Blue and Old Gold: The History of the British South Africa Police 1889–1980 - Hardcover

Gibbs, Peter; Phillips, Hugh; Russell, Nick

9781920143350: Blue and Old Gold: The History of the British South Africa Police 1889–1980

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1920143351 ISBN 13: 9781920143350

Publisher: 30 Degrees South Publishers, 2009

In 1889 Cecil John Rhodes was granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria to settle Mashonaland, in what was to become Southern Rhodesia. So was formed the British South Africa Company; its regiment of troopers raised to protect the occupying Pioneer Column dubbed the British South Africa Police, the BSAP. From the 1893 Matabele War, the 1896 Mashona Rebellion and the Jameson Raid, the Anglo–Boer War, through both world wars and finally to the bitter Rhodesian bush war of the 1960s and ’70s, troopers and officers of this fine regiment of policemen, both black and white, were proudly to the fore, in civilian and military roles ... until the disbandment of the Force in 1980 when the country became the independent Zimbabwe.

Check out the book's website at: http://www.bsap.org/blueoldgoldprom.html

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About the Author:

PETER GIBBS was born in London in 1903, educated at Aldenham, and lived in Bulawayo since 1936. A number of his books have been published in London and New York. He served in the BSA Police Reserve for 21 years, retiring with the rank of reserve superintendent. He was awarded the MBE in 1964

Review:

"Blue and Old Gold is probably the definitive one-volume history of the British South Africa Police (BSAP) and it is unlikely to be trumped anytime soon." --Leon Engelbrecht, defenceWeb

An old gold value indeed it is. Blue and Old Gold - The History of the British South Africa Police (BSAP) is a magnum opus without compare on the history of colonial police in Africa. Covering, in meticulous detail the 90 years of the force's existence, it is a connoisseur's dream and will be hard to emulate. Although the book has a scholarly approach, it is written in an entertaining easily accessible style. The descriptions of the BSAP involvement in the infamous Jameson raid of 1896, the rebellions against the Imperial authority in Matabeleland and Mashonaland, all this and more will enthrall those interested in the interlaced tapestry of Southern African history. The 'final chapter' probes the vacillating leadership at the helm of its last commissioner who was unable to make the meaningful decisions needed to keep the force afloat in the face of internal and external pressures. In relating the history of the BSAP, which was 'on stage' during all the dramas directed largely by politicians of various hues, the book provides a different (and controversial) view of the action and very frank opinions on the directors and actors as the action swept across the southern Africa landscape during those 90 tumultuous years. A thoroughly worthwhile piece of Africana, which should inspire further research and fully deserves its prominent place on my bookshelf. --Paul Naish, manMAGNUM

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