CHAPTER 2: A LITTLE HISTORY

In 1953 the Central African Federation was formed, incorporating Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), and Nyasaland (now Malawi). The British Government assumed they could divest themselves of these colonies and protectorates with very little cost to the British taxpayer. However, the changes sweeping  through Africa, overtook the European colonial powers, and law and order disintegrated into barbaric acts of terrorism. Not all the black African leaders of the three states agreed with the establishment of Federation and, from the mid-1950s, argued for its dissolution. When this was ignored by the Federal Government, the  African nationalists called for civil disobedience.

Trouble began when the nationalist leaders encouraged tribesmen to disobey legal authorities and seize power. They incited others to riot and throw stones and petrol bombs at the police. The police in each of the three countries were separate from each other but were able to call upon the Federal Government for assistance

 In early 1959 a plot to murder the Governor of Nyasaland, Sir Robert Armitage, was discovered and Federal assistance was called. It was soon revealed the airfield at Fort Hill (now called Chitipa), in the very north of Nyasaland, had fallen to rioters. They used drums and trees to block the runway and prevented any troop-carrying aircraft from landing. At this time there was no parachute unit in the Federal Army and it was two weeks before a force of police from neighbouring Tanganyika removed the road blocks and cleared the runway, to enable the RRAF(Royal Rhodesian Air Force) to fly in troops and enforce law and order.

This was the trigger for the introduction of a parachute capability into the Federal Army. If a force of paratroops had been available it would have taken less than a day to regain control of the Fort Hill airfield and there would have been no need for a police force from another country to intervene.  In addition it was feared the Communist Block would gain influence in this mineral rich portion of the globe and there was trouble in the Congo. It seemed prudent to have a force such as the SAS to counter this threat.

However, there were a few problems with this concept. No country had used paratroops at such hot and high altitudes, and, whilst the No.3 Squadron, Royal

Rhodesian Air Force did have a number of DC3 aircraft, it had no parachutes and no means of training such troops. Much of Rhodesia,  is situated on a high bush-veldt plateau, averaging more than 1400 metres (4000 feet) above sea level (ASL). Up to this time most military parachuting had taken place in Europe, during the Second World War, at much lower altitudes, rarely exceeding 300 metres (1000 feet) ASL.

Enter the politicians.  The Federal Government suggested to Britain it would be splendid for the security of the region if C (Rhodesia) Sqn of 22^nd SAS Regiment was reinstated. If the Federation was to have paratroops, they may as well go for the best sort, and C Sqn had done sterling work in Malaya. The Federal Army was very keen on the idea of having a parachute deployment capability and the RRAF was also happy to expand the capability of No.3 Sqn into the parachuting role. Only one question remained, could paratroops be successfully used in the Federation?

Time for a feasibility study. The RAF sent Squadron Leader Errol Minter, a born Rhodesian, to carry out trials. The experiments were of a very secret nature. Just imagine what they were saying in Britain. “I see those silly colonials in Rhodesia want to have paratroops. I wonder how many they kill before they realise it cannot be done at that altitude.”

But Squadron Leader Errol Minter proved it could be done, and a new chapter in the history of parachuting was written by those silly colonials in the bush countryside of “Rebel Rhodesia.”

Rhodesia had a proud military tradition. In World War I it supplied more troops per head of white population, than any other member of the Empire and conscription was necessary to prevent all able bodied men enlisting, leaving essential services to flounder. In WWII, Rhodesian men again flocked to enlist and served with distinction.

  

In 1951, the Korean conflict was in progress and, as usual, Southern Rhodesia volunteered to join the conflict with a token force of 100 men. Only 100 men were wanted, but 1200 volunteered. Young, Sandhurst-graduate, Lieutenant Peter Walls,  trained what was initially known as the Far East Volunteer Group, to fight the communist guerrillas on the other side of the world.This later became C Squadron SAS.

An expert on guerrilla warfare, Major “Mad Mike” Calvert, visited Rhodesia and briefed the 100. They now discovered they were not destined for the Korean conflict after all but were headed instead for the jungles of Malaya to confront the Malayan National Liberation Army brutalising that country. These men joined members of the reactivated Territorial 21SAS of the British Army and became ‘C’ Squadron SAS, known otherwise as the Malay Scouts and identified by Rhodesia shoulder flashes.

The Rhodesians arrived in Singapore in March 1951 and headed North to Kuala Lumpur for their first look at the Malay jungle. The SAS Malay Scouts were about to make the jungle a very dangerous place for the MNLA guerrillas to establish bases. The SAS denied hiding places to the terrorists and drove them into the open where other soldiers would engage.

These Rhodesian soldiers learned the importance of accurate navigation and were also amongst the first troops to parachute into the jungle. The 22^nd SAS regiment continued to operate in the jungles of Malaya for two years and later served in Borneo until 1960. When the Emergency in Malaya was declared over most of the Rhodesians returned home and back to their civilian occupations.

Two of these men, however, remained in the Rhodesian Army Staff Corps. Lieutenant-General Peter Walls, the original commander of C Sqn SAS in Malaya,

later became the commander of Combined Operations, and Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly became the founding commander of the famous Selous Scouts.

During this period C Sqn SAS of 22 SAS regiment still remained the Rhodesian Squadron. C Squadron was disbanded when these men finished their tour of duty, but, after the success of the parachuting trials conducted by Squadron Leader Errol Minter, it was reformed and volunteers from The Rhodesian Army Staff Corps became the first students of the Rhodesian Air Force Parachute Training School.