A colleague who does not have accessto the internet has asked me to post
the following notice on his behalf after reading the discussion on the
above subject
Norwegian Titanic Iron (Ore) Company
May I, as the original author of the notes which were used by Mr Russell
Wear in December 2003 in response to a request for information on the
Norwegian Titanic Iron (Ore) Company be allowed to make the following
observations.
The journal he quoted from is rather obscure. Consequently, for this
reference on the web site to be of maximum benefit, particularly to someone
overseas carrying out the research, the least that should have been added
as an aid to tracing it is the name of the journal publisher, namely the
Industrial Railway Society. Since the article is not solely about the
Norwegian Titanic Iron (Ore) Company, and does not carry this as part of
its title, quoting the journal numbers and pages might have been thought
appropriate.
Also, since the notes were quoted extensively and verbatim (but without
speech marks or "quotes" to indicate this), I would have thought it common
(or should that be uncommon?) courtesy to mention the author’s name. Mr
Wear kindly mentions the name of the Norwegian correspondent who responded
to my original article but then fails to mention that the note commenting
on this letter, which discusses amongst other things a possible location
for Neville Hill Collieries, once again came from my good self.
Finally, since I am very much alive and kicking - and still interested in
the Norwegian Titanic Iron (Ore) Company - would it not have been a further
courtesy on the part of Mr Wear to mention to me that he had responded to
this query on the Mining Study Group web site using my material? He knows
how to contact me but in any event he could have done so in person on 24th
April 2004 when we both attended the AGM of the Industrial Railway Society.
Such a course would have cost him neither the price of a stamp, nor the
cost of a telephone call. As it is, only a chance sighting of the study
group’s web entry while I was visiting a colleague alerted me to the matter.
Previous entries I have seen on your website usually provide a
comprehensive provenance for any article/book quoted by its participants,
ie its full title, author, publisher and date (and sometimes even the place
of publishing). Mr Wear’s entry falls far short of that.
I am not impressed.
Trevor Lodge, Sheffield
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