The British Empire Library


My African Stories

by Tony Goddard


Courtesy of OSPA


W R Lindsay-Stewart (N Rhode sia/Zambia 1954-70)
Tony Goddard's excellent memoir My African Stories covers three distinct periods - firstly his early childhood in Northern Rhodesia with his Colonial Service parents, and subsequent university life in England; secondly his time as a District Officer in the bush in the three years running up to Zambian Independence in 1964; and finally the brief post-independence period during which he was Resident Magistrate in a remote part of the Barotse Province.

He manages to cover all three periods with light-hearted anecdotes that give largely personal but relevant snapshots of the last days of indirect colonial rule in Zambia and the early days of Independence. Apart from the grisly localised uprising of the Lumpa Church in 1963 (also covered by John Hudson in his book A Time to Mourn) Zambia was fortunate in having a well ordered and relatively peaceful transition to Independence in 1964.

Nevertheless, Independence naturally resulted in major changes in the way in which the country was run. The old system of indirect rule favoured by the British throughout the years of Empire was one of the first to be scrapped. Tony Goddard, with a perspective gained from extensive periods spent as a District Officer in the bush, lovingly describes the old system of working through the local Paramount Chief, and the Tribal Council. But he was also witness to its replacement by a highly centralised, politically controlled civil service that sadly led inexorably to ever increasing urbanisation and rural stagnation and decline.

On a more personal note Tony Goddard highlights the spirit of trust and understanding that existed between the expatriate District Officers and the Chiefs, as representatives of the traditional rural society, and the even closer relationship between the expatriate District Officer and his personal staff. These were relationships that served the old system well, but gradually mutated as the post-independence changes took root. It speaks volumes for all concerned that they have been replaced by a non-racial, colour-blind governing class that has, incidentally, recently welcomed to the country a significant number of dispossessed white farmers from Zimbabwe.

My African Stories will also be of special interest to readers fortunate enough to have experienced the wildlife riches of the Luangwa Valley, and they will have seen the fruits of an enlightened game policy based on full local participation, which was initiated over 50 years ago by the colonial government in collaboration with the old Paramount Chief Nsefu. One of the best camps in the Valley still bears his name - a fitting monument to a remarkable man (with whom Tony Goddard developed a close friendship).

Footnote: The writer of this review was stationed in Fort Jameson (now Chipata) in 1954-56 almost a decade before Tony Goddard. He initially worked with the Kunda but later was given a special assignment to carry out a survey of the Ngoni people. To write this review has therefore been an especially great pleasure and restored many happy memories of the people and the writer's family.

British Empire Book
Author
Tony Goddard
Published
2004
Pages
176
Publisher
The Memoir Club
ISBN
1 84104 1 2 11
Availability
Abebooks
Amazon


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