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603 pages

English

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Description

An exciting autobiography about the life of a game ranger, Special Force soldier and professional hunter in Southern Africa. The book also ends with a discerning look into the work of contract Security Escort Teams in Iraq where the author spent two years.

Sujets

Lettres et linguistique

Informations

Publié par	Kevin Thomas
Date de parution	29 janvier 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781783013418
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	4 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0850€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Shadows In An African Twilight
Game Ranger • Soldier • Hunter
Kevin Thomas
Foreword by
Capt. John H. Brandt (Ret)

Copyright © 2008 by Kevin D. Thomas
kevin@uthekwanepress.co.za
The right of Kevin D. Thomas to be identified as the Author of the work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Act 98 of 1978.
All rights reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, re-use of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on CD, microfilm or in other ways, and storage in data banks. No part of this publication may be produced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission given by the Author.
First Published in Cape Town, South Africa 2008
First Edition printed in November 2008
Cover design by Dennis D. Thomas
Typesetting & book styling
by Barbara Mueller
a project by New Voices Publishing
www.newvoices.co.za
This Work is registered to uThekwane Press
www.uthekwanepress.co.za

ISBN 978-0-620-39727-8

Dedication
To Brenda, for her understanding, patience, and support over the last thirty five years, and to our sons Brett, Keith and Dennis who have, without complaint, suffered many decades of a nomadic game ranging, soldiering, professional hunting and adventure-seeking father – yet still done us proud.

Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE
Early Years
A Cadet Game Ranger’s Lot
Game Scouts and Poachers
The Annual Shangaan Fish Drive
Moving On
CHAPTER TWO
Zambezi Valley Memories
CHAPTER THREE
Killer Lions
Shapi Pan: Wankie National Park
Bumi Hills: Lake Kariba
CHAPTER FOUR
Death In The Urungwe
CHAPTER FIVE
Rhodesian Game Rangers and Counter Insurgency
Game Rangers on early Pseudo Operations
Operation Hurricane
National Parks: Combat Trackers
Operation Hurricane
‘D’ Camp: Zambezi Valley January 1974
North Eastern Zimbabwe: Operation Hurricane
Mana Pools: Zambezi Valley March 1977
Mavuradona Mountains
Operation Hurricane February 1976
Wankie National Park
National Parks Forts
Chizarira National Park
CHAPTER SIX
Selous Scouts: Pseudo Operator
First Selous Scouts Selection January 1974
Dark Phase Training
Chigango & Gungwa Mountain
CHAPTER SEVEN
Counter Insurgency Pseudo-Gang Operations Continue
2 Troop – First Contact
Mtoko District: Nyadiri River
Pseudo Op with Sgt Russell Jenkinson: 2 Troop Sept 1974
Observation Posts, Pseudo-Gangs & Fire Force Call Out
CHAPTER EIGHT
An Escalating Bush War
ZANLA’s Vietnam
Ambushed By The SAP
Terrorist Obert Dhliwayo in the Ngorima TTL: Circa May 1975
Early ZIPRA Incursions Into The Omay TTL
Break From Pseudo Operations
Pseudo Ops Against ZIPRA Continue: Mapangola Hills Omay TTL
Honde Valley
Gonarezhou: Matibi 2 TTL
Alpha Bombs on Op Repulse
Selous Scouts: Mounted Wing
CHAPTER NINE
An End to my Soldiering Career
Selous Scout Deaths in the Nyajena: February 1978
Selous Scouts: Training Troop
My Soldiering Career Ends
The Compromised CID / National Parks Raid
The Immediate Aftermath
South Africa
Thirty Years On
More Questions Than Answers
CHAPTER TEN
Hippo Attack On The Kwando
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nyati, Africa’s Most Tenacious
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ciskei Reflections
Our Final Years In Ciskei
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Hunting Introduced Exotics in South Africa
Fallow Deer
Climb For Your Aoudad
Himalayan Tahr
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Africa’s Pugnacious Spiral Horn
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Twenty One Days Squeezed Into Seven
Lukosi River Leopard
Using Enough Gun (with due respect to Robert Ruark)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Battle of The Gwayi
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Spiral Horned Monarchs
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Crocodile Attack
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Lucky Hunter
CHAPTER TWENTY
Snakes Alive (and sometimes dead)
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Rifles as Management Tools and Dogs as Hunting Aids
To Bay or Not To Bay
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Black & Blue: A Hunting Tale of Wildebeest Types
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Gun Talk
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Chirisa Buffalo Yarns
The Old Man and the Buffalo
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
White and (Black) Mischief in the Eastern Cape Safari Industry
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
An Iraq Interlude
Appendix 1
Bibliography
Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Foreword
In developing this Foreword, I asked the author, Kevin Thomas, if there were any particularly outstanding details of his life experiences that should be highlighted. He replied modestly, that he really could not think of any! I have known Kevin for some twenty years and have consistently regarded him as the embodiment of what many of we, his readers, define as the ideal modern man of action. When we attempt to step into someone else’s shoes, we often find that the shoes only partially fit. A few of us may have shared some of his multitude of hair-raising experiences with a variety of dangerous game and also during conflict. To have encountered much of what he has, and survived, is fortunate indeed. The fact that he has survived to tell so many exciting tales is little short of a miracle for him and an enjoyable treat for us. His many years as a National Parks game ranger, professional hunter, outfitter, guide and soldier in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), makes him highly qualified to describe life and death in the bush. In 1968, at age 17 he was selected by the Rhodesian Government for one of the few highly contested positions of cadet game ranger, which put him on the track for the many exciting years to come. But that was only the beginning.
Kevin’s roots are deeply embedded in the sands of Africa, and date back to 1820, when his British forebears became early settlers in South Africa’s Eastern Cape colony. However, like many others, his family moved on and in time settled in the old Rhodesia, where his fascination with the outdoors, wildlife and hunting became firmly entrenched. Growing up in Rhodesia provided him with the experience that only the ‘Old Africa’ could provide. He, along with many others, saw this gradually disappear with the introduction of fences, settlements and game ranches. The days of spontaneously loading a truck with food, gasoline, spare tyres, tents, along with other necessities for safari, and then hunting wherever the hunting looked good, are now long gone. Most of us have been forced to accept that hunting changes along with everything else in life.
In endorsing a book of this nature, it would be tempting to concentrate solely on Kevin’s outstanding hunting skills but that would be selling him short. I would not be doing Kevin’s multifarious talents full justice if I failed to mention his life-long long interest in wildlife management and conservation, irrespective of whether the subject is big-game, birds, fish, butterflies or dung-beetles.
His varied gifts as writer, artist and craftsman prove his versatility, a feature that has made him such an interesting friend and delightful company over the long period I have known him.
The concept of ‘Hunter-Warrior’, which many big game hunters often apply to themselves, is one, which fits the author particularly well. Witnessing the end of the colourful colonial era was a sorrow in itself but Kevin stepped forward, manfully, as did many other young Rhodesians to defend a way of life they could not save. From the initial 100 candidates in early 1974, he was one of about fifteen selected for the famed Rhodesian Selous Scouts, admittedly one of the finest guerrilla Special Operations’ Forces ever established in any war. He remained in the regular Rhodesian Army until just before the ‘Winds of Change’ blowing across Africa brought that conflict to an end.
Whenever and wherever veterans gather, exchanging ‘War Stories’ is par for the course, but Kevin’s war efforts did not end on that one adventure alone. After the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces, Kevin volunteered his services as a civilian Private Security Officer and was assigned to Baghdad in January 2004, where he soon became the Erinys Security Manager of the International Relief Development program and was later made Erinys Sector Manager in Basra. After two years in Iraq, he returned to South Africa, physically and spiritually intact.
Kevin once informed me that he could think of no highlights in his life, but I reckon I could write a text on each adventure alone! As you read Kevin’s vivid, firsthand account of his exciting adventures, you will find yourselves empathising with the ‘Hunter-Warrior’ and may realise, for the first time, just how many unsung heroes there have been among our unique brotherhood of hunters and soldiers. We owe them all our respect and regret their gradual passing.
John H. Brandt
Captain (ret)
Alamosa, Co
November 2006

Acknowledgements
My grateful thanks go to Brenda, my wife, for her constant support (over many years) while I have slaved away with my single finger style of typing; also a sincere thanks to Brett, our eldest son, and computer boffin extraordinaire who was always there to patiently solve the many problems when I fought with my PC – and to calm my impatient persona . Also, to Keith, our middle boy and successful career gun maker, his interest and feedback gave me confidence that my stories had a readership. While staying with family, my grateful thanks also, to our youngest son Dennis, an accomplished writer and photographer who’s constructive criticism of my writing is always highly valued. Also for his support during the writing of the