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Lord Chelmsford's Order Book
Mark Hobson


Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: Halifax
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Just come across mention of the following book/article (?) whilst re-reading Hill of the Sphinx by FWD Jackson:

LORD Chelmsford'S ORDER BOOK

I've never heard of this before, and I understand it was produced as some kind of educational tool, but does anybody have any further info on this? Also, is it still available and in what format?

Thanks in advance.

Mark Hobson
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Harold Raugh


Joined: 25 May 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Heidelberg, Germany (U.S. Army)
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Hello Mark,
Chelmsford's papers are at the National Army Museum (NAM), collection 1968-07-386. This could refer to any one of a number of letter or telegram books in that collection. Please see pp. 551-555 of my AZW bibliography for details.
Cheers,
Harold
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Mark Hobson


Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: Halifax
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Thanks for your quick response Harold.

The Chelmsford Papers held at the NAM are quite well known, but this appears to be a work of fiction penned by Julian Whybra. The only mention I have come across is in HILL OF THE SPHINX (however, I've only had a cursory check through my books so far!)

I'll quote the passage I'm referring to:

"Another fictional item quoted as a source in a recent account of the battle is 'Lord Chelmsford's Order Book'. This was imagined many years ago by Julian Whybra for the purposes of an educational exercise which he devised for gifted children and which was subsequently published, when the fictional nature of the Order Book was clearly stated."

So it appears to have been written as fiction but possibly mistaken as fact when referred to by another author in a recent book about Isandlwana.
It would be interesting to hear in what context it was written, so hopefully Julian himself will enlighten us.
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Keith Smith


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 540
Location: Northern NSW, Australia
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In case Julian is not avaliable to reply, allow me to offer an explanation.

The document to which Mark refers is, in fact, a schoolchildren's exercise distributed by Essex County Council many years ago. It is the fourth in series for the Essex Curriculum Extension Project and is described on the inside front cover as 'one of a series of curriculum extension projects for exceptionally able secondary pupils (12-16 years).' This one is called 'The Battle of Isandhlwana'.

It consists of Teacher's Notes and a Pupil's Book. The latter consists of a series of 'source documents', some of which were prepared for the project while others were actual documents.

The first paragraph of the Introduction to the Pupil�s Book is as follows:

1. Your name is Colonel Hassard. The year is 1879 and you have been put in charge of a Court of Inquiry to look into a British military disaster at Isandhlwana on Wednesday 22nd January 1879 during the Zulu War, from which only a handful of Europeans escaped with their lives. The task before you is a difficult one and you are reminded that this is the only occasion in history when a British army has been defeated in battle by a native army. Six full companies of the 24th Regiment of Foot have been wiped out as have most of the sons of the leading families of the Colony of Natal.

There follows a brief explanation of the circumstances of the battle and then a list of the �sources� to be used:

A list of army units at Isandhlwana and their commanders.
A list containing the strengths of the opposing forces and the number of survivors from Isandhlwana
Lord Chelmsford�s Order Book
Lt Col. Pulleine�s Order Book
An assortment of hand-written messages picked up from the battlefield. Field Instructions to Serving Officers.
A sketch of the battlefield made on 21st May 1879.
A map showing lsandhlwana Camp.
A map showing lsandhlwana plain.
A report giving the positions of the bodies in the camp (this may not arrive for the start of the Inquiry).
Survivors� accounts by-
Private H. Grant
Capt E Essex
Capt. A Gardner
Lt H. Curling, R.A
Capt C. Nourse, N.N.C. Lt W. Cochrane
Lt H. Smith-Dorrien.
It concludes as follows:

4. Your report should be written or recorded on cassette tape and should be accompanied by explanatory maps showing positions at key times.
A scapegoat( or scapegoats) must be found on whom the disaster can be blamed Your report should clearly show where the blame lies and why. The blameless should also be explicitly vindicated with reasons given. You have four days to complete your brief.

I hope Julian will forgive my extensive quotations � he kindly gave me a copy many years ago.

KIS
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Keith Smith


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

May I beg to differ from you in your citation of Chelmsford's Papers at the NAM? My own citation is 6807/386-1 to 36. There is no document in them which may be identified as his 'Order Book'.

KIS
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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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If Julian has a spare copy I wouldn't mind one to put before my 15 year old son, who - to my amazement - is suddenly showing strong signs of interest in the AZW (and, naturally, is "exceptionally able" Wink ).

Incidentally, is scapegoat the correct term here? Is Julian looking for someone whom his student believes is genuinely culpable - or someone whom my dictionary describes as: "one who is made to bear the misdeeds of another"? (My emphasis).

Peter
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Galloglas
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Hate to spoil the fun, but there would indeed have been both order books and letter books maintained by the South African Field Force. If there were orders that were issued by the personal authority of Lord Chewlmsaford, versus the edelegated authority of his Chief Staff Officer or other subordinates, they too would feature in the appropriate order book being signed off accordingly.

Confidential and other clerks would then prepare copies to be signed off, so as to send the orignal (signed again) to its intended recipient, or to generate copies for further distribution under authorised signatories.

Julian's orders book construct may have been included for the purposes you describe but there would also have been equivalent real articles within the command and staff routnes of the days.

I have worked for several individuals who maintained such letter books in their own handwriting well into the 1990s.

G
Mark Hobson


Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: Halifax
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It would be interesting to know what the pupils 'findings' were after this exercise, although bearing in mind of course that we are only talking of 12 to 16 year olds.

The Source Documents used might also make interesting reading, particularly - Chelmsford's Order Book, Pulleine's Order Book, and Hand-Written messages picked up from the Battlefield - even if they were fictionalised.

Now if only school had been this interesting when I was there...
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Coll
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Mark

Isn't this the same exercise Julian held 2 or 3 years ago with some students ?

If so, the outcome from that, as far as I can recall, is that they couldn't find anyone to blame (scapegoat), using only the primary sources supplied.

Coll
Harold Raugh


Joined: 25 May 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Heidelberg, Germany (U.S. Army)
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Hi Keith,
Thank you.
You are correct about the abbreviated collection number to the Chelmsford papers at the NAM. The full number of the collection as a whole is 1968-07-386, "1968" being the year they were accessioned by the NAM. Your number is the same, minus the "19." (This was provided to me by Dr. Alastair Massie, NAM.) Yes, piece/folder/file numbers in that collection range from 1 to 36, and I am aware no specific pieces are labeled as an "order book," which is why I stated earlier: "This could refer to any one of a number of letter or telegram books in that collection." Thanks for letting us know this is a fictional concoction, and for permitting me to make this clarification.
Thanks,
Harold
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Mark Hobson


Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: Halifax
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Coll wrote:
Mark

Isn't this the same exercise Julian held 2 or 3 years ago with some students ?

If so, the outcome from that, as far as I can recall, is that they couldn't find anyone to blame (scapegoat), using only the primary sources supplied.

Coll


Coll. Yes, it could well be although I gather the original exercise was ran quite a few years ago.
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Keith Smith


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

I can only repeat that, according to the list of the contents of the Chelmsford Papers in the NAM, not one of the 36 files has any reference to an 'Order Book'.

There are a number of files which refer to 'letters and papers', and others which refer to 'letter books' and 'telegrams'. My archive also contains a complete list of every document (or documents) in each file (which runs to 176 pages).

It is as well to bear in mind that these papers were 'edited' by Chelmsford's Zulu War aide-de-camp, Major-General Matthew Gossett after his lordship's death and a number of the documents contain marginal notes added by him. One cannot overlook the possibllity that he removed one or more documents, perhaps to hand over to Lady Chelmsford since he reported his progress to her. (See, for example, NAM 6807/386-26-36.)

I have nowhere suggested that such an Order Book did not exist, merely that it, or they, are not in the NAM's Chelmsford Papers.

KIS
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Keith Smith


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 540
Location: Northern NSW, Australia
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Perhaps I should also mention that the Chelmsford Papers also contain a considerable volume of material relating to his command of the Ninth Frontier War (March to July 1878).

KIS
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Galloglas
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KIS,

Nor did I say that you said anything in particular.
Study of the whole subject would be materially advanced if greater account was taken of the multiple routine actvities that (unreported) provided the context for the surviving source items.
The sources do not cover or explain everything and much more will undoubtedly have occurred than we can expect to find covered by sources.
I would not be at all surprised if the letter and order books fell into the hands of a possibly largely disinterested local Zulu readership at some stage after 22nd January.
Incidentally, the maintenance of hand written order books was a standard unit level practice in the British Regular Army until well into the 1980s (possibly later in some places). The typed versions would then be produced as soon as possible for distribution afterwards. However, the 'signed Orders Book' at least provided the wherewithal for orders for t5he next day to be read out to the NCOs and soldiers of the assembled sub unit before they were dismissed from their final parade of the day.

G
Julian whybra


Joined: 03 Sep 2005
Posts: 437
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I should make it clear that the booklet I wrote (in 1978) was with the intention of developing children's organizational skills and problem-solving ability. Where a document did not exist I fabricated one for the purposes of the exercise (making it clear in the teacher's notes that it had been done so). An example might be the List of Units and Commanders - no such document existed at the Ct of Inquiry - but it made it useful for the children to have one whilst doing the exercise. I thus mixed genuine with some fabricated to assist the children. Two authors in particular (I won't say who to spare their embarrassment) latched on to this rather too enthusiastically and hadn't read the teacher's notes. They then quoted from 'Chelmsford's Order Book' in their works as if it were the real thing. Egg on faces all round. One only realized his mistake last month.
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Lord Chelmsford's Order Book
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