Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC (21 December 1847 - 1 November 1897) was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He earned the decoration for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879 where he commanded a small British garrison of 139 soldiers that successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The battle was recreated in the film Zulu in which Chard was portrayed by Stanley Baker