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The Addison Diaries: Natal Carbineer, Gunner, Pioneer Farmer - The Life and Times of Frederick Addison (1894-1969)
Contributor(s): Addison, Walter (Author)
ISBN: 1928211828     ISBN-13: 9781928211822
Publisher: 30 Degrees South Publishers
OUR PRICE:   $31.46  
Product Type: Paperback
Published: April 2024
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Military
- History | Military - World War I
- History | Africa - General
Dewey: B
LCCN: 2017455027
Physical Information: 222 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 1900-1919
- Cultural Region - African
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Frederick Addison came from a family with a strong military tradition, and it is not surprising that he, his two brothers, and two cousins all joined the Royal Natal Carbineers on the same day in 1914, soon after war was declared. They served together through the German South-West African campaign, and again in France with the Second South African Infantry Brigade. Two of them were killed, one was taken prisoner, and all were wounded. While the core of the book is a grim account of his experiences during World War I, and there is no doubt that the traumatic events described in the war diaries had a powerful influence on the rest of his life, Frederick Addison's memoirs cover his entire lifetime. His detailed description of a wild childhood in Estcourt, where his father served as the magistrate during and after the Boer War, his record of spartan schooldays at Hilton College, and his accounts of life as a pioneer sugar farmer on the Natal North coast are all told with vigor, humor and a rugged compassion. His chronicle includes a brief history of the Thukela River basin, description of early post-cart journeys in pre-world war Zululand and recollections of farming, farmers and farm workers in and around Fort Pearson in the years 1919- 1954. A history of the Addison family, written originally for his many relatives in South Africa and abroad, is included as an appendix to the narrative. It is full of anecdotes which shed an intimate light on the early days of settler life in Natal. In all, a graphic record of the life and times of Frederick Addison - shared, no doubt, by many of his generation.

Contributor Bio(s): Addison, Walter: - Walter Addison was born in Eshowe in 1927. He attended Highbury Prep School and Hilton College, joined the Army in 1945 and was in Egypt when the war ended. After completing an engineering degree at Wits University, he worked in Johannesburg for an international food machinery manufacturer called APV Kestner.