The Defence of Rorke's Drift having fought in the battle from Lady Butler's sketch of him taken at Portsmouth among the other survivors; his name has subsequently been added to the roll of those who fought at Rorke's Drift. The Defence of Rorke's Drift The Defence of Rorke's Drift is an 1880 painting by Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler depicting the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift which took place during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1877 to 1879. The battle and the men who fought in it were made famous in the 1964 film "Zulu". The Battle of Rorke's Drift caused a wave of patriotic fever in
Joseph Rorke married Susan Donaldson in 1867 and was named a notary public that same year. He served in the local militia, first as captain and then lieutenant. Rorke was reeve for Collingwood from 1873 to 1878 and served as warden for Grey County in 1876. He was a member of the board of directors for the North Grey and Northern Extension Railways. He was a district and county master for the Orange Lodge and a member of the Freemasons. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial legislature in 1879. In 1888, he married Jennie Morton after the death of