caption serviceyears death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date placeofburial rank image article_title name
detail defense of roarke 's drift '' right center background detail from which depicts a defender in non british uniform with bandoleer alphonse and bayoneting a zulu ; apparently meant to represent corporal de schiess neuville 's 1880 `` the 1877 - 1879 south atlantic 14 december 1884 -lrb- aged 28 -rrb- burgdorf , switzerland colony of natal natal native contingent victoria cross anglo-zulu war * rorke 's drift 7 april 1856 buried at sea corporal file : the_defence_of_rorke % 27s_drift_1879 _ - . jpg ferdinand schiess
 christian ferdinand schiess
ferdinand schiess

christian ferdinand schiess vc -lrb- 7 april 1856 -- 14 december 1884 -rrb- was a swiss recipient of the victoria cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to british and commonwealth forces .
he died in poverty at just 28 .
he was 22 years old , and a corporal in the natal native contingent , south african forces during the zulu war .
on 22 january 1879 , at rorke 's drift , natal , corporal schiess , in spite of having been wounded in the foot a few days previously , displayed great gallantry when the garrison had retired to the inner line of defence and the zulus had occupied the wall of mealie bags which had been abandoned .
he crept along the wall in order to dislodge one of the enemy and succeeded in killing him and two others before returning to the inner defences .
schiess was the first man serving with south african forces under british command to receive the vc .
after the volunteer forces were disbanded , he failed to find work , even from british authorities .
in 1884 , he was found on the streets of cape town suffering from exposure and malnutrition .
the royal navy found him , gave him food , and offered him a passage to england on board the `` serapis '' .
he accepted , but became ill during the voyage and died .
his remains were buried at sea at approximately .
it is unknown if there was a portrait of corporal schiess .
according to some , in lady butler 's painting of `` rorke 's drift '' he is shown lying at left against the mealie bags .
