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Peter Ewart
| Joined: 31 Aug 2005 |
| Posts: 1797 |
| Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England. |
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 Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:01 pm |
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Julian
The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) - bear with me, Alan & Peter, this really is about Isandlwana! - have long ago collected and recorded every first-class match that has ever taken place worldwide, as well virtually all non-first class matches that are anywhere near first-class (minor counties, county 2nd XI, major club, public school, universities, representative, etc worldwide). This has been done over the last 30 to 40 years, using their own members' work, county club archives, other clubs, contemporary published works, local and national newsapers etc etc., as well as liaison with the Cricket Society, Cricket Memorabilia Society, etc etc. Much of their work has been published over the years.
Although Essex CCC was founded only in 1876, their predecessors, the Gentlemen of Essex, had played matches for many years and although these were not of first-class status (and nor were many Essex CCC matches in their first few years) their matches have been collected via newspaper reports and scorecards. (It would be inconceivable for a Gents of Essex match not to have been reported and "scored" in the local press, let alone Essex CCC games), so I don't think any Essex or G of E matches of the 1870s are "missing." I'm very confident of that.
In the last few years or so the ACS and other bodies have created a single online version of their archives (making a large chunk of my library superfluous!) and it is now not difficult to search for any player who has ever played first-class or near first-class cricket, as well as the scorecard of any match near this standard that has ever been played - anywhwere. I know, amazing, isn't it? A search of the Essex games of the 1870s and the Gents of Essex up to the mid-70s , as well as a search of all men named Stephens or Stevens who have played for Essex/G of E, with or without an R in their name - or, if you like, a search of all Stevens/Stephens who have ever played major/minor cricket in the world!!! - is pretty conclusive. (I am confident that any understandable caveat regarding the unreliability of the internet as a tool for research is countered safely, here, by the well known rigour in the research standards of the ACS - they are the world's worst anoraks!)
So much for my preamble. The search reveals a Charles Richard Stevens who played for Maldon v All England in 1873; for Essex v MCC at Brentwood in 1878; for "20 of Essex" v XI of All England the same year (amazing match, by the way!); for Essex v Herts in '79 & v MCC in 1880. (None first-class). Clearly, with different christian names and his presence in games in '79 & '80 he cannot be the Isandlwana man - and I have not the slightest doubt about the accuracy of any of the military or biographical details in your own research of the Isandlwana chap.
The ACS give this man's place of birth as Surrey, 1851. In the census he is easily found, born variously in Southwark & Newington, and living in - Witham! Died IOW, 1910. Occupation, solicitor. (Obviously an amateur cricketer, as all or most most would have been in Essex in the 1870s anyway).
Now for your press cutting. I'm pretty sure every fact in the extract is reliable. And I'd bet that that is exactly what he was: "well known in the neighbourhood as a cricketer" - that is, a keen local cricketer who may well have played for Witham or any other local club. I'd be surprised if a search of the local club/village scores and brief reports in the Essex press didn't show him in the batting order. But why now "an Essex player"? How the confusion? I believe it highly likely that he has somehow been confused with the other Stevens - who also had a Richard in his name - who played cricket locally and who was also "of Witham" for a while. Unless the late Frank Emery did any digging on the cricketing side I suspect the understandable error was made before then, and that someone with local knowledge has made an assumption. But with the complete absence of anyone playing for Essex with the same names as the Isandlwana chap, and the presence in England of the only Essex player called Stevens - CR Stevens - in 1878, 79 and 80, as well as his death in IOW in 1910, there can be no grounds, I believe, for a claim that the Isandlwana chap played for Essex or the Gents of Essex, even though he may well have been well known for his cricketing prowess in his locality, as many were.
The reason I couldn't find him before in my Wisdens and other compilations of 1st class cricketers is that neither of these two Stevens chaps played first class cricket. Now that so much non-first class data has been included in the CricketArchive online site, one of them surfaces - but he's not the one who went to S Africa (although an RW Stevens did apparently play for Port Elizabeth in 1884).
Hope this helps, in a long-winded sort of way!
Peter
P.S. I added the link of the page for CR Stevens on the CricketArchive site, but it is so long that it has stretched this page of text far too wide to be read easily, so I've deleted it. You'll find all you need, though, on CricketArchive.
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Peter Ewart
| Joined: 31 Aug 2005 |
| Posts: 1797 |
| Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England. |
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:01 pm |
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Rich
All the 24th officers were of the social background which would have enabled them to play cricket at school, and most of these would have enjoyed games at the various garrisons where they found themselves serving, as well as after invitations to play for local civilian sides.
However, few of these would have been - nor would be considered today - major matches, and not close to being considered first-class cricket (the minimum requirement of which was, and still is, a duration of at least three days). In addition, few of these officers would have had the chance to play any regular cricket in England, so that substantial or fashionable clubs (although still below first-class cricket status) would have been largely inaccessible to them. Of course, the standard of play at many fashionable schools (the famous public schools of the time) was often very high, and university cricket even higher and very important (including some first-class), and it would not surprise me at all that some of the Isandlwana officers had represented either Eton, Harrow, Haileybury, Charterhouse, Winchester, Clifton College, Marlborough or whatever, or the very exclusive wandering clubs such as I Zingari or The Band of Brothers, and the annual Eton-Harrow match was certainly one of the top two or three matches of the season (both cricketing and social). In their day it certainly far exceeded England v Australia in importance.
John Young provided me some time ago with a copy of a superb photo of the 24th officers captured in their cricketing togs in Secunderabad in, I think, the 1870s. (Just think, the famous Isandlwana cricket pad was probably captured in that very photo!!!) I also have a press cutting with a report containing the doings of Bromhead, Pope and Penn Symons here in Kent in 1876, representing the Dover Garrison against a civilian side. So there were some good cricketers among them. The reason for their absence in the lists you searched is also why we can't find Julian's Richard V Stevens, although I daresay he and they will appear in sundry press reports of local matches.
A good number of army officers did play first class cricket and some were superb players - a wonderful example is Major Poore just before the 2nd ABW, and Hampshire CCC were no doubt grateful that Aldershot is located in that county!
Peter
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:30 am |
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Dodgermuk
A very interesting and important point.
I only want what Anthony's brother Edward wanted, which is, a proper C.O.I., which covers everything in precise detail.
Would my opinion of Col. D. change ? - only if the C.O.I. was exact in its proceedings.
Edward Durnford objected to the fact that it was stated Anthony disobeyed orders which lead to the defeat at Isandlwana.
This, like Edward, I feel is untrue, that he didn't disobey orders, but it was the events themselves that lead to the disaster - precautions, scouting, etc., not taken, before his arrival at the camp, compounded by decisions made after his departure from the camp into the plain - actions not of his making, that when fully engaged, could not be corrected.
An excellent question, my friend. 
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| Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:53 pm |
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Mel
Discussions and debates are one thing, but an in-depth investigation into Isandlwana, by a professionally-organised C.O.I., is something else entirely.
Informed details by those in-the-know of the AZW, is not the same as a government/military body, sitting in judgement of all primary sources/evidence, leading to an official written report, detailing the findings of the board, regarding the events and the conduct/decisions/actions of the participants themselves.
If you are of the opinion, all is now known, without the need for a 'proper' C.O.I., which really never took place, then that is your right.
However, when you see/hear of 'proper' C.O.I.s investigating battles, then you'll see what exactly is missing post-Isandlwana.
There is nothing satisfactory available, which analyses Isandlwana from an official viewpoint, that answers all that needs to be known, as in, if there had been at the time, we may not have been having this conversation.
Disobeying orders, etc., stated at the time, and still plaguing us now, should have been fully-researched and evaluated then, and the transcripts stored in archives, to allow historians then and since, to believe all that could be done, was done, in the aftermath, instead of a huge gaping hole where such details should have been located.
Just my opinion too.
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