spike10764 Posted 6 April , 2005 Share Posted 6 April , 2005 By Giles Foden ISBN 0-718-14555-0 From the inner cover- "At the start of World War 1, German warships controlled Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa. the British had no naval craft at all upon Tanganjiksee, as the Germans called it. This mattered: it was the longeest lake in the worldand of great strategic advantage. In June 1915, a force of 28 men was despatched from Britain on a vast journey. their orederts were to take control of the lake. To reach it, they had to haul two motorboats with the unlikely names of Mimi amd Toutou through the wilds of the Congo. The 28 were a strange bunch- one was addicted to Worcester sauce, another was a former racing driver- but the strangest of all of them was their skirt wearing, tattoo covered commander Geoffrey Spicer Simson. Whatever it took, even if it meant becoming the god of a local tribe, he was determined to cover himself in glory. But the Germans had a surprise in store for Spicer Simson, in the shape of their secret "supership", the Graf von Gotzen...." A bizarre true story about a little known theatre of war. A clever study in what Britons do best- make do and mend- the enthusiastic amateur. Spicer Simson comes across as superficial and very much the poseur. In his quest for glory, I must say mind, he is successful beyond reproach. Not only does he capture one ship and sink another, his boats' presence is responsible for the Graf von Gotzen's commander deciding to scuttle the craft( bear in mind he did'nt actually know there was a third, even larger ship on the lake when he set out). The lake is cleared of German craft. The author(and myself )find it difficult to like Spicer Simson, but he did do as asked. I like the way the story is woven in with other African travel sources and tied in with the film the African Queen(surely the film was based on this story). the book gives you the feel and smell of Central Africa in the early 20th Century. A strange tale wonderfully told..... Apparently the old Graf von Gotzen was refloated, and still plies the lake today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 6 April , 2005 Share Posted 6 April , 2005 If I recall correctly these boats set off from the Cape in South Africa overland, towed by Ruston Steam Tractors. Somewhere I have a picture of them on the trail but I havn't seen it for years. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 6 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 6 April , 2005 Roop If you ever find it , please post it on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 6 April , 2005 Share Posted 6 April , 2005 Will do Spike, I have it in a book I had as a kid and it will be safe somewhere but will take some thinking about to remember where it is. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGWR Posted 6 April , 2005 Share Posted 6 April , 2005 Spike, Didn't he get a bit of a telling off for these unwarlike names? And didn't he eventually rename them Cat & Dog? Regards, AGWR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 6 April , 2005 Share Posted 6 April , 2005 Thanks to Google you will not have to wait for the same picture as I have!!! Also take a look at this little site: My kind of thing The artillery pictures are very good, I believe these show the guns from the HMS Pegasus after being mounted on field carriages. These were manned by the RM and formed part of DeVenters 2nd Division although one gun went with the 1st/3rd Division .In Africa they were designated the 10th Battery. They saw considerable action at Kondoa Irangi. Hope you like em. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 Quote from Roop; “Somewhere I have a picture of them on the trail but I havn't seen it for years.” You may have seen it here http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...1&st=&p=entry Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 Quote from Roop; “Somewhere I have a picture of them on the trail but I havn't seen it for years.” You may have seen it here Thanks Michael, I hadn't actually. The book I have dates from the 20's and the website I linked to above is a copy of the pictures from that book. Roop Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 Roop, As you missed the original thread and as the pic there is [temp?] unavailable Here it is again; same credits as before Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 7 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 7 April , 2005 Spike, Didn't he get a bit of a telling off for these unwarlike names? And didn't he eventually rename them Cat & Dog? Regards, AGWR <{POST_SNAPBACK}> According to the book AGWR, he wanted to name them HMS Cat and HMS Dog, but the Admiralty wouldn't let him. He then came with Mimi and Toutou, which he described as meaning Miaow and Bowwow- a source of hilarity to Spicer Simson, and apparently no one else. Thanks Michael and Roop for the pictures and links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 This story was serialised on BBC Radio4 a few months ago - fascinating account. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 He then came with Mimi and Toutou, which he described as meaning Miaow and Bowwow- a source of hilarity to Spicer Simson, and apparently no one else. Thanks Michael and Roop for the pictures and links. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I belive this to be true. Mimi and Toutou are French. The English would be Pussy and Doggie. Ouch! my sides have split. zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J T Gray Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 You lot are rotten! You've made it sound so bizarre I think I have to go and buy it. Please don't make me buy any more books - I am knee-deep in the damn things as it is! Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 7 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 7 April , 2005 This story was serialised on BBC Radio4 a few months ago - fascinating account. Ken <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Zoo- I bow to your knowledge of French Ken, from the bookcover- Strangely enough, I actually wanted to find out more about the members of the expedition- an interesting lot and I finished the book wanting to hear more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 7 April , 2005 Share Posted 7 April , 2005 Michael, Thanks for reposting the pic, it is not one I have seen before. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGWR Posted 8 April , 2005 Share Posted 8 April , 2005 Spike, Thanks for clarifying that point. I am surprised that the Admiralty let him get away with Mimi and Toutou... I will also be visiting a bookshop tomorrow morning!. Regards, AGWR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 16 April , 2005 Share Posted 16 April , 2005 From another thread, this website has the basic story here: Ship overland zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 16 April , 2005 Share Posted 16 April , 2005 Thanks Zoo, as with many aspects of the non Western Front campaigns, much is written about the oddities, very little about the general campaign. Great stuff though but it all gives a distorted impression of events especially if read with the Tanga reports etc. Ta, Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 18 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 18 April , 2005 Thanks zooloo, Nice to see the story from a different angle(that of South African history). By the way, what are the "dongas" and a "sluits" mentioned in the article ? Anyone shed any light, please ? from a confused Englishman Spike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 18 April , 2005 Share Posted 18 April , 2005 Donga = watercourse with steep sides. sluits... I think this is a small stream, riverlet. zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 18 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 18 April , 2005 Donga = watercourse with steep sides. sluits... I think this is a small stream, riverlet. zoo <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J T Gray Posted 30 November , 2007 Share Posted 30 November , 2007 Just to kick a bit of life into a zombie thread, I've just picked up a copy of this book, and had a little search to find out opinions of it. Bless me if I didn't find my own comment... Ooops! So far I'm about half way, and I'm largely enjoying it. I think Foden has made a good job of it (what on earth was that reviewer on about?), and has done well given that many of the sources hequotes were written years apaprt by members of the expedition with very different agendas. My prime gripes so far are that it appears to have been printed in large type and on thick paper to make the book look bigger than it is, and there is no photo section. The former is just odd, the latter might be more forgivable if it wasn't for the fact that there is an uncaptioned photograph as the endpapers, and there are pics out there - see for example the one on the tin soldier link given above. Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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