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Letters found in attic
catramble


Joined: 05 Oct 2005
Posts: 7
Location: Cumbria
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Being new to this site, I have been reading through the archives and came across a post from September 2003 about new letters pertaining to the Zulu War found in an attic in Kent.
Can anyone update me about these? Were they real or fake?

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Ian
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Are you meaning the Curling letters ?

Coll


Last edited by Coll on Thu Oct 20, 2005 11:57 am; edited 1 time in total
Julian whybra


Joined: 03 Sep 2005
Posts: 437
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They must have been 'found' in the attic many moons ago since David Jackson and I both saw these letters in 1990 and took copies of them!
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Edward Bear


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 6
Location: Cahors, France
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Cahors, vendredi

It's a bit like the difference between the sensational news that man bites dog, rather than dog bites man.

Should you want to tell us that an attic had been found inside a letter, then perhaps tea cups or verres du vin might be put down for a while.

Otherwise, there is always the suspicion that we might be being invited to ready ourselves, yet again, for some rather shallow revalatory book.

Curling, calmez vous!

EB
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catramble


Joined: 05 Oct 2005
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Location: Cumbria
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Coll, not sure if Curling letters or not. I have copied the original post from 2003 so that you can see where my query comes from.

copied from archive -

3rd September 2003 Chard
By DAVE
New letters found in attic puts Chard 2.5 miles from Rorkers Drift at start of battle
Date Replies
3rd September 2003 Alan davies
Yes I have heard of these letters coming to light.
It will be interesting when they are released.
And to think he wrote them letter at that time.
Who I cannot say yet.
Do you know dave
3rd September 2003 DAVE
Yes Alan I do Know.
And yes he would have had time to write those letters.I have read nothing to suggest he dis-liked Chard.Anyway lets wait and see what the letters say.
Then we can discuss it on this web site.
3rd September 2003 Alan davies
Was the boar with him.Or did he stay.
Some would say they were together.
Did they both return or was it just one.
Or
did one return and the other run.
And did they meet after 1879.I bet they did.
The truth always comes to light.
3rd September 2003 George Clunes
And how long before this exchange ceases to be meaningless?
GCC
4th September 2003 Alan Davies
George. have you got a brother called Martin.
Thank you for your comment.
When I saw a reply I thought it would be construtive I was wrong.
Do you enjoy stamp collecting or Train Spotting.

5th September 2003 Martin Heyes
It's possible Lt. Chard was 2.5 miles from Rorkers Drift at the start of the battle - given that he was at a place called RORKE'S DRIFT when the battle commenced. Is there another drift called "Rorkers" some 2.5 miles from the site of the battle??
5th September 2003 peter marshall
Dave,

Excellent info - but what letters are they? Please e-mail me when you get time.
ta!
Peter

11th September 2003 Sceptic
Would this be the same attic where the Hitler Diaries were discovered?
19th September 2003 Dave
Peter.
To much cant be said yet.
However I can tell you the letters were discovered in Kent England. The owner of the letters was bury in beckenham kent.
But we do know he was there.

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Ian
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I must have overlooked this topic in the old forum, but unless there are details the experts can supply you with, or other enthusiasts who may know about the letters, I'm afraid there is no way to confirm anything.

The discussion seems to suggest that Chard was 2.5 miles from Rorke's Drift when the battle began. There also is the question of the Boer being with him. This may mean Adendorff.

I've no idea who is supposed to have wrote the letters (the discussion mentions the person wasn't known to have disliked Chard) which were apparently found in an attic, or if they even exist. Maybe the subject has been covered again in a later topic in the old forum, which may supply more information. Have you checked ?

Sorry I'm not much help, but the Curling letters were the only ones that I was aware of, and even then I'm vague about them too.

The fact that the writer of the supposed letters hasn't been named in the topic, which must have been known, or else the contributor wouldn't have included the sentence about reading 'nothing to suggest he disliked Chard', which suggests he knew who the person was, makes it all the more confusing.

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Further to the above.

On checking Chard's account, he was at his tent near to the river when his attention was drawn to two horsemen heading his way from the direction of Isandlwana. One of them was Adendorff.

As for being 2.5 miles away from the actual Rorke's Drift post, I don't think so, as I imagine it was nearer and Adendorff was with him. However, it wasn't the start of the battle, but it was the initial warnings of the disaster at Isandlwana and when arriving back at the post, of the Zulu force heading towards Rorke's Drift.

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Please excuse my naivety, but is it true Bromhead left no written accounts at all about the events at Rorke's Drift ?

Additionally, do you think the topic mentioned from the old forum was hinting that the letters may have been Bromhead's ?

Confused as always.

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Dawn


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 610
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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Rorke's Drift, Rorkers Drift? A rose by any other name....

However, Chard could have been 2.5 miles from Rorke's Drift when the battle started as he has gone to the camp at Isandlwana on the morning of the 22 Jan to get clarification of his orders. He may have been on his way back when the battle started (unknown to him at the time).

And did the writer mean the drift itself or the Witts homestead which is sometimes described as one and the same? So Chard may well have been 2.5 miles away from Rorke's Drift - the homestead - and at the drift itself when the battle started. Someone else can put us right on the distance between the two.

Dawn
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Keith Smith


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 540
Location: Northern NSW, Australia
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Dawn

The drift on the Buffalo is less than half a mile from the mission station. Your first suggestion is probably more correct.
KIS
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Dawn


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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Thanks, Keith. I don't have my reference books with me so I couldn't be sure.

Dawn
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Letters found in attic
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