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DateOriginal Topic
16th April 2005Who would you like to meet and what would you say ?
By Coll
This has probably been done on a previous topic and I have maybe missed it, but I'll ask anyway.

If you could go back in time to the AZW, who would you like to meet and why ?

Also, if you could ask them 1 question, what would it be ?

I apologise if this has been mentioned before.

Coll
DateReplies
16th April 2005Paul Cubbin
I always want to grab Chelmsford by the .... arm ... and shake him about a bit to get some sense into him. Unfortunately I always suspect that one more warning voice would have been unlikely to make any difference.
16th April 2005Chris John
I would want to sit on the rock that Melvill and Coghill died at with an AK-47 and shoot any warriors that came near them!
This is because if elvill had got back to Rorke's Drift, he would ahve been able to lift any cover-up because as the Adjutant, he would have been at Pulliene's side for most of the battle, and could shed light on any and every area like, for example, why Pulliene put his line so far out from the camp! Anyone agree?
16th April 2005Andrew Holliday
I would meet 3 people Bromhead, Chard and Dalton 9after rorkes drift|) and shake them by the hand and say 'well done'
16th April 2005jimmy two shoes
an ak47???? wouldn't something a bit more accruate be better. but if you must time travel why not just tell them to 'run away' or take something useful like an apache helicopter. if i was to met any of them i'd like it to be yer man hook so i could get some cartoon drawning tips from him.
17th April 2005Haydn Jones
There are so many from the military that I would like to meet but if I had to choose just one person I might be a little different and go for John Dunn. I just think that to talk to him would provide a fascinating insight into the whole affair, literally from beginning to end, and from the perspective of both sides. My one question might be, privately, what did he really think of L. Chelmsford?
17th April 2005TREVOR
I would like to have been able to tell the authorities that they had a person living in there midst who was down on his luck and deserved a helping hand. SCHIESS. VC.
17th April 2005Coll
Obviously, I would wish to meet Col. Durnford just before he made his way towards Isandlwana.

The question being what he thought the future held for him (had he survived) and to get his personal views of the AZW campaign, directly from the man himself.

This would also give me an opportunity to discover his way of thinking, only a few hours before his death, giving an insight of the man's personality and character as well as observing his professional approach to his duty.

Additonally, it would also give me the chance to see if he did prefer Colt revolvers after all.

Coll

PS. As for warning him about Isandlwana, well, I'm sure it would be unwise to try and change history.
18th April 2005hugh jarse
do you really think that you turning up in 1879 will have no effect on the way things turn out?
18th April 2005Coll
Hugh

Meeting and talking with someone, without revealing any details of later events, is one thing.

Trying to change the course of history is another.

Don't take the topic too seriously, as I'm sure nobody is planning any time-travelling at present, or in the near future.

Anyway, must dash. My time-machine is parked in the street and a traffic warden is loitering about nearby.

Coll
19th April 2005Basil
I would meet c sgt bourne & give him a printed song sheet of Men of Harlech with the instructions "get the men to sing this" It wouldn't alter the outcome, but it would scew up a lot of websites
21st April 2005Peter Quantrill
Haydn,
John Dunn did express an opinion of Chelmsford. As you no doubt are aware, Dunn accompanied Chelmsford on the march to relieve Eshowe and was present at the battle of Gingindlovu. His opinion of Chelmsford? Quote:
" During the short time I was with Lord Chelmsford, the opinion that I formed of him was that he was a thorough gentleman and a good brave soldier; but no General. Should this ever meet his eye, I hope he will forgive me, but my reason for forming this opinion was that I could see his personal pluck led him to have no regard for the safety of his men. He would select any spot for a night encampment without studying the surroundings. Another of my reasons for my opinion was that he did not keep his men sufficiently together on the line of march, so much so that if the Zulus had been properly led they would have given us much trouble, and cut the column up."
This interesting aspect will be covered in "Zulu Vanquished."
21st April 2005Paul Cubbin
Peter - it seems to have been a general malaise of British military history that we have very good company commanders, decent regimental commanders and pretty poor army commanders. Perhaps this is a side effect of having a small elite army who rarely deploys in great numbers, thus starving potential commanders of experience with large bodies of troops.
23rd April 2005Miguel
Basil, I loved your reply!
Don't forget to tell Bromhead to alter the roster filling it with Welsh names. Naming one of the privates 'Ivor' would be a specially nice touch!
23rd April 2005Peter Ewart
Basil/Miguel

You've both missed something here. Had Bourne been presented with a song sheet for Men of Harlech, he would have ripped it up and and retorted: "Men of Harlech? Don't be daft. Here are the words of a REAL march - 'Sussex by the Sea'. Now get singing!!!"

What an improvement to the film THAT would have made! And the words wouldn't have had to be re-written for Hollywood. Just imagine - Bourne's defiant Sussex stubbornness against an unstoppable army ... "Sussex won't be druv."

Peter

P.S. Yes, I know that SbtS wasn't written until 1904, but that's not the point.