$24.95
Author : Christian Curle
ISBN Code : 978-1-59-907272-2
Language : English
Pages number : 294
Format : Paperback
In his vivid letters home to his father in the Scottish Borders, Sandy Curle (1900-80) paints an engaging picture of 1940s Ethiopia - supported by over 100 illustrations and comprehensive explanatory notes.
During the liberation, Sandy had led his Ethiopian irregular troops up from Kenya, but he had not seen his wife for three years or their new daughter - the editor of this book - at all. As part of the new Ethiopian government, he observes tensions between the restored Haile Selassie and the veterans of colonial administration.
Sent to Jimma in 1943 to advise the governor of the south-west, he wins the trust of the 'old school' Ras Birru, and helps support the Emperor's modernising policies on the ground. His family is at last able to join him here in 1944 after an adventurous wartime voyage.
Full of telling detail, the letters bring alive a complex society recovering from the unpredictable and brutal Italian occupation. Sandy's extensive social circle includes friends across the nations from his 20 years in East Africa, old comrades and, of course, Scots. He shares with us his wide interests in archaeology, religion and the natural world together with domestic worries and family drama.
Acknowledgements
Acronyms
Glossary
Maps and main illustrations
Foreword by Peter Garretson
Introduction
1 The end of the fighting, June 1941–March 1942
2 Commander of Irregulars Returns to Addis Ababa, May 1942–March 1943
3 Provincial Adviser at Jimma, April 1943–October 1943
4 Established at Jimma, October 1943–March 1944
5 The Family Reunited, April 1944–August 1944
6 Getting More and More Done, August 1944–October 1944
7 We Shall Be Very Cut Off, November 1944–January 1945
8 Preparing to Return Home, January 1945–July 1945
Bibliography
Index