Rattray's protégé meets the same grisly battlefield fate as his mentor

21 September 2016 - 12:16 By Dave Chambers

A historian who trained under David Rattray‚ the KwaZulu-Natal battlefield guide murdered in 2007‚ has died after being beaten by armed robbers. Robert Gerrard‚ who was British‚ spent almost 20 years working as a tour guide in South Africa and was the resident guide at Isandlwana Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal‚ the Daily Telegraph reported.He and his mentor met the same fate: Rattray was shot dead in his home‚ while Gerrard was tortured and left unable to walk by armed intruders who burst into his cottage in February.His injuries included brain damage‚ a shattered pelvis and severe burns‚ his family told the Telegraph. He died last week of complications related to the trauma.“He was an incredibly fit and determined man until this‚” said his sister‚ Sally Gerrard Fox.“He would be out striding the mountainside on tours every day. But he just wasn’t getting better‚ he was forcing himself to walk again but it was clear that the attack sounded the end of his career.”Former British Army officer Gerrard‚ 74‚ had a long family history in South Africa. His great-grandfather‚ Sir John Robinson‚ was the first prime minister of the British South African colony of Natal‚ and his father commanded The Gordon Highlanders‚ the British army infantry regiment that fought in the Anglo-Boer war.In his blog‚ Gerrard said working with Rattray at Rorke’s Drift was “where I started to live my passion”.The Telegraph reported that as the resident guide at Isandlwana Lodge‚ he became legendary among visitors‚ one of whom wrote that he had “one of those voices that you never got tired of hearing”.“Rob was a huge drawcard‚” said Joanne Hayes‚ a spokesman for the lodge. “But the damage and the injuries he suffered as a result of the break-in … he never really recovered.”Gerrard was attacked on the evening of February 25 when he returned to his cottage after dinner with guests.“As he unlocked the door he saw one guy and punched him on the nose but didn’t realise that there was another one behind him with a gun‚” Fox said.“They beat the living hell out of him‚ smashed his head into the floor‚ tied him up‚ poured boiling water over him‚ fractured his pelvis in seven places.“Afterwards‚ he was shattered not only that this had happened but the brutality behind what happened‚ the lack of clear reason for it.”Fox said her brother had been left profoundly depressed by the attack.“For the first time in my life‚ I could see that he was almost scared‚" she told the Telegraph. "I have never seen him scared of anything in my life but he was.”A memorial service will be held overlooking the battlefield on October 29 and his ashes will be scattered there.“A case of business robbery is being investigated by Nquthu SAPS‚” said police spokesman Captain Ngobile Gwala. “No arrests have been made‚ investigations are continuing.” - TMG Digital..

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