Opportunities, Challenges & Rewards: Richard Hill's Life Story

By Richard J A Hill

Richard Hill's ancestors and family background and basic history; his family life and work experiences in the diamond and gold mining industries in Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and others; his travels in Europe and several other countries; and concluding with some personal observations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Hill
• Release date: Jun 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645760415

Richard J A Hill

Richard was born in England, brought up and educated in Rhodesia and attended university in England. He then worked in England, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Australia, New Zealand, Romania and undertook short assigned in many other countries. He was married and had two children in Africa and later moved to Australia. He was later married for a second time and lived in both Australia and Austria.

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Opportunities, Challenges & Rewards

Richard Hill’s life story

Table of Contents`

Foreword

Dedication

My thanks

Chapter 1 - My Family

My Parents

My father’s family

My mother’s family

Our Ancestors

Made in Rhodesia and born in England

My Parents’ Homes and lives after Rhodesia

My brothers and sisters

Alan

Paul

Sally

David

Lucy

Chapter 2 - Our life in Southern Rhodesia

Rhodesia

My childhood

Our home and the farm in Rhodesia.

A few words about our neighbours

The Vumba and Mum’s Cottage

Our memorable holidays

Primary school – making many discoveries

Secondary school – learning to face life’s more serious challenges

Rhodesian education - some of my school colleagues’ accomplishments

My adolescence

Society and life in Rhodesia

The political situation in Rhodesia in the early 60s and 70s – some history

Some personal observations on the Rhodesian situation

Completing school and preparing for Tertiary Education

An interlude as a Student Miner

National Service in the Rhodesian Army - the coming of UDI and civil war

Chapter 3 - Studying and training in England

A different life in England

A brief apprenticeship

Aunts, Uncles, and my cousins in England

Nottingham University

Living and socialising at Nottingham University

Vacations at University

Life after studying at Nottingham University

Sally

Ranks Hovis McDougall

More studying and a different training

NCAE, Silsoe (Reading University)

Chapter 4 – Family and working life in Africa

Agriculture with Tate & Lyle

Life in Mazabuka, Zambia, and Nakambala Sugar Estate

The social scene and life in Zambia – and meeting Sue

Working in Zambia in the early 70s

A brief assignment in Moçambique

Sue Stephenson and her family

Living in Africa and working for Anglo American and De Beers

The start with Anglo American in Chingola

Married in Cape Town, South Africa

De Beers and Orangemund, South West Africa

The birth of Elaine and Matthew in Orangemund

Diamond Mining in the Sperrgebiet

Johannesburg & Botswana

Living in Johannesburg

Working in Johannesburg

Another new home and living and working in Jwaneng

Chapter 5 – Family and working life in Australia

Western Australia

Living and working in Perth

Perth and the Argyle Diamond Project

Matthew’s illness and death

Our move and building a house in Mount Claremont

Starting a new home and business in Perth – Nedpac

Starting (and leaving) another new business in Perth - Signet

South Australia

A new career with Normandy

A new life in Adelaide

Too much travelling - Sue and I grow apart

Engaging challenges with Normandy

Elaine goes on exchange to Chile

Elaine studies at the University of South Australia

Brisbane

Another challenge, move, and a new home in Bardon

Sue and I sadly go our separate ways

A start-up business – Australian Magnesium Corporation (AMC)

A new and different life with Susan

Susan and her family

Chapter 6 – Family and working life in Europe

Austria & Romania

Susan and I marry

Romania and the Rosia Montana Gold Project

A bit of background – and a few observations on Romania first

An attempt to start the mine off on a modern track

Building a team and some of my personal interactions

Setting a new course for gold mining in Romania

The challenges faced from NGOs and others

A growing appreciation that we were on the right track

Oyvind’s retirement, my undermining, demise & defenestration

Austria and my first attempt to retire

On gardening leave in Vienna

Sailing with Anton in North America

Chapter 7 - Back to Australia for a while

Our return to Brisbane

An interesting, challenging, and rewarding gold mine project in NSW

Our return to Austria

Chapter 8 – Semi-retirement and working and travelling from Vienna

Settling back into Austria

Representing Ausenco in Europe, North Africa & the Middle East

Working in the Maghreb

Business in Saudi Arabia

My final retirement from Ausenco

Trips back to Australia

Elaine marries Douglas Pye

Some personal business activities

Liberian Iron Ore venture

Australasian Mining & Alpha Fine Chemicals

Chapter 9 – Retirement and our Peregrinations

Laos & Cambodia – 2001

Jordan - Mar/Apr 2013

Ferry hopping through the Greek Island – May 2013

Myanmar – Dec 2014 – Jan 2015

The Caribbean, East & West of Panama, and Jamaica – Dec 2015 – Jan 2016

Iran – Oct-Nov 2016

Israel – April 2019

Iceland – August 2021

The Balkans, Turkey, & Greece by car - April - May 2015

An Avery Reunion

Family & Friends’ Weddings

Nottingham 50th Reunion

Activities in Vienna

Establishing a new base in Australia

Chapter 11 - Health Challenges

Chapter 12 – Some closing thoughts

Appendix 1

Brief History of Rhodesia

Appendix 2

Argyle Project Cartoons

Appendix 3

Goldfields Gas Pipeline Agreement Act

Appendix 4

Chidiock Tichborne’s Poem

Written to Anthony Babington, before their execution.

Appendix 5

Voice of the Tribes

Appendix 6

Submission to Govt on Australian Magnesium Project.

Appendix 7

Extracts from a Newmont discussion paper of May 2009 in regard to Rosia Montana.

Appendix 8A

Google images in 2021 – Once was Nyambiri farm

Appendix 8B

Google images in 2021 – Once was the Salisbury South County Club

Appendix 9

Ridgeway Deeps Newsletter

Appendix 10

Our Peregrinations

Foreword

For a while I have felt the desire to write this account of my life. It is principally written for my darling daughter Elaine, and her children; to leave behind me a record of my life as I have, and currently do, see it. Having resolved to do this, I then thought; why not make it more widely available? So that is what I plan to do. I do hope any reader is not offended by it; neither by what might be seen as its self-serving content or style, nor by its length and detail. To the extent I might have offended anyone, I apologise. I have tried to be truthful at all times. There have been occasions in my life where I have had differences with, or opinions of, others. In some cases these might not reflect well on me nor on them. So be it I am afraid, because I have always tried to tell it as it is.

As to length, as the mathematician Pascall said, I don’t have the time to write a shorter one – and I am sorry for any verbosity. I have also chosen to not have this professionally edited because it is my account, written by me - warts and all.

I also hope that I don’t come across as a bit of a FIGJAM (and no, I won’t lower the tone further by translating!) - because that is absolutely not my intention. I have been very fortunate to have been presented with the diverse opportunities that came my way, and I hope, by explaining them and some of the challenges they presented and rewards they afforded, I might engender a desire in others to carpe diem.

Another reason why I felt the need to write this is that I often asked my mother (she was a journalist) if she would write an account of my parents’ interesting lives. Sadly, she never did, although there is a substantial body of detail contained in the ‘Hill Family Newsletters’ that she wrote regularly for many years. This body of letters doesn’t contain any account of their early lives but does contain a lot of the news of each of us children in the family during the years we were at school, university and early in our careers. Maybe one of my siblings will publish a condensation of them one day!

Another encouragement comes from a book I read years ago by A B Facey – A Fortunate Life. It was a lovely book in which he described his very hard life in the early days in Western Australia. What shone through was how, despite great deprivations and difficulties, he was happy and grateful for what he gained from his life experience. I am more fortunate than he, so I hope my gratitude for a full and interesting life might shine through too.

Dedication

I dedicate this account to my children. To my lovely daughter, Elaine, I hope it is worthy of you, and that you, and your children, will find it of interest.

I also dedicate it to the memory of Matthew, my lovely, brave, son, who I so wish could still have been with us to read it and share it with his children.

My thanks

I am deeply indebted to the lovely ladies with whom I have had the privilege of a loving relationship in my life. The only lady not still with us is my wonderful mother, who was such an inspiring and loving person. If they read this, the others will know who they are, and I thank them for their kindness and forbearance. Without their enrichment of my life, it would have been greatly diminished; and without their love and support, I would not have been able to experience, enjoy, and achieve as much as I feel I have.

Chapter 1 - My Family

Sadly, I learned little in detail about my ancestors from my parents directly. That which they told me I recount here. I have also researched family genealogy, some of which is included here; the more extensive material is contained in a family tree that I am preparing for Elaine.

The salient details are as follows. My father’s family came from quite humble beginnings. I have not been able to trace it back too far. What I have found is that my great-great-great grandfather Edward Hill was a farm labourer in East Ham, married to Eleanor Penry. Their son Thomas went to the local school and obviously did well and thereafter became a schoolteacher. He went on to become the first headmaster of the British School in Kendall and he and his wife Sarah Littleford had 13 children, 11 of whom survived to adulthood. One of their sons, Henry, studied chemistry and became a brewer with progressive, modern ideas.

He married Kate Babington whose family I have been able to trace right back to 1201. The de Babingtons originally came from France with William the Conqueror, and later supported the funding of, and participated in, the crusades. Anthony Babington was well known as a leader in the plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I because, being from a staunchly catholic family, he wanted to have Mary installed as Queen. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered in September 1586 after Francis Walsingham (Elizabeth’s spymaster) discovered the plot. Kate Babington was descended from his brother George.

Henry Hill was a brewer in London and established himself in a strong position by better understanding the chemistry than his traditional brewery colleagues. His son Horace (not a chemist) followed him into the business and established the City of London Brewery and Investment Trust. Horace was first married to Elizabeth Masters (of the Masters matches family). Their second son was my father, Charles. He had an older brother Douglas, an older sister Joy, and a younger brother Raymund (sic). Both Horace and Douglas were Masters of the Leathersellers’ Guild, and Douglas was Sheriff of London and, had he not died from a heart attack, would have become Lord Mayor of London the next year. Horace and Elizabeth were divorced, much to my father’s distress, and Horace went on to marry Gwendolyn Smith (with whom he had evidently been involved for several years previously) and they had a son Christopher, and a daughter Ann (who was a dwarf and sadly committed suicide while in her 20s).

My Parents

My father Charles Horace John Hill Born London 1st Jan 1909

My mother Nona Avery Born Newcastle 19th July 1916

My father’s family

Dad’s father, Horace Rowland – whom I met in London when I was a student at Nottingham on a few occasions in 1966 (especially one very daunting time at his club in London) – was a stock investor when I knew him, and lived south of London at Midhurst, West Sussex. He only spent a few days each week in London. According to his hunting book (which my brother David acquired) he spent a lot of time in his later years hunting and shooting! I think he must have inherited a fair amount, but he himself, in his younger days, was very active (and brave) commercially in London, as an investor.

He became Chairman of the City of London Brewery and Investment Trust. He was an Alderman and also became Master of the Leather sellers (1926) and (I understand but haven’t verified) later Sheriff of London. He died in his sabbatical year before he was able to take up the position of Lord Mayor – which in those days followed automatically as a succession. I remember Horace as reserved and very formal - with me at least! Horace and Elizabeth, at age 22 & 24 respectively, were married on 7th November 1903 at St Paul’s Church, Herne Hill in London.

Dad’s mother – Elizabeth Hair (née Masters), known as Bessie - of whom Dad spoke very fondly but seldom - died in 1958 before I was able to meet her. She and Horace had four children, Douglas, Joy, Charles and Raymund (sic). (This photo must have been taken before 1915 - when Raymund was born).

Elizabeth evidently had a difficult time in the second half of her marriage to Horace and in later years had all sorts of operations and stomach problems and was said to have suffered a lot of pain. Some said she was a bit keen on the bottle (perhaps as result of the pain etc), although I have never heard it said she was seen drunk, and I am told her son-in-law, Kenneth Griffiths - a most discerning man whom I knew well - had great respect for and was very fond of her. Her difficulties may have caused the separation from Horace, but I believe that Horace rather enjoyed a separate and contemporaneous relationship with Gwen which started in 1921 following a dance, arranged by his sister-in-law Florence Gleed. This relationship had been on foot for many years before Horace and Bessie’s divorce before 1933. I understand, from what Mum told Alan and Pat, that Horace maintained a flat in Park Lane, in which Gwen lived, and that he gave her a pale blue Rolls Royce convertible for her use. Whatever the truth (which was never revealed directly to me) I know it caused my father profound sadness and was the subject of some bitterness and a major disagreement between Dad and his father which lasted for several years. Dad never spoke of it to me, so it was obviously very painful to him, and Horace and Gwen only visited us in Rhodesia for the first time in the late 50s - so it must have taken 20 years to heal enough to allow this to happen.

Horace’s second wife Gwen Smith, whom he first met in 1921 at that party organised by his sister-in-law, were married in 1933. I never found her easy. She and Horace had two children, Christopher, and Ann. Christopher has written his autobiography Looking In¹, so that would be the best place to find out more about Horace’s second family.

Dad went to primary school at St Peters, and secondary school at Malvern College (he was a Prefect in 1927 – bottom right in photo) and apparently did well and then studied law at Cambridge (Trinity College). He was obviously a good sportsman winning caps in cricket (1924) and rackets (1926) at Malvern. Later he was awarded a blue for soccer and a half blue for golf at Cambridge. He, then playing off a handicap of 2, and represented British Universities in golf competitions in the USA in the 1930s.

He belonged to the Hawks Club - an exclusive sports club whose delightfully snobby motto was – Ingognosco Incogniti – referred to by him as the Incogs. He was obviously proud of his association with the club and often wore the tie. Many years later a friend of his, Alec Ramsay – whom I met in Australia through his daughter Celia, the sister of a contemporary of my brother Alan at Peterhouse, Colin Ramsay. Alec was a member of that same club and told me the story of his football (soccer) match against Oxford (the qualification for a blue). How did the match go Charles? he asked. Not too bad, but we lost by a goal. On Alec Ramsey’s further enquiry, with other members of the club, it turned out that the goal was Dad’s own goal! Understandable, I suppose, given that he played at left back – but the own goal was a detail he never shared with me!

Dad spent an extra year at Cambridge to enjoy another season of soccer and then was called to the bar. At some stage (and I am unsure of the sequence) he taught at Hawtreys Primary School at Westgate-on-Sea. It must have been here that he met Mum, in a pub I believe. Mum’s mother (Lucy Featherston) was living at this time at 20 Western Esplanade, Broadstairs, where she had lived with Sydney Featherston, her second husband.

At about the time Dad was teaching, it seemed clear that war was coming and so Dad decided that he would join the regular army so that he might secure a reasonable position ahead of any draft. He always was a good strategist and planner! Mum and Dad were married in London at St George’s Hanover Square, with the reception at Claridge’s, on Thursday, 24th August 1939. They then went on honeymoon, hoping that war would not be declared too soon. Within a few days (spent at the Savoy, rather than the south of France as they had planned) however, mobilisation was initiated in anticipation of war and Dad received the telegram that contained the agreed call-up code - Papa wants his keys. So off he went.

He was in the Royal Artillery and was assigned to the anti-aircraft duties on the Isle of Thanet. I think he was based here most of the war, although he went to staff college on at least one occasion. He never spoke of his active wartime experiences, only the non-military related aspects. For example, he mentioned that they had geese that were placed on top of the horizontal wire mesh aerials, used for aircraft detection, so that they would keep the grass from growing through (a neat idea!). Another story he told me was an experience he had when returning from Germany at the end of the war. I understand that he had been posted there to assist in the re-establishment of civil administration at the end of the war. This was presumably on account of his rank - at this time he was a Lieutenant Colonel – his organisational skills, and his law degree. He and others were flying back to England in a Dakota. Somehow (?!) he had acquired a whole case of Charles Heidsieck champagne, which was duly stowed in the hold. On the way back to England they encountered a large storm system and so the pilot was forced to climb high to get over the storm. Dad sat there, powerless to intervene, and listened in dismay as he heard repeated poofs going off as, one by one, his bottles of champagne blew up! The only other thing he said to me about his time in Germany was that he simply could never come to terms with what he saw and what he termed man’s inhumanity to man. It really sickened him, and I suspect, led to him wanting to start a new life elsewhere – i.e., in Rhodesia.

I met and got to know my father’s siblings when I was at University in England. Dad’s older brother, Douglas was a big and very pleasant man, and was really the successor to his father in many ways, also becoming the Aldermanic Sheriff of London and Master of the Leathersellers. Dad told me that Douglas used to ride a motorbike in his youth and ‘endeared’ himself to a traffic policeman one day by stopping on the policeman’s toe while he waited for his chance to turn right! Margaret (née Douglas) and he had three daughters and lived in Gloucestershire. Dad’s older sister Joy was a lovely lady who I got to know quite well. She was married to Kenneth Griffiths who was a co-founder of the successful insurance brokerage, Griffiths & Armour, in Liverpool. They had four children, Brian born in 1938 and then in 1940 their daughter Valerie was born 2½ months prematurely (due to placenta previa) and died after 13 days. They then had Mark and a daughter Paula. Brian never married and Mark married Rosemary (née Collins) and had four children (Caroline, Alison, Cordelia & Charles) and Paula married Richard Winter and they had three children (Helen, Robert & William). My brother Paul and Paula were born at about the same time, and I think the families spent quite a bit of time together in the West Country staying out of the way of German bombers. The Griffiths lived in a lovely house at Willaston-in-Wirral, from where it was an easy commute to Liverpool, and a short hop into North Wales, where I went with Uncle Ken and Aunt Joy on a few occasions – Ken smoking his filthy pipe and Heulog (sunny in Welsh) the dog dying to chase the sheep. Joy stoically put up with it all, always cheerfully. Brian and I saw a lot of each other when I was at university, and he and I shared an interest in electronics. Brian introduced me to Sinclair electronics, which in those days were the leaders in miniaturisation, and he helped me build the amplifier that I later took to Zambia. It was also Brian who started me off on the genealogy quest that I still struggle with today! Both Brian and Mark worked in the insurance brokerage business, but sadly Brian died far too young from prostate cancer. Dad’s younger brother was Raymund (I have no idea where the name comes from), who married Rita (née Grant).

They farmed in England and Raymund was a bit of a boffin on many subjects like astronomy etc. During the war he apparently adapted his tractors to run on the methane gas produced from pig manure. I don’t think the farm was ever a great success as it was probably too small. He and Rita later left England and he became a lecturer at the Gwebi Agricultural College in Rhodesia – to which he was probably much better suited, and which allowed him to indulge his varied interests. He and Rita had two adopted children, Peter and Jane.

My mother’s family

My mother was Nona Avery (1916 -1991). Mum’s father, George Avery (1869 – 1920), I never met as he died when she was about 4. Mum’s sister Hope was born (in 1919) just over a year before George died.

Mum’s mother, Lucy Bowser (1878 – 1968), I knew well (she spent quite a bit of time on the farm) and she was an absolute gem. She and George Avery had two daughters (Nona and Hope). A few years after George died on 4th August 1920, Granny married Sydney Featherston in 1927. He was obviously a kind man as both Mum and Hope spoke very well and fondly of him. Sydney Featherston had two sons by a previous marriage (to Edith Mary Taylor who died in 1926) - Frank and Charles. Both went abroad as a young men; Charles to Burma, where he reputedly made his fortune as a rubber baron; and Frank to Brazil where he made his fortune as a coffee king! I met Frank a few times, and he and his wife Frances (American) were a lovely couple, very fond of Mum, and vice versa. Neither of the brothers had any children. Sydney Featherston died on 28th December 1950. Lucy later lived there on her own until her death at the age of 90, in 1968. Apparently, she had been out shopping, having taken the bus to town and back. On arrival back at her stop the driver stopped the bus as usual and waited for her to descend from her seat above the driver. (I remember on most double-decker buses there was a notice in front of this seat that said Do not stamp, -river below - the d was always scratched off!) When she didn’t appear, the driver called out and after no response went upstairs to investigate. There was Granny in her seat, having died. I am glad darling Granny was happily independent to the end.

Mum’s family must have been well connected. I know Lucy was friends with people like Arthur Symons (married to her sister Rhoda Bowser), George Bernard Shaw and Aubrey Beardsley. Of the last I am sure because we found dozens of original sketches of Beardsley’s under Granny’s bed after she died– some almost pornographic! Hope inherited them and I suspect this was very useful to cover the school fees that would have been required at the time.

Mum’s Godfather was Sir Phillip Watts (1846 – 1926) pictured at his drawing board. He was the designer of HMS Dreadnought (means ‘Fear nothing’, launched 1906). This was the first of the game changing battleships built by the British that helped gain dominance over the German navy in WW1. He also designed ships for the Brazilian, Chilean, Romanian, Norwegian and Japanese navies! I have not been able to work out how this connection came about, but it does suggest that Lucy was likely to have been associated with both artistic and technically interesting people.

Mum was born and spent her early childhood in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and at some stage moved to Kent – presumably when my grandmother Lucy married Sydney Featherston in 1927. She went to school at St Elphin’s, Darley Dale, on the Derwent, near Matlock in Derbyshire. She later attended London University studying journalism (at which time she was on the editorial staff of the Advertiser Gazette). She also spent some time at the Sorbonne in Paris. I know she and her sister (Hope) spent quite a bit of time in France, and Mum always called her sister ‘Arrrrch’ (French for H).

Mum worked in London as a journalist on the Sunday Chronicle, that later, with others, became the News of the World. She was obviously pretty active and apparently owned a V8 car - in London in the 1930s! She also learned to fly and secured her licence in a Tiger Moth - and I remember seeing her log-book (I don’t know where this has ended up). However, I did find an image of her licence in military records. She obviously had an active and happy life in the 1930s and the photo of her skiing is in 1938.

Mum’s sister Hope was married to Christopher D’Arcy Consett, a professional soldier who after attending Sandhurst was commissioned and served in Ireland for a while and then secured a posting to Somaliland, to contain the Italian aggression expected after Italy invaded Ethiopia. He later became a senior colonel under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery and was active in several battles in North Africa (in opposition to Erwin Rommel) and Italy. He also spent a fair amount of time in Egypt, where Jane and Anne (Pansey), their two older daughters were born. He finally resigned his commission over the British withdrawal from Aden and went to Rhodesia to farm for a few years. It was here that their two younger daughters, Jennifer and Charlotte were born. They later returned to England where they farmed and it was then that they parted company in rather unhappy circumstances, I understand.

I became well acquainted with my Avery cousins through the several years that I used Hope’s home as my England base - during my university years. Hope was a most wonderful, generous, and loving aunt and I became very fond of her and owe her a great deal. Hope and Christopher had four daughters. Jane married Johnny Wodehouse Kimberley, the well-known larrikin and six-times-married fourth Earl of Kimberley. She was his last wife.

Pansey married Charles Campbell, a descendant of Robert Campbell (born in Scotland) who was a politician in Australia and ship-owner and trader between India and Australia. Following the Hawkesbury floods in 1806, Campbell's ship, the Sydney, was chartered by Governor King, and on 14 April 1806, proceeded to Calcutta to return with 400 tons of rice or wheat. Unfortunately, the ship was wrecked on a reef off the coast of New Guinea. In compensation he was granted £3,000, 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land and 710 sheep. In 1825, a sheep station called Pialligo was established for Campbell in the area where Canberra is now situated. In 1846, Robert renamed the property Duntroon. In 1910, with the creation of the Australian Capital Territory, the government acquired Duntroon for the creation of the Royal Military College. The original Duntroon homestead (though later extended) is now the officers’ mess in the Royal Military College.

Jennifer (Jeffie) and I were very close friends and used to do a lot of partying together at Deb balls and the like. She married Nick Openshaw and they went to live in France looking after peoples’ estates there. Sadly, both Nick and Jeffie died too young, but happily not before I had been able to organise an Avery reunion in 2013. See photo in Chapter 10.

Charlotte I got to know well as I used to have the pleasure of driving her to school (Downe House) in her mother’s Volvo. She was married for a while to Dominic Henry, but I always felt they were very different and after a while they went their separate ways. She later married Robert Barker who I never really knew. Char was an energetic and enterprising person, for example she started a wine bar in London and was involved in insurance. I believe Mum might have flown as a ferry pilot in the early part of the war. I recall a story that I am sure I heard from her where she and 5 others were flying up to Scotland when a stray German fighter plane chased them. Two of them escaped by flying fast and low, the others ran out of fuel. I am sure I didn’t dream this, but I haven’t been able to confirm the story. Whether it was in fact in relation to Mum herself or happened to a friend of hers when she was contemplating becoming a ferry pilot I cannot say. Certainly, such a venture, had it occurred, would not have lasted long as my oldest brother, Alan Robert Charles was born on 19th March 1941. After that I think Mum and Hope, and their children, went away from the action to live in Weston-super-Mare (where I understand my grandfather, Horace, had spent some time in his youth). Later, with Mum and Dad still in England, Paul Graham David (14th December 1943) and Sarah Elizabeth Rhoda (Sally) (13th January 1946) were born.

Our Ancestors

When I was quite young, Dad told me that he thought we might be descended from Anthony Babington - infamous for his attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. This led to me doing a whole lot of research into our family tree to see if I could verify, or refute, this.

The result was that I was able to work my way a long way back to the de Babingtons (1149) who came to England with William and were key supporters of his, and some time later were funders of the crusades. As would be expected they were Catholics, and this led to Anthony Babington wanting to see Mary replace Elizabeth as Queen of England. As far as I am able to discern from my research, it was asserted that Anthony might have been gay, even though he was married (to Margery Draycot) and had two daughters (Anne & Mary). I think that in those times and in such stressful circumstances, the bonds of friendship (particularly with Chidiock Tichborne) were so close that later observers could easily make this misinterpretation. The poem that Tichborne wrote to him is in an appendix to this account and supports the notion of a very close friendship. After a dispute with his allegedly gay friend, he was dobbed into Walsingham (Elizabeth I’s spy chief). It may also be that he was simply careless because he and his very good friend, Tichborne, were very active in the quest to have Mary on the throne. Whatever happened, it led in short order to exposure of his plot and his being hanged, drawn and quartered on Sept 20th, 1586 at St Giles Field, London. So, as may now be evident, we were not descended from Anthony, but we are descended from his brother George (both were sons of Sir Henry Babington (1530 -1571) and Mary Darcy (1543 - 1585) - they had 6 children).

In my research I made many similar very intriguing discoveries. I have prepared a comprehensive family tree that is stored elsewhere on Family Tree Builder. In a few areas (especially in relation to James John Masters) it contains mistakes that will take a lot of work to resolve, but of the veracity of the above I am very sure.

Perhaps one of the more pleasing discoveries was that my Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Hill (1812 – 1894) was the founder and first Headmaster of the British School in Kendall and the instigator of the legislation that led to the provision of pensions for schoolteachers in Britain. This is the portrait of Thomas Hill in the National Union of Teachers offices in London. He was born to a father (Edward, 1775 -?) who was a farm labourer in East Ham. Thomas went to school there and he in turn made sure that all his children were well educated. He had 13 children, 11 of whom survived childhood. One of his sons, Henry (1844 -1925), studied chemistry and went to work in a brewery in London.

There he pressed the point that there were better ways to brew beer than the old conventional ways, and after some disagreements with his employer, went off and started his own modern brewery. This became the City of London Brewery.

His third son, my Grandfather (Horace -1881 -1967) morphed this into an investment trust, becoming the Chairman of the City of London Brewery & Investment Trust. He was also the Master of the Leathersellers and Sheriff of London but died in his sabbatical year - before he could become Lord Mayor of London. Henry Hill was married to Kate Babington (1852 – 1924) – thus the connection to the infamous Anthony Babington, Kate being a direct descendant of George Babington (1564 – 1630), Anthony’s younger brother.

My mother’s family was much more difficult to trace back. Mum’s father was George Avery (1869 – 1920). He died when Mum was four. I have been unable to find more than that George’s father was Robert Brotherick Avery (1840 -1916) and his father was George (1811 - ?).

My mother’s mother was a lovely lady – Lucy Bowser (1878 - 1968). Her father’s family were ship owners in Newcastle and one of her Aunts, Rhoda, was married to Arthur Symons – who left Mum the house in which I was born in Wittersham, Kent.

The house was sold soon after I was born, presumably to help pay off the recently acquired farm in Rhodesia.

Made in Rhodesia and born in England

As soon as Dad could manage it, he was demobilised from his military duties and then, I believe on the advice of his brother-in-law (Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Consett, DSO, MC & bar - wow!). Mum and Dad set off for Rhodesia to investigate a new life for themselves (and, by now, their three children) and to get away from what was a shattered England, and Europe. They soon (late in 1946 I think) found a farm that seemed to suit their needs and so they bought Nyambiri Farm in the Salisbury South district of Mashonaland, Southern Rhodesia.

Part of the deal (Dad told me) was that the person who sold it to him agreed to stay on for a year to show him how to farm tobacco. Mum’s godfather Arthur Symons (married to her Aunt Rhoda) died on 22nd January 1945 and left her a house, Island Cottage (aka The Barn), in Wittersham, Kent. The photo is of Mum and Arthur outside island Cottage. It was here that the family were living when my parents first went out to Rhodesia, leaving Alan Paul and Sally in the care of Nicky Tozeland, their governess. After the farm was bought, the plan was that Mum would return to England, sell the house - presumably to use the proceeds to pay off some of the farm debt.

I understand from Alan that Dad had