Jack Malloch was Rhodesia’s principal pioneer in aviation. He was an aviator and entrepreneur who left his mark on Rhodesia in a number of ways. He introduced larger and longer range aircraft than anyone else and he used these aircraft to develop an airfreight business which reached into Africa and Europe during a time when Great Britain, the United Nations and others were trying to slam the door of commerce in the face of anyone from Rhodesia. In addition Jack had no hesitation about flying into the war zones of Biafra which he did in his early days in order to keep this business afloat. The story of Jack is told in the context of the years immediately following the end of the British Empire and how the Rhodesians attempted to fend off the winds of change which drew them into a Bush War of about fifteen years duration, which sadly cost more than 20,000 lives. Jack Malloch’s love for aviation culminated in his being the principle driver of a major project to restore a derelict Spitfire, the aircraft he had loved since his flying adventures during the Second World War and which he flew with great joy. It is sad to say that this Spitfire was the instrument of his death.

Jack Malloch was Rhodesia's principal pioneer in aviation. He was an aviator and entrepreneur who left his mark on Rhodesia in a number of ways. He introduced larger and longer range aircraft than anyone else and he used these aircraft to develop a business which reached into Africa and Europe during a time when Great Britain, the United Nations and others were trying to slam the door of commerce in the face of anyone from Rhodesia. In addition Jack had no hesitation about flying into war zones in Biafra which he did in his early days in order to keep this business afloat, and in his later days during the civil war which racked his country. From humble beginnings Jack came a long way. In the 1950s he was flying a few hundred kilos of fish a month from the Mozambique coast to Salisbury, but by the 1980s he was at the helm of an air freight organisation carrying about a thousand tons a month of beef and other perishables from Salisbury to cities across Africa and Europe. The name Malloch was close to a household name among whites in Rhodesia, but he was also well known in other parts of the world for his work in circumventing sanctions, to the extent that the Times of London wrote a feature article about him and his exploits. This story of Jack is told in the context of the last years of the British Empire and how the Rhodesians attempted to fend off the winds of change which drew them into a fifteen year long Bush War which sadly cost more than 20,000 lives. Jack Malloch's love for aviation culminated in his being the principle driver of a major project to restore a derelict Spitfire, the aircraft he had loved since his flying adventures during the Second World War and which he flew with great joy. It is sad to say that this Spitfire was the instrument of his death. HARDBACK VERSION

Jack Malloch was Rhodesia’s principal pioneer in aviation. He was an aviator and entrepreneur who left his mark on Rhodesia in a number of ways. He introduced larger and longer range aircraft than anyone else and he used these aircraft to develop an airfreight business which reached into Africa and Europe during a time when Great Britain, the United Nations and others were trying to slam the door of commerce in the face of anyone from Rhodesia. In addition Jack had no hesitation about flying into the war zones of Biafra which he did in his early days in order to keep this business afloat. The story of Jack is told in the context of the years immediately following the end of the British Empire and how the Rhodesians attempted to fend off the winds of change which drew them into a Bush War of about fifteen years duration, which sadly cost more than 20,000 lives. Jack Malloch’s love for aviation culminated in his being the principle driver of a major project to restore a derelict Spitfire, the aircraft he had loved since his flying adventures during the Second World War and which he flew with great joy. It is sad to say that this Spitfire was the instrument of his death.

THIS IS A SERIES OF TALES, MOSTLY IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, ABOUT THE SHORT RHODESIAN COLONIAL PERIOD UP TO 1980, AFTER WHICH TIME THE COUNTRY BECAME ZIMBABWE. THE TALES IN THE BOOK HAVE VERY LITTLE POLITICAL CONTENT AND ARE NOT A CRITIQUE ON COLONIALISM OR POST-COLONIALISM. THEY SHOW THE LIVES AND FEELINGS OF 'ORDINARY PEOPLE' AFFECTED BY THE 'WINDS OF CHANGE' IN AFRICA, WHICH WERE PREDICTED BY BRITISH PRIME MINISTER HAROLD MACMILLAN IN HIS FAMOUS SPEECH IN FEBRUARY 1960 IN THE CAPE TOWN PARLIAMENT. THE RAPID CHANGES IN AFRICA WERE CAUGHT UP IN THE INITIAL STAGES AT THE END OF COLONIALISM IN AFRICA AFTER WORLD WAR TWO. MANY OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED POST-COLONIAL REGIMES BEGAN THEIR OPERATIONS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE HARSH REALITIES OF MARXIST-LENINISM AND OTHER FORMS OF TOTALITARIANISM - AND MANY OF THOSE COUNTRIES STILL FOLLOW THEIR VERSIONS OF THE 'REVOLUTION' - WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS. FROM A LOST LAND IS NOT A BIOGRAPHY, BUT MANY OF THE TALES ARE BASED ON ONE EXTENDED FAMILY. EACH TALE PROVIDES A LINK TO FOLLOWING TALES, NOT NECESSARILY IN THE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TALE. SOME OF THESE 'LINKS' ARE NAMES BUT SOME REFER TO ARTEFACTS WHICH STILL EXIST IN FAMILIES OF THOSE MENTIONED IN THE TALES.

This book is based on our lives. It starts very briefly in the United Kingdom and quickly moves to the Eastern Highland of Rhodesia. It moves through our childhood while were living in the eastern border areas, Umtali, Sabi Tanganda, and Chipinga. As we pass through our teenage years and become adults, it travels with us to Western Australia and then back to Chipinga. We share the lives of others as the Rhodesian Bush War escalates in what was a quiet and idyllic country town to one of the most dangerous and deadly districts in Rhodesia. Then the books deals with our final move back to Western Australia and our struggle to once again build a life for our children and ourselves. To most people, this may seem to be an unusual life, but to a Rhodesian, it would be considered pretty much the same story as many other families. Although it is our story, there are many stories told by others who have shared our way of life. It is about love, hate, and humor. It is about determination and desperation. It is about life and death and friendship and community spirit. Most of all, I hope it is a monument to those who died or were seriously injured, physically or mentally, black or white. It is also a salute to those incredible farmers, the Rhodesian armed forces, and those who worked in the rural areas during those troubled times. For me personally, writing this book has been a huge emotional journey.

The Rhodesian Special Air Service, one of the most formidable fighting forces in the world, operated almost exclusively across borders during the long bitter bush war, undertaking deep-penetration missions against insurgents being harbored inside neighboring Mozambique and Zambia. There were missions into Botswana too, and at one stage, the SAS was operating without benefit of passport in all three neighboring territories at the same time. Long before the war escalated and the whole region became their battlefield, clandestine missions across the border were undertaken by SAS operators. Later, when the situation intensified, they were responsible for some of the most audacious and highly sensitive missions of the war. The writer takes the reader from the early days on the Western Desert to the formation of the Rhodesian SAS for service in Malaya, then back to Africa where the action spans the days of the Federation, the UDI era and finally the decolonization of Rhodesia by the British in 1980. This is the first book to detail the secret exploits of this elite regiment and it has been based on rare firsthand interviews with operators themselves. Some of their exploits may seem far-fetched, even impossible, but then, truth is often stranger than fiction. It is a history of high adventure and daring, courage and humanism, be it driving through the streets of a neighboring capital, knocking out trains, bridges and installations or swooping out of the morning skies then, with the ability to hit hard and fast, attacking and taking their leave, the devastation complete, the mission accomplished. This edition, which combines the original and the subsequent pictorial editions-originally published in the mid-1980s and long since out of print-is presented in a modern, attractive, upgraded format.

The story of one of history’s greatest fighter aircraft from WWII to its remarkable restoration in 1980 Rhodesia: “an aviation classic-in-waiting” (Airscape). In 1977, the Rhodesian Air Force retrieved a World War II–era Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 22. But while the RAF was embroiled in the Bush War, the dream of restoring the aircraft was frustrated by international sanctions. That’s when legendary pilot John “Jack” McVicar Malloch took control of the project. Not only had Jack flown Spitfires during World War II, he was also uniquely positioned to circumvent sanctions through his airfreight company, Air Trans Africa. With ingenuity, passion, and a team of trusted engineers, Jack realized the dream of putting Spitfire PK350 back in the air on March 29, 1980. In Malloch’s Spitfire, author Nick Meikle tells the full story of this remarkable restoration and reveals some fascinating insights about the aircraft. The reader is taken on a journey through the Spitfire’s life, beginning with her first test flight in 1945. The project’s lead engineer and many of the surviving pilots who flew her also share their memories. For two years, PK350 delighted those fortunate enough to see her fly. Then, on what was planned to be her last flight, Malloch’s Spitfire never returned to base.