South African Memories
Read by Sally McConnell
Lady Sarah Isabella Augusta Wilson was the aunt of Winston Spencer Churchill. In 1899 she became the first woman war correspondent when she was recruited to cover the Siege of Mafeking for the Daily Mail during the Boer War. She moved to Mafeking with her husband at the start of the war, where he was aide-de-camp to Colonel Robert Baden-Powell. Baden-Powell asked her to leave Mafeking for her own safety after the Boers threatened to storm the British garrison. This she duly did, and set off on a madcap adventure in the company of her maid, travelling through the South African countryside until she was finally captured by the enemy and returned to the town in exchange for a horse thief being held there. Dwindling food supplies became a constant theme in the stories she sent back to the Mail and the situation seemed hopeless when the garrison was hit by an outbreak of malarial typhoid. In this weakened state the Boers managed to penetrate the outskirts of the town but the British stood firm and repelled the assault. (Summary by Wikipedia)
Chapters
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| Dedication and Preface | 2:57 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| First Voyage to South Africa | 18:34 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Kimberley and the Jameson Raid | 18:27 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| The Immediate Results of the Raid | 20:11 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Johannesburg and Pretoria in 1896 | 26:35 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Three Years After | 23:30 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Preparations for War | 26:22 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| In a Rebellious Colony | 35:40 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Betrayed by a Pigeon | 19:02 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| How I was made a Prisoner | 38:49 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Exchanged for a Horse Thief | 26:02 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Life in a Besieged Town | 25:34 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Life in a Besieged Town (continued) | 22:45 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Eloff's determined attack on Mafeking | 26:02 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Across the Transvaal to Pretoria during the War | 17:44 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Pretoria and Johannesburg under Lord Roberts and Military Law | 21:21 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| My return to civilisation once more | 31:11 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| The work of Lady Georgiana Curzon | 34:50 | Read by Sally McConnell | |
| Fourth Voyage to the Cape | 49:28 | Read by Sally McConnell |
Reviews
Steve
Lady Sarah Wilson’s account of her travels in South Africa at the time of the Boer War flourishes with descriptively beautiful language. Her description of the going’s on during the siege of Mafeking was captivating. She uses a few terms that were common to the era and in that place, that the listener will observe as no longer used today because of negative connotations. In fact, based on her positive remarks about the very individuals to whom she is referring, I believe if she were alive today she would gladly substitute a different word that is considered more culturally positive today. Her description of the falls and the Zambezi river almost induce me to buy passage on a steamer bound for South Africa.
Lisa Chicola
As is often the case with tomes from tis period, be prepared for offensive slang and characteristics of natives of Africa. Very well written otherwise, and Boer War history from English perspective captivating. Well worth the time.