A MILITARY museum is breaking with tradition by staging a talk about a 19th Century rout of the British Army.

For more than ten years the Saturday talks at the dli - formerly the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery - in Durham, have concentrated on the two world wars.

But the next, on March 23, will delve back to 1879 and the Battle of Isandlwana, the worst defeat that black African soldiers inflicted on the British Army.

The British Army, led by General Lord Chelmsford, invaded the Zulu kingdom of King Cetshwayo and made camp under the imposing Isandlwana mountain.

"Poor intelligence and confusion led Lord Chelmsford to split his force, leaving just 600 men of the 24th Regiment and a few hundred Natal Volunteers to guard the camp,'' said museum curator Steve Shannon.

"Hidden in a ravine a few miles from the camp was a Zulu army of 20,000 soldiers."

The Zulu army attacked and in a few hours every British soldier was dead.

"This terrible battle cost the lives of 3,000 men, Zulu and British. Later that same day, Rorke's Drift was attacked - the story of that action became the film, Zulu," said Mr Shannon.

Former British Army officer Rob Gerrard, a British Army officer who now lives in South Africa, will illustrate his talk with slides.

It will start at 2pm. Tickets cost £3.50, concessions £2.50 and £1.50 for season ticket holders. They are available in advance, by post with a stamped addressed envelope, or at the door.