Legacy

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.