Brian Dawtrey

In 1967 the UK government (OSAS) posted Brian to the Copperbelt Province of Zambia at a time when the southern borders were being closed, thus threatening food shortages. Zambia was emerging from a recent past of torrid racial discrimination engendered by its association with the Apartheid regime of South Africa. The abiding love between Jo and Brian gave them the strength to transcend the obstacles encountered such as the mistrust of white faced authority, intractable government regulations, and highly organized poaching of Game. Jo and Brian were in pursuit of their lifelong dedication to save wildlife. Brian had been an Honorary Wildlife Ranger for 16 years, and became the Copperbelt Chairman of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Zambia. Brian shares his witty and informative memoirs alongside a colourful cast of friends and acquaintances. Indeed a life out of the ordinary.

In 1967 the UK government (OSAS) posted Brian to the Copperbelt Province of Zambia at a time when the southern borders were being closed, thus threatening food shortages. Zambia was emerging from a recent past of torrid racial discrimination engendered by its association with the Apartheid regime of South Africa. The abiding love between Jo and Brian gave them the strength to transcend the obstacles encountered such as the mistrust of white faced authority, intractable government regulations, and highly organized poaching of Game. Jo and Brian were in pursuit of their lifelong dedication to save wildlife. Brian had been an Honorary Wildlife Ranger for 16 years, and became the Copperbelt Chairman of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Zambia. Brian shares his witty and informative memoirs alongside a colourful cast of friends and acquaintances. Indeed a life out of the ordinary.

It is 1962. Imagine leaving behind all that is familiar and comfortable in Norfolk, to travel to an uncharted posting in Tanganyika, with three small children and all your worldly goods, whilst your friends and relations predict doom and disaster in the `Dark Continent'. This is the adventure that Brian Dawtrey and his family embarked upon, armed with a black rolled umbrella with a gold band to fight off primitive savages, and a brand new hoover washing machine.From the moment that they leave England's shores, you are swept along by their enthusiasm and lust for all that face them - from recalcitrant hippopotami, charging elephants and a life-saving leopard, to welcoming tribes-people and the glorious unspoilt African bush. Unfazed by minor setbacks such as the lack of electricity to drive the Hoover, and confrontations with unwelcoming snakes, the Dawtrey family revel in their new surroundings and the challenges of their new life under the Nyerere regime of Uhuru (Freedom).Witty, evocative and awe-inspiring, this charming book is a testament to the pioneering spirit of those who chose to embrace Africa at a time of great change, and to help its people to capitalise on their natural skills and resources.

Brian Dawtrey with his wife and three children spent twenty four years working in the Overseas Aid programme in Africa.Brian was an Honorary Wildlife Ranger and a onetime Chairman of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Zambia, in addition to his normal duties.Brian loves the natural world which led him to feel sympathy for the ostriches that have to eek-out a living in desert environments. His imagination led him to visualize a holiday for an ostrich, with his grandchildren, in England's `green and pleasant land'.Brian has published three biographical books in his series headed Wild Africa, and Life At Home Farm.