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Date	Original Topic
1st December 2002	Isandhlwana survivor By Julian Whybra I thought I'd throw this one open to any takers. I have a Natal newspaper article post-Isandhlwana which refers to 'Mr Carlin having turned up safe from Isandhlwana' - this sounds like a waggon driver or conductor or contractor - however i can find no trace of a Carlin in any documentation whatsoever. Has anyone any ideas? Thanks (in advnce).
Date	Replies
1st December 2002	John S Radburn Julian Is this Mr Carlin the same man as in your book 'The Roll Cal' as having survived or is it the Quartermaster H Carlin of the C T D that appears in Mackinon and Shadbolt or are they one of the same. Regards John R
2nd December 2002	Julian Whybra John, QM Carlin didn't arrive in Zululand till June 1879, this Mr. Carlin is mentioned in late January (and is the one in The Roll Call). I know there was a firm of contractors called Carlin in PMB (I've seen their newspaper adverts) - I'm assuming he's one of their family and was at Isandhlwana in the same context as Robert J Hall.
3rd December 2002	David Glynne Fox Perhaps there was a spelling error, and maybe the name was intended as Carling, who we know did escpape from Isandlwana. Just a thought, although most likely wrong. Regards david
3rd December 2002	David Glynne Fox Sorry, I meant Curling, Lt. Curling Royal Artillery. David
3rd December 2002	Julian Whybra I don't think so. This refers most definitely to Mr. Carlin. I don't know of an example in a newspaper of a serving British officer referred to as Mr.
4th December 2002	Peter Ewart A corruption of "Curling" momentarily occurred to me but, above all, a local paper mentioning someone turning up safely strongly suggests a local personality, as there were several similar such reports in the Natal press in Jan & Feb. I did flick through the Red Book to see if the report appeared to emanate particularly from PMB, Durban, Greytown or elsewhere, which might provide a clue, but didn't see it. The PMB advert, however, does suggest a family in that town & presumably local sources (a commercial directory also containing the local gentry*, for example) might be available in a local repository? Not impossible, given the nature of PMB's population, that descendants remain in the area. Local historians & their own collections & knowledge of PMB? Local genealogical or historical societies? Contacts via PMB library? Newspaper indexes there or elsewhere? Peter * Given Curling's ideas (in his letters home) on the appearance & status of the PMB "gentry", I use the term advisedly!