Kalahari Killings is a nonfiction historical book by Jonathan Laverick published by
the UK based publisher, The History Press. Laverick lives in Botswana and has
done for many years. He is currently a teacher at Maruapula.
The
book is about the killing of two British pilots, Gordon Edwards and Walter
Adamson, who were training to become pilots in camps in Zimbabwe during World
War II. On a routine exercise in October 1943, they got off track, ran out of
fuel, and landed in the bush some distance away from Nata in the then
Bechuanaland. They leave a note explaining that the plane needs oil and fuel
and that they are going to walk to get help. They were never seen again.
For
two months it appeared as if the two young men had disappeared into thin air-
but they hadn’t. They’d been murdered; allegedly murdered by a group of San
people, who initially appeared as if they were going to help the two men, but
then changed their minds when they feared the Britons would turn them in for
hunting a giraffe. This book is about the events leading up to the murder and
the trial that took place in Lobatse in 1944.
There
are many things that I adore about this book. In the first section of the book,
Laverick alternates chapters between events in the UK and what is happening in
Botswana. In a quick and efficient manner, he gives a Botswana history lesson
to the many readers who may have had little to no contact with our beautiful
country. He does it skilfully and with great detail and in a surprisingly interesting
way, no easy job. This is the work of a writer with exceptional talent.
Meanwhile
in the UK chapters, we are following our future victim, Gordon, as he makes his
way toward his dream of becoming a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He works
first as an aeroplane mechanic for most of the war, until finally managing to pass
his health test that allows him to attend pilot school in Bulawayo, a school
perfectly placed to be out of the enemy’s eye. He was on one of his final test
flights, just about to finally achieve his dream, when the plane goes down.
I’m
a sucker for anyone with passion and it is clear that Laverick has huge passion
for planes. He knows them inside out and for anyone who is interested in planes
too, I would suggest you read this book. But for folks like me, with a love of
history and an interest in murder stories of all kinds, this book is a real
treat, especially since it takes place in Botswana.
The
trial sections in the book are absolutely fascinating. Besides the gruesome
details that emerge, there are interesting cultural aspects that come up. I found the barriers of trying to force one
language into another especially interesting. The court officials had to take a
San language, translate it to Setswana, and then to English; the questions
being translated again in the other direction. The restrictions and loss of
meaning caused by this can be clearly understood. You also see the ways in
which language creates our world, defines it, and because of that either limits
it or expands it.
A
writer with less ambition would have stopped after the verdict of the trial,
but Laverick is completely engrossed in his own tale just as I was. He finishes
every storyline, much to my satisfaction as a reader. We learn what happened to
the flight schools in Zimbabwe, what happened to Gordon’s mother and fiancĂ©,
what happened to Twai Twai Molele, the main suspect in the murders.
For
anyone interested in law, history, Botswana, airplanes, WWII, or just a good
story told well, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it; it’s one of
the best books I’ve read this year.
(This first appeared in my column, It's All Write, in Mmegi on 4 September, 2015)
1 comment:
I am David Adamson, nephew of Walter Adamson and effectively his next of kin. I only found out about Walter's fate by an amazing coincidence in 1998, and only discovered the real story this year when I came across this book. I lived with Walter's mother ( my gran) until her death in 1970, and although she kept a photo of Walter, no-one told me anything, including my father Bill, Walter's brother. Jonathan knew nothing of me until the book was published, which is why not much about Walter is written. I supplied the photo of Walter you can see on the book's facebook page. It is still hard to understand why it was a sensational family story about which I knew nothing, and was lucky to find out. Amazing.
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