Repatriation

Most of the Servicemen had completed their five years of overseas service and naturally their families were anxious to get them back as quickly as possible. Edgar Whitehead's major task was to decide on fair priorities in allocating the limited shipping space provided by the British Authorities.

On the other hand some of the younger men enjoyed themselves so much in London with plenty of spending money that when their turn came for repatriation they were difficult to trace. This applied even to some POW's.

At last several hundred berths were allotted in a troopship sailing for Cape Town in June. This was a chance to clear most of their backlog. It was vital every berth be filled. It became necessary to give all due for repatriation instructions at Rhodesia House.

Many of them had married in England and did not wish to bring out their wives in an uncomfortable troopship. Others wanted an extra month or two in Britain, so Edgar put out an order threatening disciplinary action against anyone who failed to report. He knew there was a strong prejudice against the military Liaison Officer who because of circumstances stayed in Salisbury throughout the war at Air HQ. Edgar therefore arranged with his friend Group Captain Charles Green, one of Rhodesia's most distinguished fighter pilots, to act as Draft Commander and gave his Liaison Officer leave.

On the day the Servicemen had to report, they trooped up to the Liaison Officer's office, with every intention of giving him hell, only to find that they were facing a Group Captain with two rows of medal ribbons who told them quietly, "Chaps, we're going home and I'm taking you." There was no further trouble.

Umzimtuti Series

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The historical novel Whitewashed Jacarandas and its sequel Full of Possibilities are both available on Amazon as paperbacks and eBooks.

These books are inspired by Diana's family's experiences in small town Southern Rhodesia after WWII.

Dr. Sunny Rubenstein and his Gentile wife, Mavourneen, along with various town characters lay bare the racial arrogance of the times, paternalistic idealism, Zionist fervor and anti-Semitism, the proper place of a wife, modernization versus hard-won ways of doing things, and treatment of endemic disease versus investment in public health. It's a roller coaster read.

• References:
• Sir Edgar Whitehead's Unpublished Memoirs, Rhodes House, Bodleian Library, Oxford University, by permission.
• Photo Credit: The Battle of Britain London Monument. The Airmen's Stories - F/Lt C.P. Green https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Greencp.htm