Fiction by former BSA Police members

The British South Africa Police force is steeped in the history of then Rhodesia and much has been written about the force over the years by historians, adventurers and a good number of former members themselves. This page attempts to bring to you a bibliography of works which make reference to the British South Africa Police.

The Webmaster's grateful thanks is extended to the active members of the BSAP History group (See Discussion Groups) who put this list together and the group's moderator Geoff Quick who allowed this list to be published on these pages for your benefit.

Please note that the new history, Blue and Old Gold, in now in distribution

Farnsworth, Kenneth BSA Police 110949; Served 1979 to 1982
Brothers in Blood
Sable Publishing House, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-906255-36-7
Book awaiting review by former members.
10 December 2010

GOOD, Peter BSA Police 6193; Served 1960 to 1967
Ndlovu - The White Elephant
Pneumasprings, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-907728-22-8
The White Elephant is a pacy story set in Zimbabwe during the turbulent years that followed Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence. The story highlights the dangers of police work in the explosive climate of a troubled country during years of the terror war and is woven around human suffering, painful endurance, and horrors that confronted the peoples both black and white. The narrative is loosely based upon the author’s own experiences in the police force of what was then Rhodesia. Thus the action of his story is set against an authentic background which the author experienced and the impeccable writing style gives a palpable vividness to the events - source www.publishedbestsellers.com
27 November 2011

JONES, Geraint BSA Police 9270/110767; Served 1974 to 1980

Landsong
Urungwe, 2006
ISBN: 0-9553231-0-X
In Africa things don't always go according to plan - particularly when politics, witchcraft and war intervene. Set in an era of political turmoil and change, the story that weaves itself around Jairos Mapfumo's life is one of courage and dignity; of despair, compromise and surrender. A gifted village boy is discovered by a schoolteacher and a priest who groom him for success in the emerging modern Africa; but fate has different plans for Jairos Mapfumo. A small tragedy in his home village, a flurry in the winds of change sweeping across Africa and the malice of unseen agents conspire to rob Jairos of his brilliant future. This is a story of human circumstance in an Africa beset with massive countervailing forces. It follows the fortunes of a talented young man as he is challenged by the maelstrom events of the end of the colonial era, the tantalising progression that governs the process of human, the petty politics of village life, to witness his final confrontation with the fragile thing that is life on the beautiful but benighted continent. 'Landsong' is a uniquely African story that gifts the reader with imagery and insights, carefully and sensitively crafted by a writer shose love of Africa radiates from every page.

KING, Michael J BSA Police 7012; Served 1963 to 1981

The Horns of a Dilemma (Click title to buy)
CreateSpace, 2012
ISBN: 9781475241785
The author, Michael King, was born in Kenya where he lived with his parents and two brothers in mainly small district locations scattered around the country. He migrated to Southern Rhodesia after completing his schooling in Nairobi, where he joined the British South Africa Police (BSAP) in 1963. During the course of his service he remained in Salisbury Province apart from a short stint at Vila Salazar on the Portuguese border. His duties were in accordance with those of an urban policeman. He later became Officer in Charge Police Anti-Terrorist Unit (PATU) Salisbury Province and OIC Braeside. As a member of PATU he was called upon to carry out duties in the rural areas in the north of the country seeking out communist terrorists. His prowess in this regard was to later stand him in good stead as a team leader of the Salisbury Urban Emergency Unit commonly called SWAT which brought him into direct contact with terrorists who had infiltrated the urban townships. He was slightly wounded during one such contact. Apart from urban police stations Mike was also engaged in Traffic Section, Highway Patrol, Police Driving School at Cranborne and the Sub Aqua Section. Mike resigned from the BSA Police in 1981 as a Chief Inspector and immigrated to Australia where his previous experiences ensured employment with the Queensland Government. Having retired in 2010 Mike and his wife Ginny have taken to travelling to interesting places such as South Africa, Namibia and Botswana in search of the exotic wild animals in the many game reserves of that part of the world. He has since produced not only his father’s memoirs but his own as well. His life experiences and love of the bush and its wildlife triggered the idea of a novel culminating in the “Horns of a Dilemma”. Mike is a rare author who kills off the first few heroes of this story, then exposes the greed and corruption of the new breed of black and white villains in Africa; the tragedy of the white farming community in Zimbabwe, until the last hero to appear, Andy Robinson, works on behalf of the Zambian Government to help eradicate the trade in Illegal rhino and ivory poaching along the Zambezi River. It is an excellent read with authentic experiences to tell the tale. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and look forward to more that I hope will come.
Mike Edden
28 July 2012

MACASKILL, Glenn ; BSA Police: BSA Police 6538; Served 1961 to 1980

Crime Lords
Sunninghill: Crest Publishing 2007
ISBN: 0-620-36471-8 “Anyone who enjoys a conspiracy theory will get a kick out of this book…my curiosity was aroused by the suggestion of corrupt links between criminals and police…Macaskill avoids the paranoia pitfall, weaving a cogent plot filled with credible characters.” Norman Sheppard, Johannesburg CITIZEN newspaper 7th December 2006.
“Glenn Macaskill’s Crime Lords reads like the front page of most South African newspapers…it is very fast-paced and keeps the leader glued as the author tackles the world of crime syndicates operating in Southern Africa…Crime Lords will take you into places you don’t want to believe exist, showing you the seedier side of our society.” Andrew Beet, Pretoria News 25th June 2007.
“Your story has all the hallmarks of a best seller…gripping and such a page-turner…could not put it down…commend you on the educational value of the text…unusual for a novel of this genre…detailed insight that you give of the methods, the thinking, the organization and the commitment of the people in the police…everybody here and abroad should read it.” Wim Ahlers, Author.


Hunt the Assassin
Sunninghill: Crest Publishing 2011
ISBN: 978-0-620-50760-8 “In 1897 Iain MacKinnon, unaware that he was the illegitimate son of Queen Victoria, was apprehended by Scotland Yard in the act of attempting to assassinate her. Convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, the British Queen, unaware of their relationship, signed his reprieve and a life sentence of imprisonment lay ahead for her bastard son in Newgate Prison. Within a year, aided by his former partner from Bombay, Patrick Rogan, MacKinnon ingeniously succeeds in making a daring escape. It was unthinkable for the police professionally - and politically damaging to the government and royal family - that he who had received clemency from the Queen should escape justice.
Expert Scotland Yard homicide detectives are in pursuit and the trail leads from England to South Africa where signs of a second Anglo-Boer war are looming. The existing Afrikaner republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State are preparing to resist another attempt by the British to annex them to their famous empire. Amidst the often lawless wildcat mining, and the political turmoil of South Africa in the late 19th century, the chase is relentless.
In this compelling narrative with its intriguing twists and turns between winning and losing, a tenacious team of English detectives is determined to run MacKinnon down. They are up against a redoubtable pair of adversaries in a showdown which eventually leads to an absorbing climax of the battle of wits in the still savage South African bushveld.
27 November 2011

NAISMITH,Harry BSA Police 7795; Served 1967 to 1980
Weapons of Mass Destruction - The Zimbabwe Connection(Click title to buy)
Amazon/Kindle ebooks 2011
ASIN: B004UMFMKM
Brian Callison, the internationally acclaimed best-selling author of “Flock of Ships”, “The Bone Collectors”, “Trapp’s War” and many others, had the following to say about this book: “This debut novel is a cracker written by someone who’s been there. Mr Naismith offers a fascinating insight into the gun-oil reeking courage and fear, and sometimes cynical self-contemptuous world, of those who risk their lives as military ‘contractors’ in the most violent arenas of Africa. From Zimbabwe to Iraq, to its violent dénouement, Weapons Of Mass Destruction will keep the eyes of every armchair mercenary firmly glued to the page.”
Anne Dewe, director of a leading London firm of Literary Agents – Andrew Mann Limited – had the following to say about this book: “This exciting thriller is graphically told and based closely on experience. David Bradley and his team of security experts are in trouble both in Zimbabwe and, by an unexpected connection, in Iraq. I was entirely gripped by it and found myself constantly thinking “that’s how it is - that is really how it is”. It is not an escapist or a literary story, it is harsh truth and reality, convincing and in some ways startling. Not a read to send you to sleep but definitely one to recommend”.
10 April 2011

TILBURY Ken BSA Police 6723; Served 1962 to 1965
Black Mamba White Settler
Kindle, 2012
A thoroughly fascinating read with vivid descriptions of Swaziland, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique. Having been brought up and lived through similar circumstances, the author has rekindled the memories of that time. I applaud the author for his creation of a 'good read', although slightly spoilt by the odd typo and reference to ZIPRA as the armed wing of ZANU when it should have been ZANLA. Congratulations Ken.
Alastair Morgan
Updated: 23 March 2013

WARE, John William BSA Police 4200; Served 1947 to 1950
The Curve of the Tusk (Click title to buy)
Indepenpress Publishers Limited, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-906710-24-8
Tony Frame, ex soldier-turned mounted police officer, is called upon to head up the desperate search deep in the African bush for a missing plane. But alarm bells start to ring with the discovery that an extra passenger was on board the small aircraft – unlicensed to travel. To add to the mystery, Frame discovers a cigarette case containing four precious, flawless emeralds. And just who are the two so-called journalists that have followed him to a remote island where he is sent by his boss to recover from his near-death experience with malaria? The Curve of the Tusk – not just a thrilling read but a taste of the stunning African wildlife and how man has cruelly wiped his smears across it.

The Dunes of Langebaan(Click title to buy)
Pen Press Publishers Limited, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-907172-43-4
Set mainly during the 1940s and 50s in the copperbelt of then Northern Rhodesia, the west coast of South Africa and the ports of Germany, The Dunes of Langebaan is a tale of secrets and discoveries, and how the unravelling of bygone mysteries can draw together apparently disparate lives. When Mark Wilton returns from World War II a much changed man, his dreams of working in the family boat-building business have also irrevocably altered, and he heads for Northern Rhodesia to train and work as a miner. There he meets Koos DuPlessis, a man hewn by his past, and as the two form a firm friendship and eventually leave the mines for ventures new in South Africa, Mark begins to live his personal dream and becomes embroiled with a lovely young woman with a tragic heritage… and the destructive world of heroin-dealing.

BSA Police dog handler
The BSA Police Dog Section was first a part of the CID.