GIRL IN A BLUE BONNET
The true story of a woman’s quest in Africa.
by
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Leaving Kimberley the train set off on its 223 mile journey to Mafeking, near the borders of Bechuanaland and the Boer Republics. Situated 900 miles north of Cape Town, Kimberley had been laid out in 1885 and was made more accessible by the construction of the railway line in 1894. By the time the train reached the town of Vryburg, Daisy and Ethel knew that they were more than half way to Mafeking. Even though it was September, and therefore spring, there was not a whiff of a breeze, and the heat wafting from the station into the compartment felt oppressive. “Thankfully we should be in Mafeking in another few hours,” remarked Ethel, as they settled down again in the carriage, glancing at the dry, rocky landscape as the train pulled out of the station. Shortly after leaving Vryburg their journey became nerve-racking. Intermittently they could hear the thunder of guns in the distance, reminding them that the railway lines were in constant danger of being sabotaged by the Boers. Two trainloads of women and children passed by, bound for the safety of Cape Town, both travelling from the very area to which they were heading. Daisy peered out of the window as the train slowed to a stop at the Mafeking railway station. What lay ahead of them, she wondered, as they alighted from the train. A horse drawn carriage took them to the Salvation Army hall, where they wasted no time in unpacking their belongings in the small room attached to the hall, that would be their new home. Their first task would be to contact their fellow Salvationists, who had been without an Officer for some time. Taking a walk along the main street, they looked about them with interest. The single storey houses, built of unbaked adobe bricks made with the red clay from the brickfields in the town, had corrugated iron roofs. The dusty streets, laid out in a square pattern, had earned Mafeking the nick-name of ‘The Biscuit Tin,’ for it was hardly attractive. There were schools, a courthouse and gaol, a bank, hotels, a racecourse and recreational ground, a library, churches, a Masonic hall and a few shops. The Malopo River ran through the town, passing through the brickfields and the African Fingo Village to the south, and another village, occupied by the cattle-keeping Baralong tribe, numbering six thousand, to the west. Their mud huts, scattered on either side of the river, covered a much larger area than the section housing the white settlers. Between the market place and the cemetery stood the hospital and the Catholic Convent, the only two-storey buildings in the town, while opposite the market to the west was the British South African Police Force. Mafeking was an important junction for the railway line running north from Cape Town, thus when the line was extended in 1894 to Bulawayo in Rhodesia, the railway workshops remained there. The main street was a hub of activity, with horse drawn carts laden with supplies of food and wood. People hurried from one small shop to the next, gathering in whatever they thought would be useful should the Boers besiege the town. Men busied themselves digging trenches in the back yards of the houses, to be used as dugout shelters if necessary. There were reports that the Boers were gathering on the Transvaal’s western border. This prompted refugees, both white and black, to hurry into Mafeking from surrounding farms, seeking shelter from the advancing Boers. In June 1899, Britain, sensing that war with the Boers was imminent, decided to send Colonel Baden-Powell to Southern Africa to raise two regiments of mounted infantry and train them. He arrived in July, with orders to take charge of the Rhodesian and Bechuanaland Police and organize the defence of these two frontiers. He was told to act discreetly so as not to antagonize the enemy, and where possible to distract them and keep them separated from their own main forces Colonel Baden-Powell was considered ideal for the task. He was the son of an Oxford Professor and his mother was the daughter of Admiral W.H. Smyth. He was educated at Charterhouse, after which he decided upon the military as a career. He was known as a good horseman, had an excellent knowledge of topography and small arms, and his military experience included service in Afghanistan, India and Africa.
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About the Book
WHEN AFRICA CALLS, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ….. When eighteen-year-old Daisy Quarterman’s longing for adventure and love of humanity lead her to volunteer as a Salvation Army missionary in South Africa in 1896, she has no way of knowing what lies ahead. Leaving her family and friends in England, she sets sail for a foreign land. While stationed in the town of Mafeking, then under the military command of Colonel Baden-Powell, the Boers declare war on the British forces in October, 1899. The town is about to be besieged, and Daisy finds herself in danger as she is caught up in the bitter conflict of the Boer War, forcing her to make some far-reaching decisions. And when she meets the love of her life, she wonders how long this war will keep them apart, or whether their plans will ever become a reality. Will their faith sustain them through all the danger, turmoil, achievements and heartache as they go about their daily lives in a beautiful, restless country?
About the Author
Dot Scott was born in South Africa and lived there until 1997, when she and her husband Doug immigrated to Canada to join their son and daughter. She began writing at the age of ten, believes that everyone has a story to tell, and enjoys finding those stories. Over the years she has written numerous articles and children’s stories for various newspapers and magazines, which were published in South Africa and Canada. During the apartheid era in South Africa she obtained Diplomas from Operation Upgrade of Southern Africa after completing the Laubach Literacy Journalism Course and the Laubach Literacy Teachers’ Course. She then created, wrote for and edited the Read for Joy magazine for newly literate adult African readers, to assist with Women’s Institute literacy projects. This magazine was mentioned at the Unesco Literacy Conference in Paris in 1980 as being unique, and its publication continued for over twenty years. She also wrote her own book, The Helping Hand, for new readers. In 1975 her biography of her husband’s grandmother, titled Girl in a Blue Bonnet, was published in serial form in the Salvation Army’s magazine, The War Cry in South Africa, and at the urging of her son Mike and daughter Julie, she has recently rewritten it as a book. The research gave her much pleasure as she unearthed interesting facts about life in the early twentieth century and the Boer War in 1899. She and her husband love living in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada, and derive much pleasure from their large family in Canada, England and New Zealand. Their interest in travel has taken them to many parts of the world.