Show Me A Mountain

About the Book

This is the true story of an epic family expedition across Africa.

To cross the Sahara in the early seventies presented many problems in connection with the supply of fuel and water , apart from some security issues; to do so alone without joining a convoy as recommended and without modern navigation aids was an added risk; to do so with three young children, some of the Press regarded as plain foolhardy.

The family, consisting of Doctor Maureen Mc Mullan , her husband David and three children ; Peter 12, Sean 10 and Sarah Jane 8 as well as a friend of Maureen’s, Doctor Susan Cole who helped enormously to cope with the burden of daily domestic chores in such an expedition.

Many of the dreaded things did in fact happen during this adventure. They did run out of fuel in the Sahara, their Land Rover only returning seven miles to the gallon .Their water containers were stolen at night. Sean was nearly killed when he was working under the Land Rover and one of the jacks slipped and David was captured by a lone army patrol in the jungle in the Central African Republic. Finally the entire expedition was nearly lost when, in the dark, the vehicle stopped only a few feet from plunging down a slope into the fast flowing Congo River.

To complete this ten thousand mile journey, starting in Kent and finishing on the edge of the Indian Ocean, without a really disastrous mishap was the result of careful planning and some luck. To bring her family finally to the coast in Kenya safe, fit and well was a tribute to Maureen Mc Mullan and her extraordinary determination and strength of will.

It must stand out as one of the most courageous and successful family expeditions ever to cross Africa .

To uproot and entire family and take it through such an experience required a leader with truly special qualities. Maureen Mc Mullan certainly had those qualities.

About the Author

Doctor Maureen Mc Mullan was born (Maureen Johnson) in August 1936. She was educated in York and showed considerable acting ability, becoming involved in the local repertory company. She also however excelled in her school work and the teachers involved persuaded her to take on the challenge of training for a degree in medicine.

Maureen was accepted for training at the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1955 and qualified in 1961. During her years in Edinburgh she met David Mc Mullan, an R.A.F. Pilot Officer stationed locally. They married in late 1961 in York and Maureen moved to Kent, David’s home county, to take up a post as surgeon in Westhill, Dartford, then for many years as a General Practioner in West Kent. She lived in Tatsfield on the Kent Surrey border and had three children; Peter, Sean and Sarah Jane.

As well as running a busy home with three children and following her career in medicine Maureen spent many happy hours with her husband David, sailing their catamaran Snowgoose of Kent in the English Channel and as far as the Baltic and Bay of Biscay. Her adventurous spirit was responsible for the unusual family expedition across the Sahara and central Africa in 1974

Maureen in her later years suffered from an almost incurable addiction and finally took her own life in January 1990, three years after she and David had retired to Javea in Spain.