I think I heard of the VC and how Baker bought it as a replica. The great historian John Keegan wrote military affairs for London and Toronto newspapers some years ago and did a piece on Baker and how he had become enamored with Zulu culture while doing the movie. He supposedly had shields, assegais and more Zulu weapons - this before South Africa clamped down on these things being allowed out of the country.

The Keegan piece told more of the story of the VC. Like the US MOH, it is illegal to sell VCs and, as the article stated, Baker got one sold as a replica. After he died, the VC was analyzed and found to be real. All VCs are made from the same captured Russian cannon from Sevastopol in the Crimean War and would have identical metallurgical characteristics between them. Baker never knew this apparently.

How did the Lt. Chard ID come about?

Greg Biggs