Lily Allen hits back at critics in row over Rorke’s Drift Tube notice board

A still image taken from footage of TfL worker removing the 'controversial' message from a Tube station notice board
@lilyallen
Hatty Collier25 January 2018

Lily Allen has hit back at critics in the row over a controversial Tube notice board about the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.

Transport for London was accused of "celebrating colonialism” after a message appeared on a Tube service information board detailing the British and colonial troops’ defence of Rorke’s Drift in South Africa in 1879.

The transport body apologised after the LDN singer shared footage of a member of staff at Dollis Hill station rubbing off the notice on Tuesday.

Her post sparked a fierce debate with some condemning the message on the board, while others argued that Tube staff had simply written an account of history.

Other critics accused singer Ms Allen of wanting to “erase history”.

Ms Allen shared the video with her Twitter followers
Getty Images

In response, she posted to her Twitter followers on Thursday: “Look, I am proud to be British, I am incredibly lucky to call London home, and I’m sure there are parts of British history that make us both proud but Rourkes Drift and what ELSE it represents is upsetting for lots of British people.

“That might not be a popular take, that’s fine.”

She also tweeted that the Rorke's Drift message had been replaced with a quote from Queen Victoria which read: "The important thing is not what they think of me but what I think of them."

The unnamed employee behind the message has defended it and said it described “an important day in British military history”.

He said: “There was no opinion in there, so when someone said they weren't happy with it, in line with what TFL tell us to do if someone complains and that we should avoid a conflict situation I just wiped it off.”

The employee added: “Everyone uses the underground system and it's quite easy to offend anybody really so if someone's got their own opinion on it, it wasn't my intention to put it up there promoting anything apart from commemorating 150 brave men who stood against 4,000."

Some argued that the message celebrates colonialism
Lily Allen/Twitter

A TfL spokesman said: “We apologise to any customers who were offended by the message on the whiteboard at Dollis Hill.

"Our staff across the network share messages on these boards, but in this instance the message was clearly ill-judged. We are speaking with our staff to remind them of what is and isn’t acceptable.”

Miss Allen’s footage was viewed more than 11,000 times in less than an hour after the musician shared it with her 5.94million Twitter followers. The tweet was later deleted.

The message read: “On this day in history: On the 22-23 of January 1879 in natal South Africa, a small British garrison named Rorke’s Drift was attack [sic] by 4,000 Zulu warriors.

“The garrison was successfully defended by just over 150 British and colonial troops. Following the battle, eleven men were awarded the Victoria Cross.”

Alongside the footage of the member of TfL staff rubbing off the notice, Miss Allen wrote: “too right”.

Rorke's Drift was a mission station and the former trading post of James Rorke, an Irish merchant.

More than 150 British and colonial troops defended the garrison against an assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors.

Eleven Victoria Crosses, along with a number of other decorations and honours, were awarded to those who defended it successfully.

The Zulu's attack on Rorke's Drift came after the British invaded the area in January 1879. Rorke's Drift was being used by the the British for a depot and hospital during the invasion.

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