Mans story

Buy Once a Pilgrim The True Story of One Mans Courage Under Rebel Fire Will Scully for R75.00

  NO MAN’S LAND – The Story of 1918 by John Toland Softcover – 192x130 mm – Methuen Paperbacks Edition 1982 651 pages – index included – 16 b/w photos – 10 maps V/Good cond. – tightly bound – no inscriptions – age discoloration. “The Sweep and detail are superb.. The Sunday Telegraph.”

This is the story of the sinking of the SS Mendi during WW1, the bravery of the men on board and the ensuing inquiry conducted by the Board of Trade in London. The story follows the small band of survivors to France where they complete their tour of duty. The First World War rages in Europe, it is a white mans war, but when the British government calls for 10 000 black soldiers to be sent to France as a labour force, men from around South Africa volunteer for service. In the foothills of the Drakensberg, Kula Hlongwane, an amaNgwane prince steps forward, followed by a group of his tribesmen. Madondo is ordered to accompany them. For him it is a nightmare from which there is no escape. When crossing the English Channel on the troopship, the SS Mendi, lights loom out of the thick black fog, then a siren blasts. With no time to avoid the collision, the Mendi is struck a devastating blow on the starboard side where Kula and his men lie sleeping. Within minutes, the Mendi begins to sink. The book makes use of various historical documents and the transcripts from the inquiry held in London by the Board of Trade to establish causality for the large loss of life. On conclusion of the inquiry, these transcripts were declared secret and concealed from view for the next 50 years. Men of the Mendi gives an in depth account of the inquiry and the apparent reason for the cover-up.  At 5 am on 21 February 1917, in thick fog about 10 nautical miles (19 km) south of St. Catherine's Point on the Isle of Wight, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company cargo ship Darro accidentally rammed Mendi's starboard quarter, breaching her forward hold. Darro was an 11,484 GRT ship, much larger than Mendi, sailing in ballast to Argentina to load meat. Darro survived the collision but Mendi sank, killing 616 South Africans (607 of them black troops) and 30 crew. Some men were killed outright in the collision; others were trapped below decks. Many others gathered on Mendi's deck as she listed and sank. Oral history records that the men met their fate with great dignity. An interpreter, Isaac Williams Wauchope, who had previously served as a Minister in the Congregational Native Church of Fort Beaufort and Blinkwater, is reported to have calmed the panicked men by raising his arms aloft and crying out in a loud voice: "Be quiet and calm, my countrymen. What is happening now is what you came to do...you are going to die, but that is what you came to do. Brothers, we are drilling the death drill. I, a Xhosa, say you are my brothers...Swazis, Pondos, Basotho...so let us die like brothers. We are the sons of Africa. Raise your war-cries, brothers, for though they made us leave our assegais in the kraal, our voices are left with our bodies." The damaged Darro did not stay to assist. But Brisk lowered her boats, whose crews then rescued survivors. The investigation into the accident led to a formal hearing in summer 1917, held in Caxton Hall, Westminster. It opened on 24 July, sat for five days spread over the next fortnight, and concluded on 8 August. The court found Darro's Master, Henry W Stump, guilty of "having travelled at a dangerously high speed in thick fog, and of having failed to ensure that his ship emitted the necessary fog sound signals." It suspended Stump's licence for a year. Stump's decision not to help Mendi's survivors has been a source of controversy. One source states that it was because of the risk of attack by enemy submarines. Certainly Darro was vulnerable, both as a large merchant ship and having sustained damage that put her out of action for up to three months. But some historians have suggested that racial prejudice influenced Stump's decision, and others hold that he merely lost his nerve. Softcover, 320 pages. First published: February 2017

Orders from Berlin is a British thriller set in . It tells the story of a mans investigation into a murder which turns out to be more complicated than first meets the eye!!   The book is in very good condition.  A gripping read!   Format:  Paperback Date of Publication: Size:  15 x 23  cm Weight:  486g      R25 postage costs. I do combine postage so have a look at other books I have for sale by clicking on the ladybean logo below!    

This book is an updated version of the first and only history of the SADF Dog Centre unit from the old to the new, and also right up to the disbandment of this small and little known unit. It will skillfully guide you, with the help of richly illustrated photographic coverage from the origins of the SADF Dog Centre; along the pitfall-strewn path it had to wander in order to gain the important first-class knowledge necessary to function successfully on our borders. During the bush war phase, they started their experience when it was first deployed, as early as 1967. Ten years later their knowledge was exploited in a unit specially designed to cater for their abilities. Dog handlers of this unit, the South West Africa Specialist Unit, will tell the story of some of the personal experiences they encountered while doing their bit on the border. Although two handlers and eight dogs had to pay with their lives during skirmishes with the enemy, many a life was saved by the vigilance of mans best vriend. Two medals for bravery were awarded to dogs. Peet Coetzee was one of the pioneers of the dog unit, and served for 33 years in the SADF. As the author of bush war books he enjoyed praise for his earlier books as being the most comprehensive and richly illustrated of all bush literature [VOLKSBLAD, Bloemfontein]. Paperback, 300 pages with photos.