ZULU: The Amazing TRUE Story of Private Hook

Private Hook VC was the bad tempered malingerer in the classic film Zulu - but was this portrayal fair? In this video you will find out and learn the true story of this exceptional man who battled the Zulus and won Britain's highest award for bravery.
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[@psnaris]

One thing I like about Zulu is that, even in the heat of battle, they all managed to shave regularly.

[@psnaris]

The Zulus too.

[@rodneybarton-hall3867]

When I watched 'Zulu' for the first time in London in 1964 I thought it second only to 'Lawrence of Arabia' as the most thrilling film that I had ever seen, but decades later, having discovered the truth about Hook and other characters as well as the offence caused to his two elderly daughters, I felt less comfortable about it. When Hook died in1905 in Gloucester the funeral procession drew crowds of thousands. I have visited his grave in Churcham several times. The film still makes terrific cinema but...

[@skylarkman2000]

The two most amazing films ever made . I have visited Lawrence's grave in Morton , Dorset .

[@rodneybarton-hall3867]

I have not been to Morton but I have seen where he was born in Tremadoc.@@skylarkman2000

[@luv2fly352]

I'm a 77 year old disabled Vietnam combat veteran and I salute and fully support British soldiers. God bless you all !

[@redcoathistory]

Many thanks, Sir.

[@pshehan1]

Very sad that Hook arrived home to find that his wife had sold his possessions and married another man. She should have been prosecuted for bigamy.

[@redcoathistory]

Yes, it was a tough break. I don't know what the law said but it does seem she didn't wait very long...

[@welshwarrior5263]

Wonderfully told, thank you. I recently paid my respects to the grave of private Robert Jones VC, in Peterchurch near Hereford. Due to his act of suicide with a shotgun at the age of 41, they refused to carry his coffin through the gates of the cemetery. Instead, they passed it over the wall and buried him the wrong way round. A terrible tribute to a VC winner of the battle of Rorke's Drift.

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks mate. What a tragic story.

[@hackedhatedguy]

I think they did far worse to suicide victims' corpses back in the days of biblical literalism.

[@longyx321]

​@@hackedhatedguy some were buried at a crossroads I read a long time ago... No such thing as battle stress in those days.

[@longyx321]

I read a blog on the film, which I still enjoy watching, mentioned some of the collar badges were wrong and the cap badges would have been covered so as not to reflect.

[@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis]

​@@longyx321very far back in times, yes. Suicides were laid to rest by crossroads so the spirit that was rejected from heaven would be confused as to where to go and could not come back and haunt their village. It's that sort of stupidity that makes dogma such a vile thing at any time, in any religion. But then, when my son died aged 8 in Penzance a few years ago, because he was baptised catholic, he could not be buried with the other protestant graves but in a different graveyard that was outside the old town limits as they did not bury Catholics inside the town. Also, because of this, he could not be buried in a child's grave but in an adult's grave with all the cost associated with it. Dogma still sadly exists even now.

[@UkrainianPaulie]

Well done Chris. Always thought that the movie portrayal of Hook was disrespectful. Pvt. Hook was one heck of a soldier. Like all military movies, they play fast and loose with the details.

[@markevans6973]

Brings tears to my eyes. Such gallant bravery.

[@dylhemsley9458]

Incredible courage,

[@EddietheBastard]

Such valuable work correcting the way in which so many real people have been hideously traduced in film and on TV. I salute you and others who expose these injustices. If they want to put these comedy characters into films they should use fictional names.

[@jorgfilter2241]

Thanks for your time put into researching the VC soldiers. If I remember correctly this is still the battle where the most VC's were ever awarded. If I remember correctly 11 VC's?? I've seen the film many years ago and I cannot remember all the details. However the first problem that I had with it, was that it was filmed in the incorrect setting/background, being the famous "Amphitheatre" of the northern Drakensberg and NOT at Rourke's Drift which is really a pity. In comparison the film "Zulu Dawn" was at least filed at Isandlwana. Back then and still today an embarrasment for the British Army (24th Reg) Another critical mistake which I have now noticed from the clip of the film (besides portraying the soldier as a drunkard, which he was not and in fact quite unbelievable him being a lay-preacher etc.) is that he salutes a Seargent-Major. Please correct me if I am wrong. But I was trained in the "old" i.e. pre 1994 military South African Defence Force- (SADF) which had its standards i.e. regarding marching, drilling and showing of respect still based on the British standards from the time of the "Union of South Africa" whereby no Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) was ever saluted (other than in death) by any Private / Rifleman or lower and higher rank etc. Only Commissioned Officers (CO's) were saluted whilst NCO's were shown respect by either standing to attention or whilst marching by hands were kept on the sides as a manner of respect. Nevertheless NCO's were Junior Leaders (JL's) trained at military schools simmilar to "one-pip" (Second Luitenants) whereby a rank of full Corporal 2 stripes could be attained during our training, except where Luitenants could get a full Luitenant (2 pips) (2 stars) rank if they had opted to study at University first and their Degree (allbeit non-military) would be accepted to make them a full luitenant (Luitenant 1st degree) in their second year of national service. What would really interest me would be the rank insignia of the present British recognized ranks. Upon watching the "Long Walk" marching during the QE11's funeral towards Westminster, I saw a rank with four (4) stripes and an emblem on top. I would really appreciate an explanation for such a rank insignia. I was wondering if it would be that of a Staff-Seargent or that of a Warrant Officer (second or 1st Class)? In the old (pre 1994) SADF we had NCO ranks whereby the emblem of the Cape-Dutch Castle (simmilar to the rank of Major -if worn on the shoulders) was placed on top of three stripes (Seargent) and would be called Staff-Seargent or just "Staff" for short as an adressing manner. A Warrant Officer (still NCO) would be in 2 classes. 2nd class would be the emblem of the Republic of South Africa whilst 1st class would be the same but with a wreath around it. Then, a Regimental SM would have a read background with a Divisional SM having a green background. Wishing you also a blessed and a happy Christmas!! Stay safe!! Jörg Filter

[@hackedhatedguy]

It's not like that movie has a reputation for historical accuracy. The singing at the end between opposing sides is probaly the nastiest inaccuracy.

[@EddietheBastard]

@@hackedhatedguy I'd say that was less nasty - it didn't defame a named real person.

[@hackedhatedguy]

@@EddietheBastard Its net effect was worse or nastier, based on how it embellished warfare with such flagrant inaccuracy.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

In contrast, Zulu Dawn does the opposite with Durnford, portraying him as the sympathetic all knowing all wise hero of the piece, when that was just as inaccurate as the portrayal of Hook.

[@brandonrossjr]

I just watched the movie and found this. Thank you!

[@swampyankee]

Excellent stuff Chris! It's particularly irritating when film makers misrepresent a person like Hook when if they stuck more to the facts they would have had a better character. (Just my opinion) Please have a wonderful and safe holiday season and my best to you and yours.

[@FMCH6444]

That's always annoyed me, since I learned that Henry Hook was the complete opposite of the way he's portrayed

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks, Gregg. Have a great one and we will speak again in 2023.

[@hackedhatedguy]

IMHO Hook is better in the movie, more Christ-like and compelling as a drunkard who heeds the call to battle when needed, similar to the parable of the prodigal son.

[@FMCH6444]

@@hackedhatedguy EXCEPT, and work with me here, they assassinated his character. There's no justification for that. Same for making Dalton a rather effete dude when in reality he was a badass and was at least partially responsible for the idea of using mealie bags & boxs to make the lagger a strong defensive area.

[@hackedhatedguy]

@@FMCH6444 They didn't make Hook a pederastic alcoholic, Bromhead admires Hook's drinking. Which characters were not fabricated in Zulu would make a better video.

[@melliecrann-gaoth4789]

This is very interesting- thank you. I’ve just watched Zulu on TV, first time as an adult. I’m struck by what you said about the fate of many of the Veterans. Mental illness and poverty. It seems to me, that even in modern times, soldiers post very serious service are not looked after.

[@outpostraven]

The real personalities of the men at the battle deserved to be represented accurately. Real shame. Great movie though

[@lukeskywalker3329]

Thank you Chris for enlightening us . On the Zulu DVD. There is a commentary option to play which explained quirks in the making . Zulu was a budget movie . Looks like the research was c grade . There was a lot of ad libbing because of budget constraints. I have always found fact to be more amazing than fiction though . The story needed no embellishments.

[@hackedhatedguy]

History means "his story". Don't believe everything you read in history as fact,. about Hook, if he got a job at the museum thanks to Chelmsford and Bromhead, that's like getting a job thanks to Don Corleone and Michael Corleone , meaning you are probably not a straight shooter if those snakes pull strings for you.

[@paulkernan7336]

Love your vlogs... really informative and important to see the locations today. My great grandfather fought at Ladysmith with the Dublin Fusiliers, his pregnant wife and daughter were evacuated during the siege and sailed to Hyderabad (now in southern Pakistan) were my grandfather was born. He later served in the same British army regiment as his father during the First World War and was gassed and invalided out in 1916.

[@TenementFunster.74]

i suppose thats the film industry that they have to glamourise and embelish a story,still always watch it when its on TV,just subscribed aswell.

[@karenalletson9767]

They destroyed the preacher De Witt also. He actually stayed at Rorke's Drift and displayed great courage rescuing wounded in the heat of the battle. They made Ardendorf into a hero when in fact he was nothing of the kind, later being charged arrested along with British Officer and charged with cowardice. He was not at Rorke's Drift during the battle.

[@petethebastard]

History is much better than Hollywood! Great vid, bloke! Well done, that man!

[@mikeoveli1028]

Great stuff. This is a favorite movie of mine. I am so glad to hear the real stories.

[@grahamrock3942]

Thank you SIR, a truly fantastic overview of just one Group of Comrades at Arms during the Battle. So what is MY connection, a very proud Great Granson of JOHN WILLIAM FIELDING V.C., (aka Pt.John Williams), on my dear Mother's side of our Family. All is well documented, both Historically and through the extended Fielding family, yes John Fieldings hair DID turn White following the trauma of the Battle, my own Grandfather, WILLIAM FIELDING, suffered the same when at just 25 HIS Hair also turned White, (I just lost mine at the age of 30). Sir...I had the profound privilege of meeting ZULU KING GOODWILL ZWELITHINI at a Pageant held at Brecon Barracks on the 21st July 2019, never to be forgotten....History lives on through my Cousins, Peter and Colin, and THEIR extended families. Thank you again for your overview...G.A.R.

[@paulkelly8456]

The second Irish VC recipient from the battle. Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds from Dunleary, South County Dublin being the other. I think I am correct in thinking your heroic ancestor was the last survivor of the 11 VC winners. RIP to them all.

[@elizabethtamp1537]

Yeah, thanks a well researched and described account. How many rank and file soldiers finished like Hook died with TB or poverty? I am sure the VC he won helped with obtaining the job at the museum. Well done Hooky!

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

No ones portrayal in the film "Zulu" is realistic! I mean, Clr Sgt Bourne was in his mid twenties and stood about 5'3". nicknamed "the kid" by the men under him. Damn good film none the less!!

[@seanford2358]

Even the lay out of the post is altered for the film!! Still my favourite war film though!!

[@alonsocushing2263]

I think we can thank the actor and producer of the film, Stanley Baker for this. Not only did he misrepresent most of the central characters, he over-emphasised the 'Welshness' of the company because of his own nationality.

[@hackedhatedguy]

@@alonsocushing2263 Wait, Wales is a nation?

[@alonsocushing2263]

@@hackedhatedguy Stanley Baker thought so.

[@trigger399]

@@alonsocushing2263 It's doubtful if Richard Burton would have bothered if he had known it wasn't a Welsh regiment.

[@FranciscoPreira]

A great hero private Hook, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year best regards for you and your family, you all keep well.

[@DMBall]

Anybody who relies on the movies for their history is bound to be disappointed. But then, the same could be said about William Shakespeare.

[@julieblundell7421]

Hello Christian, great video mate, Merry Christmas and best wishes to you and your family, Lee.

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks, Lee. Same to you and yours mate.

[@catholicmilitantUSA]

Poor Hook! Being a decorated war hero and coming home to find your wife has married someone else! Also how ON EARTH could anyone portray a teetotaller Methodist preacher as a drunken malingerer? RIP Hook :'(

[@gap9992]

Baker was Welsh so his character assassinations were reserved for the English participants! I suppose he couldn't claim it as a Welsh dominated victory if he undermined any of the Welsh characters! He must have been fuming that even he couldn't claim Chard was Welsh but he deflected this issue by portraying Bromhead as a very English upper class toff! I absolutely love the film though and have watched it many times !

[@dylhemsley9458]

Hook was a true hero. What a courageous man.

[@keithagn]

Incredible story! Thank you for setting the record straight. Looking forward to seeing your shows in February. Take care, and Merry Christmas from Canada 🇨🇦

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks, Keith.

[@schubert06sebastian39]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Great to hear these greetings. I like your content, very informative. Subbed.

[@philipsquires3060]

Great video as always!! Zulu was my favorite movie growing up. Knowing the real men's stories is awesome!

[@outpostraven]

Love this man's story. Thanks for telling it.

[@kiwifruit27]

Fascinating to hear his actual words. Thanks, have a great Christmas 🎅

[@rickyb5499]

Excellent video, showing the real Private Hook, a total soldier and a very brave man, sad to know he suffered in his private life and from PTSD. The 1964 movie Zulu is a classic, but certainly had many inaccuracies. ‘Hollywood Licence’, I’ve heard it called. Thanks for the real history about this gentleman 👍🇬🇧

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks, Ricky.

[@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis]

Subscribed to both your newsletter and your channel Chris. Rivetting and well thought and researched work.

[@redcoathistory]

Great thanks a lot. Look forward to interacting more with you in the future.

[@andyeveritt9003]

really enjoyed this video what a story he certainly earned his VC now to look at your other vids on the other men there thanks and all the best

[@notwocdivad]

I think nowadays the other defenders would have been said to be suffering from PTSD? but of course no one had heard of that yet!!

[@GW_01]

Short answer: No, but it made for a good character in the film. He's my favourite character in the film.

[@PtolemyJones]

Seems to me that if they wanted to create a character with that type of behavior, they could have made someone up.

[@mktf5582]

Please do Bio's of, Redvers Buller - Guillermo Miller (Latin American Wars) - Rowland Hill - Evelyn Wood.

[@SetForAdventures]

Fabulous portrait of a brave man Chris 👍 don’t worry about the poor initial showing this will keep giving as a film because it’s GOOD 👍 Best wishes Simon 🇬🇧

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks, Simon - I really appreciate the positive feedback!

[@garycooper3487]

I once read that after the battle that Hook held out his mug for a drink of rum when it was being shared out, much to the surprise of his comrades who knew he didn't drink. He said he felt he felt he needed a tot after what he had been through. I don't know if it is true, but I can understand the sentiment if it is. A very brave man.

[@Matty18795]

I do prefer Zulu dawn over the original just because the characters are represented better

[@lyndoncmp5751]

The portrayal of Durnford in Zulu Dawn as the kind, peaceful, wise all knowing hero of the piece is just as inaccurate as the portrayal of Hook in Zulu.

[@michaeldean1289]

I love your videos Chris, great work! When was in the Australian Army, Royal Australian Engineers back in the early 80’s, they used to screen the movie as a motivational historical training aid. I still wonder why, as there was obviously only one British engineer officer as we all know! Lt. John Chard RE

[@redcoathistory]

Cheers, Michael.

[@fatmanfaffing4116]

I was in 1FER 1979-82. I have seen the movie at least 11 times. I remember the Cpl Projectionist at the Army Apprentice School telling us when the catering van comes into shot on the hillside and when the jet flies over and the Zulu with the wristwatch. I have met the great granddaughter of Lt Chard VC and she was dead chuffed anyone remembered.

[@alicetickle]

Brilliantly made

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks 🙏

[@njd2342]

I liked Hooke's character in the movie. He's one I remember - He came across as the poacher type, the good time guy, the one who gets the birds. The one you'd want on your side in a real fight.

[@ramblingbunnyable]

Poverty stricken former soldiers: look up Kipping's poem, "The Last of the Light Brigade".

[@martynrawlins8050]

Only today I've watched your video, a great account of Private Hook. I heard he had become a sergeant sometime after the battle but I can't say whether the info was correct or not.

[@Oscarhobbit]

As a former soldier you can appreciate how loud it would be to discharge a rifle inside a confined room, it's not like the movies their ears must have been deaf. This truly must have been terrifying for the men who fought there. I can't imagine what it was like holding off Zulu warriors with a single shot rifle and bayonet, ammunition running low and the roof on fire. I was in a burning building once and within mere moments the smoke hit my lungs, I couldn't breathe and later had to have oxygen. These men must have had PTSD for the rest of their lives, as you alluded to; I know some had and died in poverty. I would love to see a historically correct version of the movie Zulu remade, but in today's politically correct world this will never happen. It is a shame that the valour of these men has been replaced by the call to punish Great Britain for her imperial expansion. It is the same old story, politicians start wars and soldiers suffer and die in them. Those who start wars from behind a desk and those who condemn the military from their armchair will never experience being in combat or servicing in the BAF themselves. Another great video!

[@redcoathistory]

Thanks a lot. Must have been terrible. Take care and keep in touch mate

[@retriever19golden55]

Spot on. Soldiers don't make policy they don't start wars, and they don't choose their enemies. Brave men on both sides, doing their duty, defending their comrades and their country.

[@waynevaughan9325]

Great work done Sir somtimes the film maling good people who cant answer back

[@retriever19golden55]

It happens a lot. They Died With Their Boots On, about Custer, makes Custer look like a fool in his West Point days. He was a prankster, yes, but never stupid. The movie also has a character called "Queen's Own" Butler, used for comic relief, short and chubby, a bit of a buffoon. W.W. Cooke, a Canadian, was the one called "Queen's Own," and he was tall and elegant, smart, a sharpshooter, and a fierce warrior. Sergeant Butler was also a fierce warrior, found alone with a large number of spent cartridges around him; he sold his life dearly. Far worse, though, was Little Big Man. The movie had little in common with the book it was supposedly based on, and even less with actual events. A couple generations of Americans now believe Custer was stupid, a racist, a butcher of women and children, and crazy, when he was in fact courageous and a fine cavalry officer with an exemplary record in the Civil War. He admired the Natives, parleyed when possible, fed starving reservation people out of his troops' stores more than once, and gave testimony before the Clymer Committee concerning corrupt Indian Agents starving their charges. He was loved and admired by his Crow and Arikara scouts, who wept openly at his death. He spent much of his post-war time on Reconstruction duty. He's blamed by many for the treatment of our Indigenous people, when he had nothing to do with government policy or broken treaties, and had a grand total of four engagements with warriors, two of which were very minor skirmishes.

[@11buster1000]

Thanks for that.

[@tobytaylor2154]

Apparently, his relatives walked out at the premier coz of his portrayal in zulu

[@redcoathistory]

Yes, I mention that in the video 👍🏻

[@ogyxfallvanlore8511]

It's still a brilliant film!

[@redcoathistory]

True.

[@markpage9886]

Based on your startling revelations, Hook's movie portrayal is scandalous--slanderous in the legal sense, I should think.

[@davidcunningham2074]

Hook was villified!

[@peterrooke5336]

Would the public remember Hook if they played him any other way ? I think not

[@milmex317th]

My favorite film of the British army in Africa.

[@williamkettle8666]

Its a disgrace that he was misrepresented by the film company.

[@QuietManUK]

No, he was a teetotaler, not a hostile drunken sot thrown into glory.

[@redcoathistory]

feel free to watch the film 👍

[@Jubilo1]

Hey! You said you couldn't grow a mustache or beard!

[@redcoathistory]

Ha Ha I am trying...it's a bit longer now but still quite patchy...

[@Jesusisking2785]

They could have made up someone if you are going to make a movie about real people and rwal events then you owe it to the men who fought and died to get it right dont make crap up its disrespectful to me maybe im to patriotic i am American but still

[@trigger399]

No Hollywood director worth his salt would miss the opportunity to show a bunch of topless native dancers watched by Otto Witt and his comely adult daughter Margaretta. The real daughter was named Elin after her mother and was nearly three in January 1879.

[@Jesusisking2785]

@@trigger399 😆😆😆😆😆

[@jacobolopezgil1740]

You make a video on corporal Schiess and I send you US$20,00. Who wants to join? It is the saddest story in the world - first foreigner recipient of the Victoria Cross, died of poverty - but it deserves to be told.

[@redcoathistory]

Hi, I am very happy to do a video on him but just FYI he wasn't the first foreigner to win a VC - there had been many. If you are keen to support then the best way is through the Patreon. - www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory - thanks and keep in touch

[@13strange67]

He was no doubt related to Captain Hook ( the enemy of Peter Pan )