PW_4_2020

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Homeward Trek 1952 Bill Hollington , British South Africa Police, Regimental Association I n 1951 l was stationed at Bikita in Victoria Province , South Africa, with Jack Berry. One evening over a few beers Jack and I decided that an overland journey to Britain would be an adventure. Little did we realise what we were letting ourselves in for. Jack found a Willys Jeep, which we fitted out for the journey. We decided that four people would be a good number for the trip, so we invited Stuart Alford and Dave Craven, who had been in Jack’s Squad. On March 3rd 1952, we set off from Salisbury, enjoying a trouble free trip through Sinoia, Chirundu and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to the Congo Border. Our nights were spent camping by the road or in Rest Areas, or occasionally in little lnns. Everywhere was peaceful and there were no problems at Border Posts in those days. After crossing into the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), the road to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) became dreadful, consisting of wooden logs across the road. In Elisabethville we stayed at the Leopold ll Hotel, which was luxurious for the 1950’s. Elisabethville itself was affluent, as was the whole of the Congo in those days.

These days we think nothing of jumping on a plane to enjoy our international policing relationships. Back in the 1950s, the officers of the British South Africa Police had a much more difficult journey home.

We stayed in a comfortable Game Park Lodge for a few days before continuing our journey through the Congo, reaching the Ituri Forest where the Pygmies live. Sunlight could not penetrate the thick forest and it rained a lot. So the forest appeared dark and was often flooded. At this time we came across two Irishmen in a Morris Minor. They kept moving with the help of Pygmies carrying their car across the flooded areas. We crossed many rivers by chain-driven ferry. It was from one of these that Stuart decided to escape the heat by diving from the front of the ferry. He swam 100 yards to the shore, whilst we all held our breath, because the river was full of crocodiles. Many miles further on we reached a Government Rest Cottage on the banks of Lake Kivu, with a fantastic view of the Mountains of the Moon. After a few days rest we drove on to Costermansville, a beautiful town on the Lake shore, surrounded by mountains. Further on we stayed at the Stanleyville Hotel, enjoying a few beers on the veranda, whilst The Yellow Peril underwent more repairs. After a couple of days we drove to Bangassou, on the Border of French Equatorial Africa, passing through Fort Lamy where we stopped for a while. The scenery became scrub, bordering on desert. Then we drove through the French Cameroons on our way to Kano in Northern Nigeria. 76 miles from Kano, our front axle snapped, so Jack and I hitched a lift. We took the axle to Kano where we found a replacement. We stayed in the hotel at Kano Airport and I remember a large number of vultures sitting on the runway. Stuart and Dave stayed with the truck until we got back. We left Kano on Good Friday and drove into the Sahara Desert. After about 650 miles we ran into a large sand dune, which put the steering out of action. That night, by an absolute fluke, the French Camel Corps came by. The Officer in charge spoke perfect English and sent a message for assistance on our behalf. We had to wait in the Sahara Desert for four days before help arrived. During that time we did not see a single person. There were many sandstorms during the days, but the nights were beautiful. Back in Kano, we abandoned our expedition and flew home.

At this point the vehicle, which we had named The Yellow Peril, started giving us trouble. After a short delay for repairs we set off again, reaching Albertville at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika. Proceeding in a northerly direction, we visited the Albert National Game Park, the county’s biggest Game Reserve. It was fantastic, with every variety of game, in huge numbers. We were even given an Askari (a local soldier serving in Africa’s European colonial armies) to guide us. This was also when our trip could have come to a sudden stop. I was driving and the others were hanging out of the jeep taking photos, when unknown to me a hippo started running alongside the truck. The others began shouting at me to speed up as the hippo was charging us, but I couldn’t hear them over the noise of the engine. We were only saved by the ground being very wet after heavy rains, causing the hippo to fall over. It landed within two feet of our vehicle. Even our armed Askari was terrified.

POLICE WORLD Vol 65 No.4, 2020

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