Monday 13 June 2011

June 2011 Edition.

SPRINGBOK  CYBER  NEWSLETTER

June 2011 edition

During last month's Springbok Club trip to Hatfield House the party were able to view, inter alia, the pen used by the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury to sign the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. In those days, of course, there was no need for the great nation-states of Europe to be merged into any artificial union in order for make collective decisions. The normal channels of diplomacy were quite sufficient, as indeed they were throughout the 19th century, and indeed into the 20th century - until Germanic aggression raised its ugly head.

It was of course at the follow-up Conference of Berlin in 1884/85 that the great European nation-states successfully managed to divide up authority over Africa - the previous "Dark Continent" - between themselves. This was done peacefully and effectively, and ensured that there were no further colonial territorial disputes of any significance. It provided all the major European nation-states with their rightful places in the sun, and ensured an orderly advancement towards the civilisation and taming of the previous "Dark Continent". Needless to say, the indigenous African populations benefited as much as - if not more than - the incoming Imperial powers by this elimination of anarchic savagery.

Now alas, a century and a quarter later, all this seems to have changed. Not only did the European nation-states abdicate their duties and responsibilities towards the African continent during the latter half of the 20th century, but they themselves became enmeshed in the artificial and inward-looking European Union. As a result the European nations have been increasingly thrust into conflict with one another in disputes over the EU's largesse, yet at the same time the abandoned African continent has slipped back into chaos and dictatorial rule. The "Dark Continent" once again.

But the situation is clearly not without hope. The financial crisis engulfing the southern European countries has made the previous unthinkable conceivable - namely withdrawal from the Euro currency. Once one country shows the courage and daring to withdraw then others will surely follow, and the Euro will quickly become history. Furthermore, with EuroScepticism growing at grassroots level throughout the continent - in northern countries as much as in the economically affected south - then it will surely only be a matter of time before the entire EU edifice comes tumbling down.

At the same time, however, the West is AT LAST re-asserting its authority in at least one African country in order to remove a despotic megalomaniac - namely in Libya. It must be born in mind, furthermore, that this necessary intervention is not taking place under the auspices of the EU, but by individual nation-states themselves, mainly by Britain, France and Italy. Already calls are being made for similar Western interventions to remove other sadistic tyrants in sub-Saharan Africa, most notably to topple Mugabe and his henchmen in Zimbabwe.

Such actions can undoubtedly best be conducted by individual European nation-states acting alone however, rather than by any forms alliance with resulting language difficulties and conflicts of command. In this regard the traditional spheres of European influence as agreed at the Conference of Berlin should be adhered to. It should be Italy re-establishing order in Libya, France in Tunisia etc and Britain in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia. The pen which the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury used to sign the Treaty of Berlin shouldn't remain locked away therefore; it may well be needed again - and sooner than many people might believe!

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SPRINGBOK CLUB'S MAY ACTIVITY

As commented about above, the Springbok Club staged a most enjoyable and inspiring visit to Hatfield House in Hertfordshire (the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Salisbury) last month. As well as touring Hatfield House itself the Springbok Club party also paid their respects at the famous RLI "Troopie" Statue, which is now sited on the banks of the River Lea within the grounds of Hatfield House. Following the visit the party adjourned to a near-by hostelry in Hatfield itself for a convivial evening's gathering.

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SPRINGBOK CLUB'S LONDON BRANCH JUNE EVENT

The London Branch of the Springbok Club will be staging a visit to the Imperial War Museum on Saturday 25th June. The Imperial War Museum is situated in Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ, the nearest underground stations being Lambeth North and Elephant & Castle. All members and supporters of the Springbok Club are welcome to join the London Branch for this event, and should assemble beside the two 15 inch naval guns at the front entrance of the museum between 13.30 hrs and 14.00 hrs. For more details please e-mail springbk@falklands.org or 'phone 07779691026.

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FUTURE SPRINGBOK CLUB EVENTS

During the last week in July the Springbok Club will be holding a special meeting to celebrate Rhodes & Founders Day to be addressed by a British ex-serviceman who served in the First Gulf War, and who is now a Conservative Councillor. More details about this meeting will be included in next month's SCN.

The Springbok Club also anticipates staging an outdoor event in August, as well as welcoming a special guest speaker in the autumn.

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SPRINGBOK CLUB BRANCH NEWS

The Northern Ireland Branch of the Springbok Club is aiming to stage another informal get-together in Belfast during August.

The Kent Branch of the Springbok Club is planning to hold another pub-gathering at Canterbury during the autumn.

It is also hoped that a get-together to re-establish the Hampshire Branch of the Springbok Club will be staged shortly.

Full details about all these events will be appearing in future editions of the SCN.

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MAKE A DONATION TO THE SPRINGBOK CLUB

The Springbok Club would like to thank all those who have already made donations via our PayPal facility. These donations are of course the lifeblood of our movement, so don't forget therefore that such PayPal donations can always be made via the organisation's main web-page at www.springbokclub.org.uk

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SWINTON CIRCLE NEWS

The Swinton Circle will be holding a meeting to be addressed by a prominent official of a leading conservative cultural think-tank on Wednesday 29th June in Westminster. All members and registered supporters of the Swinton Circle will be notified of the precise details of this meeting shortly, but if any other supporter is interested in attending please e-mail swinton@netcomuk.co.uk or 'phone 07711188430.

We would also like to remind everyone that the Swinton Circle now has a presence on Twitter, on which news about the organisation and policy statements are periodically posted. This can be found on Twitter@SwintonCircle.

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REPORT FROM THE ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION TASK FORCE

We have recently received the following report from Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force :-

SNARE REMOVALS

Thanks to various donors who have helped us to import the tranquilizer, M99, in particular the RSPCA and the Born Free Foundation, a number of snares have been removed from animals in the wild. A big thank you also to the brave people who risk their lives to remove the snares.

Esther and Hans van der Meer of the Painted Dog Conservation in Hwange have made good use of the M99. Esther and Hans were actually looking for a snared African wild dog when they were alerted to the fact that there was a young elephant bull with a wire snare around his trunk at Kanondo. They abandoned their search of the wild dog and went to remove the snare from the elephant.

The following morning, the managed to find the wild dog and removed a snare from him as well.

Prior to this, Sharon Pincott alerted Esther and Hans to be on the lookout for Gwenneth, one of the Presidential Elephants who had a wire snare deeply embedded in her leg. They eventually found her at Mpofu Pan and she was having a lot of difficulty walking. They had a hard time removing the snare because it was embedded right down to the bone but the snare removal was successful and Gwenneth is doing well now.

Last year, Sharon contacted Esther and Hans again about another member of the Presidential Herd, Adwina who also had a snare embedded in her leg. They came to her rescue and removed the snare.

They also removed snares from 2 buffalo, one of whom recovered nicely. The other was in poor condition and his injuries were so severe that, sadly, he died.

Another recipient of the donated M99 is Brent Staplekamp of the Lion Research Project in Hwange National Park. Brent successfully removed a snare from an elephant bull recently.  We would like to thank the SAVE Foundation of Australia who supplied Brent with various veterinary supplies such as tools, syringes etc.

NEWS ON SHARON PINCOTT

In our November 2010 newsletter, we included a statement from Sharon regarding her eviction from Hwange Safari Lodge. We are now pleased to be able to report that we have been advised of some positive new developments with one of the existing lodges in Hwange, and all going well we hope to be able to report in our next newsletter that this is where Sharon Pincott will soon be operating out of. Our thanks for now go to those from Dawn Properties (a company, it should be clarified, that is not owned or controlled by African Sun) – soon to commence building a new luxury camp on the Hwange Estate, which they will manage themselves – who reaffirmed their support of Sharon’s work and access to land where these elephants roam, so that her crucial long-term monitoring of Zimbabwe’s flagship herd can continue.

We trust that everyone will support those conservation-minded safari lodges that support our long-term wildlife warriors. Without our dedicated conservationists on the ground, complementing the efforts of the Parks Authority, there would certainly be less wildlife for us all to enjoy. We also encourage you to read Sharon’s latest blog story. Go to www.sharonpincott.com and take the link on the home-page to her Getaway blog. There is something for everyone to think about in this short Christmas story - “What will you do in 2011 to make a difference?”

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REMEMBERING AIR RHODESIA'S FLIGHT RH827

We have recently been forwarded this poignant reminder from a supporter now based in Sussex :-

"I bet most forgot all about RH827. So here it is. Put the date on your calendar to remember next year.

"12th FEBRUARY 2011

"ANNIVERSARY OF FLIGHT RH827 - AIR RHODESIA'S VISCOUNT 'UMNIATI'

"Thirty-two years ago today, at 17:00 hrs, Air Rhodesia's Vickers Viscount 'Umniati' took off from Kariba Airport to Salisbury with 59 passengers and crew on board. Five minutes later a heat-seeking SAM 7 missile struck the inner port engine causing the engine and fuel tank to explode, sending the aircraft into a downwards spiral and crash into the dense bush, approximately 28 miles from Kariba Airport. There were no survivors.

"The Umniati was the second civilian airliner of Air Rhodesia to be brought down by Joshua Nkomo's ZIPRA terrorists with SAM 7 missiles, with a total loss of life of 107 people. The first aircraft to be brought down with a missile five months before was the Vickers Viscount 'Hunyani' in which 10 of the 18 passengers who survived the crash-landing were brutally gunned down at the crash site.

"The full story with excellent narrative and footage taken at the scenes of devastation is shown in the DVD 'VISCOUNT DOWN' - with live interviews including the BBC interview with Joshua Nkomo who gleefully claimed responsibility - while sadly, world leaders remained silent without a word of condemnation. To this day, the two Rhodesian Viscount disasters are little known about, but were instrumental in changing the course of history in Southern Africa and beyond, culminating with the Lockerbie and Twin Towers disasters.

"For the first time since the tragedies occurred it is planned to hold a massive Commemoration Event for the victims in Johannesburg on 3 September 2012, which is the 32nd anniversary date of what was Rhodesia's 9/11. For news of this event visit www.ViscountDown.com or visit 'Rhodesia's Viscount Disasters' on FaceBook."

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SEARCH SERVICE FOR THOSE SEEKING LOST CONTACTS

Find any South African, even those who have emigrated. We also search Botswana, Namibia and ex-Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.

http://www.bellemodel.biz/emails/emails.html

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MAKE YOUR OWN BILTONG AT THE FRACTION OF THE COST ....

Biltongmakers.Com has, for over 10 years, put a smile on many a South African face. No longer do they have to pay exorbitant prices for biltong that in most cases is not even to their liking!

Now you can make your own Biltong at a fraction of the price you pay right now and .... you can make it the way YOU like it!

Please visit www.biltongmakers.com and see all they have available.

You will never be without some REAL South African Biltong again!

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FLAGS etc.

The Springbok Club/ELC now retails Union Flag lapel badges and key-rings, price £2.00 each (plus 20% p&p).

Payments should be made to "The Springbok Club" and sent to: BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX, UK.

Copies of S.A.Patriot-in-Exile (editions 30 to 36) are still available price R5.00 or 50p each, as well as batches of 50 copies (including copies of the original S.A.Patriot) price R80.00 or £8.00 (plus 20% for p&p.)

Payments should be made to "Patriotic Press" and sent to: BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX, UK.

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BOOK OFFERS

"BLOOD LILY" by Mason Cranswick

Gripping novel from the Rhodesian War to current-day Zimbabwe :-

"Cranswick’s epic story of two feuding friends plays out like a Jeffrey Archer drama." Bruce Dennill, the Citizen

Buy on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Lily-Mason-Cranswick/dp/095848919X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275414427&sr=8-1

Great cause, great reviews: www.bloodlily.co.za

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"GOVERNMENT BY DECEPTION" by Jan Lamprecht

Details the disasters of Mugabe's Zimbabwe, and illustrates the similarities between Mugabe's rule and that of Mandela/Mbeki in South Africa. It can be ordered on-line at: www.AfricanCrisis.org

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"P.K. VAN DER BYL - AFRICAN STATESMAN" by Hannes Wessels

ISBN: 978-1-920143-49-7 / paperback / illustrated
Retail price: R250.00, Web-site price: R200.00 + postage

The narrative gives the reader an overview of the history of the White man in southern Africa with detailed emphasis on the Rhodesian story through the life and times of PK van der Byl, one of the major players in a political drama that ended in the accession to power of Robert Mugabe under the auspices of the British government. By his very nature PK was controversial and confrontational. This account is likely to give offence to some because it portrays him as bluntly as he was in real life. Much can be contested about PK van der Byl but few will dispute he was an extremely colourful character with a devilish sense of humour. This memoir covers his life with a full flourish while doing nothing to detract from the seriousness of the international political and military conflict in which he was engaged. The reader will glean new information on a highly controversial subject and emerge with a more sympathetic understanding of what PK van der Byl and his colleagues did and strove for. The human tragedy that has followed the removal from power of Ian Smith and his Rhodesian Front party will almost certainly force the reader to deal with some uncomfortable conclusions, of value to anyone sincere about grappling with the volatile and deeply troubling challenges that confront all Africans today.

This book and others of interest can be purchased from 30 Degrees South via their web-site: www.30degreessouth.co.za

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"BLUE WATCH" by Gwyn Fford-Osborne

Rhodesia, in 1975 and a bloody vicious civil war is at its height. A war between the White minority supported by the Black majority and the ZAPU and ZANU terrorist groups, supported by Zambia and Mozambique. Kensington, a small town in the farming belt has been the subject of several terrorist attacks but with only a small police force for defence, the local T.A. unit having been called up for service on the Zambia border the situation appears grim. Until Iffor Meredith turns up on a pilgrimage to meet up with his wife and son of his old army buddy, recently murdered by terrorists. A deadly ambush on the "Dix" family and his escape from a land mine attack makes Iffor determined to offer resistance of some form or other to the terrorists. His application to join the Rhodesian Army has been accepted and he sets about forming a small militia. With all the fit men already on call up, who can he recruit from. Then he's invited to a darts match at the Moth Club and meets up with the remnants of the town's Fire Brigade, the men considered too old for call up. Blue Watch.

Available from: www.diadembooks.com

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"THE SEVEN WATCHMEN" by David Ruppert

A new fascinating novel titled "The Seven Watchmen" by David Ruppert should appeal to South Africans and ex-Rhodesians. It can be ordered from Crest Publishing in South Africa at www.crestpublishing.co.za - or those abroad can buy it directly from David at rupedf72@comcast.net. It's also available on www.Amazon.com

Glenn MacAskill and Michael Bowery of Crest Publishing have also written three books each. Glenn MacAskill is ex-BSAP Special Branch and still working (as Mugabe has denied him any pension) and Michael Bowery is ex-South African Special Forces. Due to the difficulties confronting White writers in the "new" South Africa they launched Crest Publishing to self-publish their own books, and have been doing this since October 2006. Michael Bowery is author of: "Canham's Run", "The Sligo Piper" and "Kill the President", whilst Glenn MacAskill is author of: "King's Gold", "Crime Lords" and "Of Royal Blood". Special discounts to ex-servicemen, Rhodies and Springboks!

For more information, or to make an order, please contact Crest Publishing at: P.O.Box, 97910, Petervale, Transvaal, 2151, South Africa, e-mail: crestbooks@mweb.co.za, or visit the Crest Publishing web-site at: www.crestpublishing.co.za

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"THE SAINTS" - DVD versions of the book about the history of the RLI

Now available from Msasa Enterprises. Contact: msasasa@iafrica.com or UK tel.: 07732 685400.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?

No.151 :  RONNIE McKINNON of Rangers.

Ronnie McKinnon was the rock-solid Rangers centre-half for most of the 1960s. He played 473 games for Rangers and won 28 caps for Scotland. After his Rangers playing days were over he moved to South Africa in 1973 and played for Durban United, before retiring from soccer and becoming a salesman with a leading Durban car retailer. He was guest of honour at the annual dinner of the Rangers FC Supporters Association Durban Branch during the mid-1980s, and proved a most eloquent and erudite speaker. We have recently heard that he has returned to the UK to live on the Isle of Lewis, but it would be very interesting to learn exactly what has become of him. 

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RECOMMENDED WEB-SITE OF THE MONTH

We have been asked to publicise the important work of the Campaign to Protect and Restore England's Ancient Forests. Their web-site, together with a petition to sign to help pressure the government to protect ancient woodlands, can be accessed at :-

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/Pages/woodland-trust-campaign-continues.aspx

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CLEAR FOR ALL TO SEE

Sir,

Well, at least your name has been cleared and you know the culprit, but I would not be surprised that nothing happens from here - as you said, he will be protected by South Africa authorities. 

Yours etc.,

RWN, Tasmania, Australia

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NORTH TO SOUTH

Sir,

The South African Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, in his recent budget speech inferred that unrest similar to that in the Middle East could come about in South Africa if government neglects the needs of the people. Of course, it is the ANC that gave rise to false hope and expectations with it's flawed and unrealistic manifesto.

Yours etc.,

Johan Geelvink, Pretoria, South Africa

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FELLOW TALL TREE

Sir,

Those who believe newspaper reporters are also likely to believe that Oprah has given birth to aliens.

I have been personally viciously attacked by a newspaper reporter simply because I am well known and he wants to sell newspapers. Anyone checking the facts would realize the information is bogus, written by a reporter who has been labelled "The most hated man in Vancouver" and at heart is a socialist who hates business owners because he has never been able to make money himself. Jealousy and hidden agendas drives reporters, who live in fear of losing their pathetic jobs.

Tall tress catch the wind, and anyone who has the guts to speak his mind, call a spade a spade, like telling people that Mandela is a terrorist, will be attacked by the sheeple. Wear it as a badge of honour and a sign that you haven't bowed to the oppressor. The world is changing fast, and those who don't prepare will soon find themselves in glorified prison camps. The Black and Muslim threat to the world is vastly underestimated, and it's designed to be so - a creeping rot that will blossom when hyper-inflation hits.

The Internet is the last freedom, and while it is, take full advantage of it.

Yours etc.,

Robin J. Elliott, Vancouver, Canada

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BANKER

Sir,

There's probably a lot of money to be made by the banks advising countries on an exit strategy for the Euro.

Yours etc.,

Peter Ward, New York, U.S.A.

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GENOCIDE CONVENTION

Sir,

Have you been following the revolution in Libya?

I noticed that within the first few days of unrest when deaths were estimated at 500 some UK papers/TV channels were referring to these killings as genocide.

Compare that to South Africa where the ANC admit to 50 murders/day.

Conservatively at 20,000 deaths/year that would deliver 320,000 killings since “freedom” in 1994.

If we again conservatively estimate 80% Black on Black killings and then factor in Coloured and Indian deaths, that would leave about 40,000 White deaths in 16 years. Within that figure are the almost 3,800 farmers according to Adriana Stuijt/censorbugbear.

Not a peep out of the British media let alone any references to genocide.

Yours etc.,

ABD, Hertfordshire, U.K.

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ROGUES GALLERY

Most readers will probably be aware of the 1976 tour of Rhodesia by a group of then young British patriots who wished to express their solidarity with their Rhodesian kith and kin. Many will also be aware that during the 1990s most of the members of this party staged annual reunions in order to keep alive their patriotic British Imperial ideals.

One member of the tour party - the current editor of the SCN in fact - was invited to address an organisation called the South Devon Patriotic Forum (named after the Durban-based Patriotic Forum of the 1980s, the forerunner of today's Springbok Club - a very great honour it was thought at the time) at Torquay in June 1992, in which he outlined the global pan-British vision which underpinned the Rhodesian tour. This speech seemed to be very well received by all who heard it, particularly by the organiser of the SDPF, a Mr. Mark Cotterill, and a colleague of his named Tim Vaux. Furthermore, upon hearing about the regular reunions being staged by the tour party Mr. Vaux suggested that the next such reunion could be held at the north Devon inn run by his parents and himself. When he heard of this offer Mr. Cotterill asked if he could also attend, perhaps with a small group of other SDPF supporters. Several members of the tour party subsequently expressed misgivings about inviting "outsiders" to a private reunion, but eventually a compromise was reached whereby the "outsiders" would only attend the final day and a half of the three day weekend.

This reunion in north Devon came to fruition in June 1993, but when the eventual four "outsiders" arrived it was soon clear that all was not well with the arrangements. Although two of the "outsiders" were clearly interested in hearing about the 1976 Rhodesian tour, the other two - Mr. Cotterill himself and a village-idiot type sidekick named Bill Ablett - went out of their way to sabotage the entire gathering in a most childish disruptive fashion. At the time it was totally unclear why Mr. Cotterill should have changed his attitude 180 degrees from expressing great interest in the 1976 tour to wishing to wreck the whole reunion, but it subsequently came to light that this was simply because he had taken exception to an article written by one of the tour members (the current editor of the SCN) in a magazine which he apparently disapproved of four years earlier - and whilst still based in South Africa before ever having met Mr. Cotterill!

But the irrational behaviour of Mr. Cotterill and his sidekick Ablett wasn't the only disaster to befall the 1993 reunion however. Mr. Vaux himself soon revealed that he did not share the same patriotic views as the tour party, in spite of his claims 12 months previously that he fully supported their ideals. He appeared at the bar of the inn on the second day waving a neo-fascist magazine - an action which of course didn't go down too well with the tour party members, who needless to say were not fascists and in the main took no interest in domestic political affairs. Following this he offended everyone even further by spouting out holocaust-denial sentiments, and even running down Britain's great WWII hero Sir Winston Churchill! So outraged were two of he tour party members, who of course were British Imperial patriots and not German patriots, by the poison being spewed out by Mr. Vaux and the sabotage campaign of Messrs. Cotterill and Ablett, that they left for home a day early - in spite of the fact that the whole weekend had actually been staged for their own enjoyment! Even worse was to follow at the bar that evening however, for both Mr. Vaux and his father stated that they supported the Islamic terrorist regime of Saddam Hussein rather than their own country during the First Gulf War, which was then taking place! Needless to say, if the tour party had known that their hosts were not the fellow-British patriots which they had claimed to be, rather than apparently the exact opposite, then they would never have dreamt of staging their reunion at the Vauxs' establishment in the first place!

Although there was no further contact with either Messrs. Cotterill or Ablett, we received two letters written under the pseudonym of "Edward First" (presumably after the anti-Semitic monarch) which quite clearly came from Mr. Vaux soon afterwards. These were both answered in a very matter-of-fact manner, explaining to him that we were not in the slightest bit interested in the neo-fascist organisations which he was "plugging", and as a result all contact with him also ceased. There the entire sorry matter should have ended, but towards the end of last year - i.e. 17 and a half years after the last contact - both Messrs. Vaux and Ablett started posting attacks on the editor of the SCN on a now defunct South African-orientated web forum. Mr. Vaux gave a most jaundiced interpretation of the events of 1993, whereas Mr. Ablett's comments in this regard were totally deranged (his apparent inability to use a "shift" button simply confirming that he was just as much a village idiot in 2010 as he was in 1993!). The reason why these two characters should suddenly and inexplicably re-surface 17 and a half years after last contact was never explained, and neither was it satisfactorily explained how they had heard about the South African-oriented web forum in the first place, when neither of them seemed to have any direct South African connections. The factor which made their emergence from the sewers even more disturbing was that Mr. Vaux (at least) appeared to be aware of the libellous fabricated smear campaign being waged against the editor of the SCN almost as soon as it was circulated. We are not saying that Mr. Vaux was directly involved in the construction of the perverted pictures featured in the smear, but he was quite clearly involved somewhere in the "loop".

If anyone can provide any further information about the mysterious Messrs. Vaux and Ablett we would be most grateful, and can assure everyone that all such information will be treated in the utmost confidence.

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OBITUARY

PETER KING

As reported in last month's SCN, it was with very great sadness that we recently learnt of the death of Peter King.

Peter King was born at Potter's Bar during WWII, the son of a London architect and a Lancashire nursing sister. His mother assumed that he would be joining her side of the family's commitment to the Anglican Ministry and made sure that he had a classical education; his father showed him how to run a business. Armed with the priceless gift of being able to offer discount in Latin, Peter chose to follow his own love of electronics, and for many years was involved in the technology of sound for films and broadcasting.

In 1976 he supplied some specialist sound equipment to a Johannesburg company supporting the new television service of SABC. In order to install the equipment he took a 19 day ticket to South Africa - and returned to London 20 years later! During his stay in South Africa Peter became deeply involved in the emerging use of computers as design tools. By now bi-lingual, in 1983 he chaired the inaugural meeting of the South African Association of CAD Users. In 1985 he was invited to become Technical Director of the AutoCad Centre, and presented papers at several major universities.

In 1996, not wishing to live under the "new" South Africa, Peter returned to the UK. He brought with him his passion for Freemasonry and its academic workings, and became Master of his Lodge for two terms. Later this passion turned to politics and he initiated the Hillingdon Branch of UKIP.

Peter also came into contact with the Swinton Circle at this time, and through this became aware of the Springbok Club in 2000. Here he found his true spiritual home, where his South African experiences dovetailed with his patriotic pan-British and anti-EU sentiments. He was soon invited to join the Executive Committee of the Springbok Club, where he held several positions and gave an inspiring talk at the organisation's Day of the Vow commemoration meeting of 2007. From 2008 to 2009 he held office as Chairman of the Springbok Club, a position which he fulfilled with quiet and praise-worthy efficiency. He was at the point of resuming his position as Chairman of the organisation at the time of his untimely death.

Peter was a kind, generous and loving man of great character and humour. People will be talking about Peter for many years to come - the good that he did, the love which he gave and the way he lived his life. He will be sorely missed.  

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See you again next month!