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Nick Skipworth-Michell
Nick was born in Salisbury (now Harare) on 25th August 1961. He had the usual upbringing insofar as attending Junior School where he achieved Prefect status, followed by one year in a Rhodesian Hig...view moreNick was born in Salisbury (now Harare) on 25th August 1961. He had the usual upbringing insofar as attending Junior School where he achieved Prefect status, followed by one year in a Rhodesian High School before his mother decided that UK was a better bet for the future and he was shipped off to England to attend boarding School in the South West of England. His brother who was 5 years older attended the same School but as a senior had little to no contact and he fended for himself in this alien environment, all the while homesick for his Country of birth.He left School after completing his O levels and worked as a Hall Porter in a local hotel while deciding his future. As if lead by the hand of fate, he decided one day to return to Rhodesia and join the Armed Forces as he had had a fixation on all news pertaining to the unfolding political situation and intensifying war in Rhodesia.With his earnings he bought a ticket to Salisbury and packed up his meager belongings into one “blue” suitcase arriving in Salisbury on 5th February 1979 aged 17 to enlist in the Rhodesian Army. Medicine had always been of interest so the Medical Corps seemed an obvious choice with his parent unit being assigned as the Rhodesian Light Infantry – an elite fighting battalion at the forefront of the conflict which had converted in recent years from a conventional Infantry Unit to a Commando Unit.A short five months into his service a suspicious lump behind his knee was diagnosed as malignant, so 2 months before his 18th Birthday he had his left leg amputated above the knee.Fully expecting to be medically discharged, he was surprisingly retained as an operational medic and served out the remaining two and a half years of his contract, serving at forward operational hospitals, rehabilitation centers and treating scores of enemy who came in over amnesty for the Zimbabwe elections.The ultimate demise of Rhodesia to Zimbabwe is well recorded and the demobilization of the Army with no counselling or debrief happened with scores of Rhodesians leaving for the greener pastures of South Africa to take up positions in Corporate Companies. Nick arrived in South Africa with the same blue suitcase plus a car in March 1984.Having lost his leg at a relatively young age it became his identity, and be it within military or Civilian Street he has always tried to live his life as an able bodied person without using his disability as a reason for preference or favour.Civilian/Corporate life gave him the best as well as the worst in his life, going from being a successful businessman, to losing it all, going insolvent and starting again with nothing.In the last few years of his time in Johannesburg he was the victim crime that beleaguers the city three times, by being held up in his restaurant, being shot and finally enduring a home invasion by three armed intruders.Nick now lives in Durban and has written two books.view less
Books by Nick Skipworth-Michell
Out on a Limb: Life with a Disability and Stories of a Time Past Operation Enterprise: The Battle for Salisbury, Rhodesia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5