Winds of Destruction ( PDFDrive )

his father. She ordered me to undress and take a shower before inspecting my
body in detail and applying dressings to awkward areas that were already raw
and peeling. I stayed in bed for almost a week and was spoiled by everyone. The
old man kept saying he was really sorry; that he had absolutely no idea that I
would respond so rapidly to a challenge he claimed was made in jest.
Freddie Haynes had many outbuildings behind his beautiful home, with
superb stables and all manner of implements and goods in storerooms. I asked
him if I could use some of the poles and timber lengths stacked in one storeroom
to build shelving in others so that I could get order into the hundreds of items
that were in disarray. He welcomed the suggestion and was very pleased with the
final result. In consequence of this, Freddie told my father that I was very good
with my hands and implied that I should be in an occupation that would fully
utilise this talent. For the first time in his presence, I broke into tears when Dad
suggested to me that I should become an apprentice carpenter and joiner.
Embarrassed by this emotional breakdown, I reminded Dad how I had always
told him I wanted to use my hands for surgery.
Being the only young person on the ranch, I missed contact with my own age
group. So, having given Dad’s suggestion some thought, the idea of going to
town for an apprenticeship became more attractive. I moved to the Young Mens’
Club in Umtali and commenced my apprenticeship with Keystone Construction
early in 1953. I got on well with everyone and did well in learning crafts that
included cabinet-making, machining, joinery and site construction. I was able to
see my brother Tony regularly, which was great, but I recall the envy I felt
whenever he went off on his holidays to be with Mum and Berry.
Late in the winter of 1956, I ran from my work place to watch four Venom jet
fighter-bombers of No 208 RAF Squadron. They were on a goodwill tour of
Rhodesia and Umtali was one of the many centres the jets visited so to excite
thousands of gawking citizens. All they did was a simple high-speed tail-chase
inside the mountains ringing the town. But the sight and sound of those
machines immediately decided me that the Air Force life was for me.
Right away I looked into joining the Royal Rhodesian Air Force but soon
recognised two major problems. The maximum age for trainee pilots was 21 and
a Matric Exemption was mandatory. For reasons I cannot recall, I made an
appointment to see the company MD, Mr Burford. I wanted to tell him about my
wish to be an Air Force pilot, notwithstanding the fact that this appeared to be an
impossibility.
Of small build, dapper and very well spoken, Mr Burford always struck me as
being too refined and gentlemanly for the world of construction. In his alwayscourteous
manner he treated me in a gentle, fatherly manner. Before I could tell