Winds of Destruction: The Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot

Author’s Note

WHILE RESEARCHING MY FAMILIES’ backgrounds I ran into difficulties that forced me to rely entirely on faded memories of aged relatives because no written legacies exist. So in 1984 I started recording my own life’s story with the simple objective of leaving a permanent record, in hopes that my family would record their own historical narratives for successive generations to build upon. But then in January 2000 I was persuaded by Rhodesian friends to expand on what I had recorded, to meet a need for at least one Rhodesian Air Force story told at an individual level. Consequently this book is not an historical account of the most efficient air force of its day; nor does it cover important subjects that did not involve me either directly or indirectly. Nevertheless, my experiences are unique and sufficiently wide-ranging to give readers a fair understanding of the force I served, and reveal something of the essence of Rhodesia and her thirteen-year bush war.

In 1980, the long struggle to prevent an immensely successful country from falling into the hands of political despots, particularly Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his goons, was lost at political level. This was because of relentless international pressure against the white government of Ian Smith in favour of ‘immediate’ black-majority rule. Britain’s ruling parties had not only failed to uphold promises of independence for Rhodesia, they totally disregarded every warning of the calamity that would befall the country and its people if ‘one man—one vote’ was prematurely forced into effect. Now, after more than twenty-five years in power, Robert Mugabe’s ZANU (PF) has exposed Britain’s disastrous folly and proven that Rhodesian fears were well founded. Too late to prevent the appalling mess that exists in modern-day Zimbabwe, our efforts to preserve responsible government have now been fully justified.

However, upon gaining power, Robert Mugabe and his ZANU (PF) cohorts became paranoid about the security of their personal positions. This led to the implementation of laws that ensured white Zimbabweans were denuded of personal weapons, military paraphernalia and any Rhodesian documentation that might be used against ZANU Having handed in my own weapons in 1980, I took the precaution of destroying all my diaries. This book reveals some of the reasons why such hasty action was taken but I have lived to regret dumping twenty diaries into the septic tank of our Salisbury home. In hindsight I realise that I should have buried them deep for later recovery. Nevertheless, the consequence of my error is that Winds of Destruction is, for the most part, written from memory. I offer no excuse for inevitable errors in detail that the ageing mind may have created, because the essence of this book is correct. Nor do I make any apology for naiveté on political issues, as military personnel in my time were strictly apolitical and this may show in my personal opinions.

During the great wars men left their families for months or years at a time. In Rhodesia this was not the case. Typically, many soldiers, airmen and policemen were in the field for periods of six weeks or more and returned home to rest and retraining for no more that ten days before returning to the bush. This cycle imposed incredible strains on men and their families. A two-year stretch in action and six months at home might have been easier to bear because short-duration homecomings tended to cause higher stress levels. From an environment of ‘blood and guts’ a serviceman was expected to instantly revert to the tranquillity and comforts of home life without being able to share his experiences and fears with his loved ones. The family on the other hand, though forced to living a life without ‘dad’, expected him to be the relaxed and fatherly character of a stable family from the very moment he came home. They had no idea of his harboured secrets and built-up tensions. In reality ‘dad’ could not reconcile himself to the normality he encountered away from ‘the sharp end’ and probably drank too much with his friends after a day of retraining. He then became subdued, even difficult, in the last couple of days before returning to the bush. Misunderstandings caused too many marriages to fail or left deep-seated problems in those that survived. Mine survived thanks to my beloved wife Beryl who guided our children through the Tough times.

It is for these reasons that I dedicate this book to my wife Beryl, my daughter Debbie, my son Paul, and to all those wonderful wives and widows of Rhodesian servicemen who kept the home fires burning and sustained our will to fight on for our country.

My thanks go to my friend, Air Marshal Sir John Baird, retired Surgeon General to Britain’s armed services and Queen’s Physician, for very kindly reading my draft work, which helped eliminate many obvious typographical errors. Thank you Sir John. Special thanks also go to Professor Richard and Carole Wood for reading my first draft and giving me the encouragement and direction I needed to complete this book.