In February/March, we were on holiday to New Zealand and made a short stopover in Brisbane on the way to see our first grandson so this also delayed putting this newsletter together.  In early July, we will be again going overseas to visit our family and won’t return until the end of August. 

All this highlights the need for our Association to encourage some of our younger members to get involved in Committee activities, even in a job-sharing role.  This is particularly relevant when you realise that the Secretary and Treasurer/ Outpost Editor have done the job since the Association was formed in 1999 so it is now time that a few of you put up your hands and volunteer to help.

So, we must all address the issue of succession without delay and you will see this concern is also mentioned by John Seward in Station Notes (below). 

Please bear in mind you don’t have to live in Perth (or even Western Australia) to actively assist in running the Association.  These days, with efficient Internet communications, the tasks of Secretary, Treasurer and Outpost Editor are very much simplified.  Please think about it. 

A second point I wish to raise is that of contributions from you, the members, for your magazine.  I had very little for this edition until Dick Hamley provided some very interesting historical stuff.  Please let me have any stories, anecdotes etc, which you think will interest our readers.

This took place on Saturday the 8th of March at the RSL Belmont attended by 40 members plus Ken Macdonald from Bulawayo visiting his son in Perth and Eileen Woollacott from Britain daughter of the late Deputy Secretary in Internal Affairs Bob Woollacott.  Eileen was visiting 4649 John and Margaret Seward who knew her and her parents during the early 60’s in Shamva where John was the Member in Charge and Bob the District Commissioner.

7045 Rob Gates acted as Chairman where he gave a brief resume of our activities over the past year and noted our sound financial state.

After the meeting and election of the incoming Committee a very pleasant BBQ cooked to its usual high standard by 7694 Steve Martin and his wife Linda was enjoyed by all.

Once again our sincere thanks to Alan McGrath and his helpers in conducting an excellent raffle which was won by none other than 7049 Lew Whitmore.

The same old faces were elected and this brings me to the point that if we are to succeed in the future we need younger, new faces to come forward with new ideas to keep the Branch going.

Christmas Get Together

In conjunction with the Rhodesian Association of Western Australia (RAWA) several of our members attended the get together at Kings Park overlooking the Swan River and the Perth CBD and all had a most enjoyable time.

ANZAC Day

It was pleasing to note that members participated in the Rhodesian contingent during the Annual ANZAC Day parade held in Perth and, that our Secretary, 4649 John Seward attended on behalf of the Branch the dawn service at the Belmont RSL where he was instrumental whilst the last post was being played to lower the flag to half mast.

7682 Ian Calderwood on behalf of the Branch laid a wreath at the ANZAC Memorial Service held at Faulkner Park in Perth.

Since the last station notes we have gained 8 new members namely 380126E P/R John David DE SALIS, 9605 Clive Bailey SHAWE, 8282 Robert Nelson RIEDY, 2164020 P/R Anthony John STEVENS, 7392/8189 John Rodger WALKER, WPO 100 Elizabeth WALKER (nee Smith) P/R Patrick CANE and on transfer from the Transvaal Branch 8620 David Selwyn AMM.

If any members know of any ex member who reside in Australia or adjacent countries please encourage them to join the Association.  As we get older the need to help becomes greater and as our membership is only AUD $20 a year, the more members we have the greater the opportunity to help those in need. 

At present we are subsidising several members and widows and feel that this need will increase as time goes by.

There have been several visitors to our shores and in particular Ken Macdonald and his wife from Bulawayo staying with his son in Perth and it was nice to see him at our AGM where he was able to give updates on life in Bulawayo.  He was also feted by John Henderson and Earl Cameron both of who were stationed under Ken at Victoria Falls.

Kerry Hoadley caught up with 5425 Roy and Alma McTaggart who were visiting Western Australia from New Zealand.  They have recently moved from Whakatane to Christchurch.

Butch Fletcher and his wife Joan from Cape Town visiting family in Perth attended with other members the Branch’s Committee meeting where he caught up with members that he had not seen for years, including his old squad mate Sam Williams.

Sam Williams and Butch Fletcher

P/R Air Wing Observer Richard Seward – cousin of our Secretary John – son of the late Col H.G.  Seward whose memoires appeared in our Outpost and his wife Dorrie were visiting their daughter and her family in Bunbury, They attended the Christmas get together at Kings Park and have now returned to Harare where they live.

John and Richard Seward

7661 Rod Shelley was visiting family in Perth from the UK and has been in touch with our members Ian Calderwood and Steve Martin.

Rod Shelly and Ian Calderwood

If you are aware of any ex members visiting our shores please let our Secretary know.

Two members have moved away from Perth but we have not lost them.  Alan McGrath and his wife Joyce transferred to Bunbury and Margaret O’Neil to Sydney where she is staying with her son.  John and Janet Savage have moved to a new home in Mandurah.

Others have been overseas and some are still overseas.  Carol Clapham widow of the late Dave is in the UK visiting her son, Kerry and Olivia Hoadley have been to New Zealand, and Al Greenly is in the UK.

Barry Dawson who was receiving medical attention in Perth has returned to Thailand.

Lew and Joanne Whitmore have been on long leave and spent it going around Australia and loved every moment of it.  They are both now back working hard for us pensioners at Centrelink but are thinking of joining the ranks of us pensioners.

Kerry and Olivia Hoadley and John and Margaret Seward celebrated their wedding anniversaries on the 29th of April.  John and Margaret have been married now for 55 years.  Kerry and Olivia for 47 years so next year they are hoping to make it a joint celebration.

Bunty Ludlow would love to see ex members and maybe those of you who live in the northern suburbs of Perth may like to drop in to see him.  He is at an aged home known as St Andrews at the corner of Karrinyup and Main Street Balcatta.

I regret to report the passing of Doreen Hutson wife of our own 90-year-old member Arthur Hutson.  Doreen was the sister of Shirley Mylrea whose late husband was in the BSAP.  Several members attended the funeral service at which Doreen’s daughter gave a most moving eulogy

5152 Jim Clampit has been in hospital but I am glad to report he is back at home and I am sure would appreciate a call fro members.

Pat Forbes partner to our late member Sonny Brookes spent some time in hospital after a fall but I am glad to report that she is back to her old self at home.

In June, John and Margaret Seward will be heading for South Africa and then onto Argentina where they will celebrate his mother’s 100th birthday!

In July, Olivia and Kerry Hoadley are off to Italy, France and UK with a brief stopover in Singapore on the way home.  They are rather looking forward to travelling on the new Airbus 380.

These are now held every second Wednesday of every even month i.e.  February, April, June, August, October and December at the RSL Belmont on the corner of the Great Eastern Highway and Leake Street from 5.15pm till 7pm.  You are more than welcome to attend.  Please note that you can become a social member of the RSL Belmont at a cost of $15 a year

Please help me in this regard with any snippets of interest that you may have and look forward to your contributions whether they are news or articles. 

Walk Tall
John Seward (4649)

It is with deep regret that I advise the death of 5479 Mike Leach.  Mike died today (25 May) at Basildon following a stroke on 15/5/08.

He served from 26/5/56 to 27/11/80, retiring with the rank of Chief Superintendent.

Mike served as Honorary Secretary of the UK Branch of the Association for over twenty years and was a mainstay and fountain of knowledge, not just of the UK Branch, but of the Association worldwide.

Our thoughts and prayers go to Jan and the family.

Barry Henson

Hon Sec UK Branch

Greetings

I am writing to ask if you might have any recollections concerning the creation of the Police Ground Coverage scheme.  It seems that with this subject being categorised under the auspices of intelligence work, and thus secretive in nature, very little has ever been written about this.  My interest arises from some research work I am doing on police intelligence in southern Africa leading up to 1980 - in particular the BSA Police Special Branch.

My research, thus far, suggests the Ground Coverage concept was probably inspired by the experiences gained by Colonel Harold Jackson during his visit to Kenya at the time of the Mau Mau insurrection, and the subsequent secondment of members of the force to the Kenyan Police for several months in 1954.  The lessons learned were how the Mau Mau rebellion had festered undetected before hostilities broke out in 1952 due to a lack of grass roots intelligence gathering in African reserves.  Bill Crabtree had also visited the Special Branch in Nairobi, Kenya to study police and intelligence tactics in combating the Mau Mau in 1961.  On his return to Southern Rhodesia he instigated the foundation of the Ground Coverage scheme, recommending that every district police station had a member of the force tasked with intelligence gathering.  A formal Ground Coverage section of the Uniform Branch had only been formed, apparently, in August 1962 to serve as a rural intelligence gathering function.  The section and was established to assist the then short-staffed Security Section (called X-Bureau) of the Criminal Investigation Department, particularly in outlying areas. 

I am trying to establish if in fact there is any earlier recollection of a formal Ground Coverage unit, or the general practice of ground coverage being used, with a district chain of command, and reporting structures into the X-Bureau before Crabtree's study and before the August 1962 date?

Henrick Ellert writes in 'Rhodesian Front War' that the Ground Coverage scheme was first set up by Chief Superintendent Dennison "Sandy" Sanderson, but I have found references to earlier mention of a police Ground Coverage scheme, more associated with the rise of nationalism in the rural districts during the mid 1950's when the African National Youth League and the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress were fomenting insurrection. 

I wonder if you might perhaps re-collect some aspect of this subject going back over 50 years now, or perhaps even have a few old documents, articles in magazines, training papers etc.  which might put me on the right track.

A bit of a tall order, I guess, after all these years, but I would really appreciate some input from you if you can recall anything on Ground Coverage, and indeed on police intelligence in general. 

With kind regards
Andrew D Field - 8646
Stay in touch - Go visit your BSAP website - www.bsap.org now!
PO Box HG 935, Highlands, Zimbabwe

“The name is Trevor Hughes - ex BSAP 7106 and ex Dog Handler.  I have been requested to put together a BSAP Dog Section Reunion in August this year, which will include wives, girlfriends, etc! The Reunion will take place in Durban, South Africa, from Friday the 22nd of August, 2008 to Sunday, the 24th of August, 2008, inclusive.

The event will hopefully take place in the Annual BSAP Regiment Association Dinner on the Saturday the 23rd of August.  The programme for the weekend, is currently being arranged, including an accommodation option.

I would respectfully request, that the above information be publicised and to ask any Handlers to contact myself (address below) if they are interested in attending.  It also gives me the opportunity of putting together some form of Nominal Roll of ex Handlers around the World.

Trevor Hughes (Ex 7106)
E Mail Address: Hughes12@Mweb.  Co.Za Or trevor@transpec.co.za
Phone / Fax: 031 5620574 or Cellular 0836571143.
Postal Address: Cluster Box 3322, Somerset Park, Umhlanga Rocks, Kwazulu Natal, Durban, South Africa, 4021.

A passenger in a taxi leaned over to ask the driver a question and tapped him on the shoulder.  The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over the curb, and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window.  For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, and then the still shaking driver said, 'I'm sorry, but you scared the daylights out of me.' The frightened passenger apologized to the driver and said he didn't realise a mere tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much.  The driver replied, 'No, no, I'm sorry, it's entirely my fault.  Today is my first day driving a cab...................I've been driving a hearse for the last 25 years’.

King's Gold by Glenn Macaskill will strike a particular chord for all Rhodesians and Zimbabweans and especially those with an interest in or becoming knowledgeable about the history and origins of the Zimbabwe Ruins and the symbolic Zimbabwe bird. 

Former members of the BSAP in particular will appreciate the depth of research undertaken by one of their former colleagues. 

The book opens with a witness account of one of the victims of 5th Brigade 1983 "Gukuranhundi" massacres in Matabeleland.  The witness is one of the central characters of the book along with two former Special Branch officers.  For those wanting a romantic component this is provided in the form of Bulawayo based lecturer in chemistry with a Rhodesian lineage and who is also a witness to a Gukuranhundi massacre.  Glenn's book moves along at a good pace as it jumps from the 1983 scene setting to the 1999/2000 Referendum and Presidential election period.  International and national politics, espionage, archaeology, gold driven greed and betrayal are weaved together to bring a fascinating and thrilling book to its conclusion. 

King's Gold can be obtained directly from South Africa through Crest Publishing – www.crestpublishing.co.za

This book is available directly from its Western Australian distributors at a cost of A$29.95 plus postage and handling costs.  Full details are available on: www.thebenefactorsmonkey.com/

Contact people are Phil and Michelle on 61-8-93099444.

BSAP blazer badges are now available from the following for $40:
Ken Palmer, Phone: (08) 9178 8912, Fax: (08) 9379 4353
Email: ken.palmer@westrac.com.au
 

A compelling story centred on the BSA Police Salisbury S.W.A.T.  team in the final days of the war.  Facing impossible odds, the 'thin blue line' was never thinner as they and the Special Branch faced the threat of armed insurrection in the city, the horrors of Communist-backed terrorism, and the ultimate atrocity. 

It is also the story of a country in its death throes. 

'...Gives an insight into the enormity of our situation at the time.  Whoever you are, whatever you did, recapture it in this book.  It deserves to be read.' [Insp.  Peter Gibson, O.i.c.  Sby S.W.A.T.  1978-1980]

Available from: www.amazon.com or www.pegasuspublishers.com [U.K] or Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers, Cambridge, UK Tel 01223 370 012 Fax 01223 370040, or order it from your nearest bookshop.

Remember the anticipation of your first six-month leave back home after having “done your three”? All that expectation of seeing your folks and those friends you left behind so that you could brag (just a little) about your experiences in ‘darkest Africa’? Yes, there were also passages to be booked on Union Castle, train reservations to Cape Town, and arranging to rendezvous with some of your police mates at Rhodesia House when you went to collect your monthly pay?

I still have great memories of my trip to the UK in 1958 and a side-trip I made to France and Spain with the late 4997 Bob Samways.

There were several of us Salisbury-types on leave at the same time including Hugh Gibson, John Willcox, Martin Braidwood, Tony Puckle, Alex Perigo and Jim Henniker-Gotley. Bob, Hugh, John and I shared a rail compartment to Cape Town although Bob and I left Cape Town on the Durban Castle a week ahead of the others.

There had been some discussion as to whether we should all spend a week sailing on the Norfolk Broads or something similar but Bob and I much preferred our suggestion of visiting Spain so we stuck to our guns and just the two of us made arrangements for our trip.

As a means of transport we decided to buy an old motorbike, do it up and use it, not only for local transport (he lived quite close to me in East Sussex), but also to venture forth across the Channel to Spain for a couple of weeks.

A suitable machine, a blue Douglas 350cc twin (probably a 1954 model), was discovered at a car dealer’s yard in West Wickham, Kent – it needed some attention but Bob was an excellent mechanic so we offered the dealer ₤25 He said we could have it for ₤20 if we would accept his receipt for ₤15! Sounds crooked? Yes, but somehow this deal seemed pretty OK at the time to us at the time so we took the bike and headed back to Sussex.

The Douglas had been in a prang at some stage but the engine seemed reasonably sound and didn’t need much attention. The frame was a little twisted but we only wanted to use it for a short time so we really didn’t worry too much about ‘minor’ flaws. We replaced the magneto and bolted a homemade frame on the back of the machine which could bear the weight of a couple of rather small suitcases which was all that we would need for the journey. We eventually left the shores of England on Monday 11 August at Newhaven and sailed to Dieppe.

The first evening saw us in Rouen, France where we booked into a small pension for the night. Not much to see here so it was up bright and early next morning, and we were off to Paris as it was our aim to take our Douglas up the Champs Elysees and around the Arc de Triomphe – and why not? We found our way to the centre of Paris and accomplished our aim with relative ease as there were not the hoards of traffic in Paris in 1958. A helpful Gendarme gave us very precise directions to get out of the city (we were still in the Champs Elysees) and head out to Chartres which was a comfortable distance to travel for the remainder of day 2.

Our “bibles” for this trip were an AA accommodation guide which covered pension-style accommodation in France and Spain; a French/Spanish/English prase book, and a road map of France and Spain. I had some “school-boy” French but Bob, being born in India could only offer a reasonable knowledge of Hindustani, which wasn’t particularly helpful in France and Spain!

We decided to take a chance and not bother with International Driving Licences which we later discovered were a requirement for such travel. In hindsight, we were rather badly equipped for the journey but, at the age of 21, you didn’t worry too much about what could go wrong.

After Chartres, we continued south via Tours and then on to the border towns of Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. We were rather pleased with our progress so far.

On reaching the Spanish Border Post at San Sebastian we were refused entry into Spain as we didn’t have a triptique for the bike. It was too late in the afternoon for them to issue one and we would need to report back next morning.

OK but where to now? It was raining very hard and there was no accommodation in our price range in either Biarritz or Saint-Jean-de-Luz so we decided to rough it and ducked into a building site out of the wet. It was probably the most uncomfortable night’s sleep we have ever had as we had only scaffolding planks propped up on cement bags to lie on and our only source of warmth was our police-issue raincoats which were soaking wet. It also happened to be my birthday! In spite of all this discomfort, we survived and arrived at the border post bright and early next morning.

Our triptique was issued without any fuss so there we were, on Friday 15 August, in Spain at last. A quick look around the attractive city of San Sebastian and then we headed south and spent the night in Pamplona. So far so good – the bike was going well and the weather was now wonderful.

Next stop was Zaragoza – we really enjoyed this part of the journey as the countryside was fascinatingly bleak and the locals very friendly. We were bemused by the many dwellings carved into the hillside in the region – I do wonder if they are still there and inhabited today? I must admit that we had never since seen so many attractive girls as we saw in the main square on that Saturday evening, dancing to a military band who were playing in the square. We decided to spend a second night in this town.

When we arrived in Barcelona, the Douglas had a blowout in the rear tyre – ever tried asking for a puncture outfit in Spanish? Now you will understand how ill prepared we were to handle this type of situation although it was something we should have foreseen. A passing motorised helped us as best he could but, try as we may, we couldn’t get the puncture patch to adhere to the inner tube which seemed to made of some strange material which wasn’t really rubber. There was no alternative but invest in a new tube for which we hadn’t budgeted.

We found very reasonable accommodation in Barcelona (not the touristy part of town) and managed to get in a fair amount of sightseeing. On one occasion when we were visiting one of the local beaches a Spanish policeman stopped us on the pretext of checking our driving licences. We showed him our Southern Rhodesia licences and our BSAP identity cards which satisfied him but he was really more interested in the Douglas which rather intrigued us.

We spent about six days in Barcelona and then headed towards the French border and spent the night of Saturday 23 August at the town of La Jonquera, still in Spain.

We made an early start next morning and had hoped reach Dieppe in two days. Our trip through the centre of France took us near the walled city of Carcassonne which we decided to bypass as Bob was suffering from a few stomach gripes.

By lunchtime, Bob’s gripes were getting worse and it had started to rain quite steadily – he was feeling quite wretched. We decided to press on towards Dieppe and be within striking distance of England in case he didn’t improve. We knew there was a ferry leaving at about midnight but our progress was slow because of the weather and the fact that Bob was in no condition to share the driving. We were both soaking wet but there was simply nothing that could be done about it.

We reached the ferry at Dieppe just after midnight on 25 August and we pleased to find that the ferry had not left without us. The bike was loaded on and we immediately went below deck to warm up, get into something dry and get some rest – that day, we had travelled almost 1000 kilometres from one end of France to the other in generally appalling conditions. As it was a night crossing, we reached Newhaven at about 6am next morning.

As a postscript, the Douglas was sold when we left UK for ₤15 to a young guy who was shortly afterwards killed in a motorcycle accident – but NOT riding our Douglas.

(Although this was fifty years ago, I believe it is a fairly accurate account of our trip. I managed to extract the actual travel dates from an old passport – KH)

Claiming Missing Police GSM’s From Zimbabwe

We have received the following information from the Zimbabwe Medal Society. The contact addresses are - Chairman Tim Rolfe timrolfe@mweb.co.zw Secretary David Rockingham-Gill MSM - pforbes@mango.zw or the Journal Editor Auv Raath - march@dewbella.com. Brian Taylor visited Zimbabwe recently and took a couple of the ZMS committee members to PGHQ. The following was the outcome: ‘During our visit to PGHQ we managed to view several thousand medals held for the Rhodesian police force, still un-issued.

Should ex members of the BSAP still want to claim their medals they can email the ZMS, with a copy of their birth certificate, requesting collection, and the medals will be released. I say this, bearing in mind that some of the medals have appeared on medal-markets in the past, and I doubt if these went through normal channels.

It is pleasing to note that efforts are being made at various museums to ensure the safe custody of the thousands of medals in their possession’.

On the strength of a concession [to 'win and procure metals'] which had been obtained from Lobengula Paramount Chief of the Ndebele by the adventurer Charles Rudd, Cecil Rhodes' newly formed British South Africa Company successfully petitioned Queen Victoria to grant a Charter which empowered it to occupy and to exploit the territory that lay to the north of Bechuanaland (Botswana) and to the west of Portuguese East Africa (Mocambique) - then, effectively, Southern Zambezi - that is: Matabeleland, Mashonaland and Manicaland, later to be called Rhodesia and now Zimbabwe.

The Royal Charter on 15 October 1889 which approved the raising of a Pioneer Corps for the occupation of Mashonaland, also permitted the formation of the British South Africa Company’s Police. For, along with the commercial undertakings sanctioned by the Charter, the Company was at the same time and ‘to the best of its ability’, required to 'preserve peace and order'. For this purpose it was authorised to establish and maintain a police force.

The British Government of the day was adamant that any column of so-called pioneers or ‘first settlers’ had to be provided with an adequate military escort. They were equally adamant that such escort should not, either in fact or by any fiction, be seen as or be interpreted as being an 'Imperial' military force. So it was that the British South Africa Company Police came into existence - but with the configuration of a small regiment of cavalry.

The majority of the force raised to provide this ‘military’ escort was drawn from personnel retrenched from the Bechuanaland Border Police, which was reduced in strength for this purpose. The Company's 'Police' were encamped near the B.B.P Camp at MacLoutsie, where it was to grow rapidly in strength to five troops, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel S. G. Pennefather, ‘attached’ from Her Majesty’s 6th Inniskilling Dragoons.

The Pioneer Corps, a separate force of 212 men raised by Frank Johnson, the General Manager of the Bechuanaland Exploration Company, gathered at Camp Cecil nearby where they underwent requisite military training. Of this number, 196 eventually shook down into a military formation of three troops: ‘A’ Troop commanded by Captain Maurice Heany; ‘B’ Troop commanded by Captain Henry F. Hoste and ‘C’ (Artillery) Troop by Captain John Roach. Frank Johnson was nominated the Pioneer Corps Commanding Officer with the military rank of Major. Captain F.C. Selous (the hunter) was Intelligence Officer; Captain A.E. Burnett, Transport Officer; Lt. H. J. Borrow was Adjutant and the Rev. Father Hartmann and Rev. F. Surridge, Roman Catholic and Protestant Chaplains respectively. Sixteen civilians were attached to the Corps many of whom were later to become famous in Rhodesian history.

By the middle of June 1890, the Police and Pioneers were considered ready to undertake the task ahead of them. Major-General Methuen, the Adjutant General of British forces in South Africa, inspected them and, after watching a sham fight between the Company’s Police and the BBP and the formation, at speed, of a defensive wagon laager, was pleased to pass them as “ready in all respects for duty”.

On 6 July the combined force crossed the Shashi River to set out for its final destination - the yet to be located - Fort Salisbury. Notwithstanding the show of military strength, but faced with the prospect of becoming embroiled with an aroused warrior nation, the Ndebele, the Company took the marginally softer option of heading north-eastward to the country of the Vashona - Mashonaland.

When Rhodes column of Pioneers crossed the Shashi River from Bechuanaland with the avowed intent of occupying Mashonaland, the territory of Manicaland, which straddled the highlands of the north eastern border region, was under the control of an African Chief named Umtasa. Hunters and earlier surveyors had reported that these eastern highlands were well suited for European settlement. With this end in view, Archibald Colquhoun, the Administrator-Designate of Mashonaland, and Doctor Jameson, Cecil Rhodes plenipotentiary and friend, headed a party comprising Frederick Selous, Messrs C. Harrison and Patrick Campbell which, with a small escort of police, separated from the Pioneer Column at Fort Charter. It was Colquhoun’s intention to visit Umtasa, the Paramount Chief of the Manica, and conclude with him a treaty which would cede to the B.S.A. Company all the mineral, agricultural and other rights in the territory then under his sway.

This mission accomplished, a treaty was signed on 14 September 1890 at which time Umtasa was guaranteed protection by the Company and an annual payment in gold of £100. Sealing the bond, a British flag was presented to Umtasa and duly hoisted over his kraal. Colquhoun’s party then left to rejoin the column. Selous, however, continued eastward to Macequece where he met up with Baron de Rezende, a representative of the Portuguese Mozambique Company, who was in the process of rebuilding a fort that had been destroyed by raiding Shangana. De Rezende left Selous in no doubt as to Portuguese hostility to the arrival of the B.S.A. Company into territories they considered their particular preserve. Selous wasted little time in conveying this intelligence to Colquhoun.

The Portuguese, who controlled the south-eastern coastal regions of the subcontinent, had indeed viewed the incursion of the Pioneer Column into Mashonaland with considerable hostility. In their opinion the sphere of British influence in Southern Central Africa had extended quite far enough. Having previously concluded several treaties with Gungunyana, the Paramount Chief of Gazaland, they had settled a Resident (Agent) in the Chief’s kraal. Gungunyana, for his part, claimed Umtasa as his vassal. The Portuguese, supporting this claim, took the position that a vassal chief could not award concessions. Accordingly, and to stifle any further Rhodesian ambitions, they claimed the whole of Manicaland as territory under Portuguese control. Simultaneously they announced their intention of taking decisive action against any British South Africa Company’s forces that might see fit to enter upon it.

Such strong intimation was followed with an equal show of armed force when two Portuguese officers, Colonel Paiva d’Andrada and the Capitao-mor de Manica - Manoel da Sousa, marched into Manicaland at the head of some three hundred native troops. Their object as to force Umtasa to withhold his concession to the Company.

Arriving at Umtasa’s kraal, the Union Jack, not long before hoisted by Colquhoun, was unceremoniously hauled down by the Portuguese who, in their excitement, promptly compounded the insult by trampling the British flag underfoot. In that day and age, such incident was sufficient to have provoked a European war, and could well have done so had not the early Rhodesians’ shown their mettle by setting matters to rights by themselves.

When Colquhoun reached Salisbury, he despatched a small force of thirty B.S.A. Company Police under Major Forbes to Umtasa’s kraal. Here they found the Portuguese already in occupation. Acting with almost unparalleled audacity, Major Forbes promptly arrested the two Portuguese officers in front of their own troops and sent them off under strong escort to Salisbury, while he disarmed their soldiers and expelled them from Manicaland. Not content with this - and notwithstanding having only six men remaining under command - he conceived the idea of advancing upon the Portuguese provincial capital of Beira and thus take control of a corridor to the sea. Two days march from Beira, however, he was recalled from this enterprise by the British Government who had concluded a temporary agreement with the Portuguese - but not before Forbes had reached the Pungwe River, 150 miles inside Portuguese territory.

Negotiations followed between the Company and the Portuguese authorities and, as a result, the two captured officers were permitted to return to Mozambique. While the Company was permitted to hold to the lands conceded by Umtasa, Macequece reverted to Portugal.

Despite the settlement the Portuguese proceeded to equip a large force with which to expel the British South Africa Company from Manicaland. A counter-force was raised in Salisbury and at length Captain Melville Heyman with fifty police and volunteers and a seven-pounder gun were despatched to Manicaland to watch the movements of the Portuguese force which had collected about Massi-Kessi. The expedition halted at Chua Hill, some little distance from the Portuguese on May 14th 1891. Opposing them lay an army of 100 Europeans and four hundred native levies, with no less than eleven quick-firing guns of the most modern description. A message was sent to Captain Heyman obliging him to withdraw or suffer attack. This he flatly refused to do and the attack commenced.

The Rhodesians’ position was situated on the upper slopes of the hill, which served, to a degree, to neutralise the enormous odds of ten to one against them. However, had not the Portuguese commander decided that the presence of his guns would hamper his movements in the field and had left them behind in the fort when his army advanced, the outcome of the battle would no doubt have been a ‘near run thing’. Reaching the foot of the kopje he commenced a very heavy fire on the Rhodesians’ who, reserving their efforts until the Portuguese were well within range, poured volley after volley into their midst. The Portuguese Native Levies wavered, whereupon the seven-pounder opened fire with canister causing them to break and run. The Portuguese Europeans showed great gallantry and struggled manfully to reach the hilltop, but each time they made any headway they were met with withering fire and forced to retreat. Captain Hayman followed up the retreat with an advance in skirmishing order across the plain towards the fort, which capitulated. The battle had lasted for little more than two hours.

The British flag was hoisted and a garrison disposed so that no counter-attack could prevail, while a quantity of valuable equipment, including the eleven guns, was taken possession of. It was then Captain Heyman’s turn to lead a dash for the coast. The British Government, however, unequal to the complication, despatched an emissary, Herbert Langton Sapte, with written orders for the Company’s forces to halt - which, dutifully, they did. Thereafter, diplomatic exchanges between London and Lisbon prevented any further action by the Portuguese and put an end to the whole affair. A treaty was concluded whereby the whole seaboard of South East Africa, as far as Natal, was left in the hands of the Portuguese, while the uplands, with the exception of Macequece, were ceded to the British South Africa Company.

By their actions at ‘Massi-Kessi’ the B.S.A. Company’s Police and Volunteers performed what might have taken a large army fighting on conventional terms - and perhaps a European war - to accomplish. What is left to conjecture, however, is how the subsequent and ultimately ill-fated history of Rhodesia might have been re-written, had either of the two advances upon the eastern coast - the ‘dash to the sea’ - been allowed to succeed?

"I asked around," the old man said, "but no one knows his face,
He's been on that wall twenty years, deserves a better place.
For some one must have loved him so, it seems a shame somehow."
I nodded in agreement and then said, "I'll take him now."

My nameless digger's photo, well it was a sorry sight
A cracked glass pane and a broken frame - I had to make it right
To prise the photo from its frame I took care just in case,
"Cause only sticky paper held the cardboard back in place.

I peeled away the faded screed and much to my surprise,
Two letters and a telegram appeared before my eyes
The first reveals my Anzac's name, and regiment of course
John Mathew Francis Stuart - of Australia's own Light Horse.

This letter written from the front, my interest now was keen
This note was dated August seventh 1917
"Dear Mum, I'm at Khalasa Springs not far from the Red Sea
They say it's in the Bible - looks like Billabong to me.

"My Kathy wrote I'm in her prayers she's still my bride to be
I just cant wait to see you both you're all the world to me
And Mum you'll soon meet Bluey, last month they shipped him out
I told him to call on you when he's up and about."

"That bluey is a larrikin, and we all thought it funny
He lobbed a Turkish hand grenade into the Co's dunny.
I told you how he dragged me wounded in from no man's land
He stopped the bleeding closed the wound with only his bare hand."

"Then he copped it at the front from some stray shrapnel blast
It was my turn to drag him in and I thought he wouldn't last
He woke up in hospital, and nearly lost his mind
Cause out there on the battlefield he'd left one leg behind."

"He's been in a bad way mum, he knows he'll ride no more
Like me he loves a horse's back he was a champ before.
So Please Mum can you take him in, he's been like my brother
Raised in a Queensland orphanage he's never known a mother."

But Struth, I miss Australia mum, and in my mind each day
I am a mountain cattleman on high plains far away
I'm mustering white-faced cattle, with no camel's hump in sight
And I waltz my Matilda by a campfire every night

I wonder who rides Billy, I heard the pub burnt down
I'll always love you and please say hooroo to all in town".
The second letter I could see was in a lady's hand
An answer to her soldier son there in a foreign land

"Last Wednesday just on midnight, not a single cloud in sight
It raged for several minutes, it gave us all a fright
It really spooked your Billy - and he screamed and bucked and reared
And then he rushed the sliprail fence, which by a foot he cleared"

"They brought him back next afternoon, but something's changed I fear
It's like the day you brought him home, for no one can get near
Remember when you caught him with his black and flowing mane?
Now Horse breakers fear the beast that only you can tame,"

"That's why we need you home son" - then the flow of ink went dry-
This letter was unfinished, and I couldn't work out why.
Until I started reading the letter number three
A yellow telegram delivered news of tragedy.

Her son killed in action - oh - what pain that must have been
The same date as her letter - 3rd November 17
This letter which was never sent, became then one of three
She sealed behind the photo's face - the face she longed to see.

And John's home town's old timers -children when he went to war
Would say no greater cattleman had left the town before.
They knew his widowed mother well - and with respect did tell
How when she lost her only boy she lost her mind as well.

She could not face the awful truth, to strangers she would speak
"My Johnny's at the war you know , he's coming home next week."
They all remembered Bluey he stayed on to the end
A younger man with wooden leg became her closest friend

And he would go and find her when she wandered old and weak
And always softly say "yes dear - John will be home next week."
Then when she died Bluey moved on, to Queensland some did say
I tried to find out where he went, but don't know to this day

And Kathy never wed - a lonely spinster some found odd
She wouldn't set foot in a church - she'd turned her back on God
John's mother left no will I learned on my detective trail
This explains my photo's journey, that clearance sale

So I continued digging cause I wanted to know more
I found John's name with thousands in the records of the war
His last ride proved his courage - a ride you will acclaim
The Light Horse Charge at Beersheba of everlasting fame

That last day in October back in 1917
At 4pm our brave boys fell - that sad fact I did glean
That's when John's life was sacrificed, the record's crystal clear
But 4pm in Beersheba is midnight over here.......

So as John's gallant sprit rose to cross the great divide
Were lightning bolts back home a signal from the other side?
Is that why Billy bolted and went racing as in pain?
Because he’d never feel his master on his back again?

Was it coincidental? same time - same day - same date?
Some proof of numerology, or just a quirk of fate?
I think it's more than that, you know, as I've heard wiser men,
Acknowledge there are many things that go beyond our ken

Where craggy peaks guard secrets neath dark skies torn asunder
Where hoof beats are companions to the rolling waves of thunder
Where lightning cracks like 303's and ricochets again
Where howling moaning gusts of wind sound just like dying men

Some Mountain cattlemen have sworn on lonely alpine track
They've glimpsed a huge black stallion - Light Horseman on his back.
Yes Sceptics say, it's swirling clouds just forming apparitions
Oh no, my friend you cant dismiss all this as superstition

The AGM was held at 7012 Mike and Ginny King’s house attended by 6604 John Gold, 6278 Gerry Dyer, 205169J Margaret & Les Underhay, 23451 Chris Wheeler. 

Unfortunately illness and other reasons brought apologies from 4727 Mike Edden, 5885 Mike Fitton, 5147 Wally Wilton, 25548T Simon Lucas, 6833 Peter Greeff, 5165 Don Silliss, 6994 Colin John, 5848 Dave Clinker, 7429 Frederick Carr-Thompson, 5762 David Bruce, 5757 Ian Milton and 6303 Pete Nortje.

As a result of the paucity of members present the planned social afternoon was postponed and Mike King dealt quickly with the formalities where the committee was returned en bloc with the addition of 23451 Chris Wheeler.

One coffee morning was held in March with John Gold, Mike Edden and 7432 Will Keys when we were joined by other ex-Rhodesians where the current situation and future election in Zimbabwe were the main topic of conversation.

In regard to the lessening of interest in matters Rhodesian, Mike and Rosemary Edden attended a Rhodesians Worldwide morning tea on the 8th April where only eleven people attended and had a long chat with the Secretary who told them of the steadily reducing attendance at their functions, which are held in the CBD every two months.  It is quite clear that ex-Rhodesians and Zimbabweans in Queensland are more concerned with the future than with the past, which is one reason why nearly everyone we know is doing well in this country.

Two days later, Mike Edden, John Gold and Will Keys entertained 5780 Mark Doyle and 5781 Alun Williams to lunch at a local riverside hotel as they had made a special effort to fly from Sydney to Brisbane to see us arriving at 1225 and departing 1630.  The conversation was sufficiently interesting that they nearly missed their departure flight! Mark was visiting Sydney as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Rotary Clubs (Pretoria) “Rotarians for Fighting Aids” and staying with his old squad mate and decided that he wanted to use the opportunity to visit Brisbane and meet some of his old colleagues.  Wally Wilton was due to join us but unfortunately missed us at the venue so he and the Chairman hope to get-together at Wally’s home in the not too distant future. 

Finally, following the Chairman’s second daughter’s 50th birthday on the 19th April, her husband Simon (ex-Karoi farmer, now an Australian restauranteur) held a surprise party for her on the Sunday where there were over 50 guests, most of whom were their friends from Karoi, Tengwe and the Tobacco Auctions, now living in Qld, augmented by their new friends here, most of whom seemed to be Kiwi’s or South Africans, two Canadians and three Australians.  The main topic of conversation covered what everyone was doing now and how they were coping with their new ventures in Australia.

Naturally there was some discussion about the recent election and the efforts that ZANU PF is making to overturn the democratic win for the MDC; a sad and sorry tale about the perfidy of Mugabe and his cohorts but more importantly was how those remaining in Zimbabwe were coping with a very trying life-style.