James Owen: A Welsh Defender of Rorke’s Drift
James Owen: A Welsh Defender of Rorke’s Drift Introduction: A Soldier Known as David Lewis James Owen James Owen headstone Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard credit - findagrave James Owen , who served under the name Private David Lewis with the 2/24th Regiment of Foot , is remembered as one of the defenders of Rorke’s Drift , the small mission station in South Africa that withstood overwhelming Zulu attacks on 22–23 January 1879 . His military distinction is well known, yet the man behind the uniform has a quieter story rooted in rural Carmarthenshire and later in the working‑class streets of Swansea . Early Life in Carmarthenshire James Owen was born in 1853 in Llanboidy , Carmarthenshire, the son of David and Ann Owen . 1861 Census The 1861 Census records the family living in Llanboidy, where David, aged 31 and born in Pembrokeshire, worked as an agricultural labourer . His wife Ann was 32 , and their children were James (8) , Ann (6) , David (3) , and Theodoriah (1) . 187...
