William Degacher was a son of Walter Henry and Mathilde Degacher, husband of Julia Caroline (Smith) Degacher (whom he married in 1877), and brother of Major General Henry James Degacher, CB.
He was a captain (and acting-major) in the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot when he was killed in action at the Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His brother Henry, then a lieutenant colonel and the officer commanding the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot, was among the officers in the invasion force's centre column that was split by Lord Chelmsford prior to the surprise attack on the camp at Isandlwana.
Note: Mackinnon, J.P. "The South African Campaign, 1879." London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1880.
Captain Degacher was the maternal grandfather of Academy Award winning actor and World War II British Army officer David Niven.
William Degacher was a son of Walter Henry and Mathilde Degacher, husband of Julia Caroline (Smith) Degacher (whom he married in 1877), and brother of Major General Henry James Degacher, CB.
He was a captain (and acting-major) in the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot when he was killed in action at the Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His brother Henry, then a lieutenant colonel and the officer commanding the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot, was among the officers in the invasion force's centre column that was split by Lord Chelmsford prior to the surprise attack on the camp at Isandlwana.
Note: Mackinnon, J.P. "The South African Campaign, 1879." London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1880.
Captain Degacher was the maternal grandfather of Academy Award winning actor and World War II British Army officer David Niven.
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