Post-war Britain had little to offer its returning soldiers. There
were no jobs, no accommodation, and the continued inconvenience of
rationing. So when a disgruntled ex-soldier produced a battered
1945 copy of the Natal Mercury showing wonderful views of the bay,
the sunny Durban beachfront and Victoria Embankment, it didn't take
much persuasion to convince a group of young people that this
'tropical paradise' was where their future lay. But other families
had the same idea of emigration, and any form of regular transport
was fully booked for two years. Undaunted, the group decided to
travel overland. On hearing of this, 200 people applied to join
them. One was "a stuttering young man of about 20 yrs, unshaven,
peering at me through 'bottle-bottom' thick lenses set in
horn-rimmed frames, and wearing an oversized army great coat down
to his ankles." He scribbled stories along the way and gave them to
the trekkers to read. Little did they know that the young man would
become a famous novelist. Twenty-five people (including a
three-year-old girl) were eventually selected to join the group,
many of them chosen for their qualifications as engineers or
mechanics who would be a useful asset to the travellers. After the
acquisition of some ex-army trucks and much careful planning, the
group had a civic send-off from Blackpool on a snowy January day in
1947. This interesting historical memoir tells of their four-month
journey from the north of England, through Europe, Algeria, the
Sahara, French West Africa, Niger, Cameroon, French Equatorial
Africa, Belgian Congo, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, South Africa
to Durban. During the trip they meet with many colourful
characters, including Dr Frances Wakefield, the only white woman
for 1000 miles. Her fascinating story has inspired a writer to
research and write a book about her. The trekkers have tea with an
Arab chieftain; find themselves inadvertently in a gambling den; a
practical joker causes them to travel an extra unnecessary 1000
miles; they cross hippo-infested rivers on rickety ferries;
pregnancy and a slight touch of malaria are dealt with; vital
papers are left behind; they stay overnight in army barracks and
are witness to an attempted burglary; they pass through 'fly-sheds'
for the trucks to be sprayed against the dreaded tsetse fly, and
yet the group overcome all these, and other obstacles, without any
serious disagreements. The overwhelming memory is the interest and
kindness shown to them during their journey. Strangers inviting
them to stay in their homes, giving them meals and food to take on
their journey, advising them where to stay and routes to take, and
the many job offers they all had, resulting in just one couple (the
writer, her husband and three-year-old daughter) actually making it
all the way to Durban.
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