschancellery [sic] in Berlin. "Grille" took to the sea and very soon Hitler, pleased with his new toy, was onboard. On his first visit he was accompanied by the Argentine Ambassador and his suite. From the wings of the flagdeck, Hitler reviewed the might of the German Navy. One cannot but wonder what ideas of world domination were strengthened on that day. Iceland and Portugal were visited in turn on "goodwill" missions. Not very successful in the light of later events. The ship was at Southampton Roads during the Coronation review of the fleet. Prior to that the White Ensign had flown from the main top during the funeral of King George V. A harbinger of that day so soon to come when it would fly from the gaff? A record of the "infamous" visitors to the ship has been preserved in the Ship's Book[-] amongst lesser known people are such names as Hess, Goebbels, Goering, Terboven, Carls, the Japanese General Onedeka, these and many more trod her decks and lived onboard, exchanging their heils and heel[-]clicks with her crew. 1939 - Munich had failed. In the August sunshine "Grille" lost her white paint for the wartime grey, the mine-rails were bolted into the holes in the planks that were built to receive them when she was fitted out four years before. Mines were embarked and slid into the waters round Wilhelmshaven from the 22nd onwards. Hitler's "yacht" had commenced her real task. Her spacious deck, free of all obstructions, was ideal for the task. Her 27 knots too were a useful asset. A few weeks later she added to her roles by that of Commerce raider. "Handelskrieg" had begun. In 1942 her final role was assumed. She was steamed to the Norwegian Fjords and there became the operational base-ship for the U-boats in those cold grey northern waters. Her wireless room was busy 24 hours of the day sending and receiving reports and instructions to the Hun at sea, The battle of the Arctic was controlled from the former dining saloon. It had been stripped of its fittings and great maps replaced the shaded lights. The peace[-]time complement was increased to over 400 with absestaf and extra telegraphists, coders, cypherers, etc. 1945 - Let the final entries in the Ship's Book tell their brief tale of the fall of Hitler's Reich that was to last a thousand years... 20th April Dressed ship for Hitler's Birthday 1st May Grand Admiral Doenitz announced the death of the Führer and that he, acting on the Führer's orders, had assumed Leadership of the German Nation and Supreme Command of the Fighting Forces. 2nd-4th May Flag at halfmast in memory of the hero's death of our Führer. A few days later "Grille" sailed from Trondheim and came to anchor in that safe haven of the British Navy, the Firth of Forth, as a Prize of War. The rest is briefly told ... At 1100 on 8 October the White Ensign was hoisted, the surrender flag hauled down. Slipping quietly under the Forth Bridge, "Grille" anchored off Rosyth.' 39.3 grams total, 8.2 x 5.8 - 33 x 20.5 cm



Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Harwich, UK, collector.