Charles L W C Norris-Newman "Noggs"

Posts : 1086 Join date : 2012-05-12 Location : NYC

littlehand wrote:: Newman was so shocked by Isandlwana that his coup in being the only correspondent on the spot resulted in a dull report, in which he was more concerned with bureaucratic lists of the dead than with the course of events, for, as he himself announced, ‘my letter is far less complete than I could have wished but I am so completely unnerved by the scenes I have witnessed that it is with great difficulty I can arrange my thoughts in a coherent train"

Remember that this was a time when journalists not infrequently picked up weapons and involved themselves in the fighting. They did not see themselves as objective and Noggs was, to perhaps apply an anachronistic term, an embedded journalist, which is to say virtually a member of the 24's mess. He had served in the British Army and probably saw behaving as Chelmsford's mouthpiece as his patriotic duty. In other words he was a man of his time. Melton Prior did better by present standards, but the bureaucratic list making was actually very important at the time and I believe the army relied on his list, at least initially.

Subject: Re: Charles L W C Norris-Newman "Noggs" Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:42 pm

Personally I think his report capture the moment excellently. I just wonder what was meant by " Dull Report" perhaps because he missed out the gore that he really saw. I think he was just thinking about the relatives back in England. That's just my opinion anyway.

Posts : 1086 Join date : 2012-05-12 Location : NYC

littlehand wrote:: I think he was just thinking about the relatives back in England. That's just my opinion anyway.

That seems to be the motive behind his heavy involvement in documenting the casualty list as well...or at least so I have read.

He seems to have felt the loss deeply.

Posts : 32 Join date : 2011-01-09 Location : Barnsley UK

Keith, that's a great contribution - "Noggs" was clearly a thoroughly nasty piece of work throughout his life!

Springbok, I don't suppose you're able to shed any further light on the remainder of his time in Africa ('79-95), such as the Matabeland campaign, his time as Reuters correspondent at Bulawayo (which prompted letters of complaint about him to the Reuters office in South Africa) and the unfortunate financial irregularities that, I suspect, prompted his abrupt departure to the Far East?

Subject: Re: Charles L W C Norris-Newman "Noggs" Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:45 am

SJW
Not really my field but I will have a look around to see what comes up.

Cheers