Our Rhodesian Heritage: Gus Walton

By Trevor Walton

Gus Walton

Dad (Gus) was born in Port Elizabeth 30/06/1913 (born 100 years ago this June!) and his family farmed at Addo, bordering the Elephant reserve.

His great, great, great grandfather was the Captain of the 1820 Settler ship "Nautilus" which arrived with the "Chapman" in Algoa Bay, now Port Elizabeth.

He attended Marist Brothers in Walmer Port Elizabeth. His father died in 1936 , his mother then sold the farm for a pittance and the family moved to PE.

Gus did his apprenticeship at GM (General Motors) and was classed as a key point worked when the war broke out. In about 1942 he received some white feathers in the post from some anonymous person so decided to resign his job and join the SAAF. (South African Air Force)

He did basic training at Roberts Heights before being shipped up to Italy. I was obviously conceived on one of his break trips back to PE! He was eventually demobbed in 1945.

An advert in the Eastern Province Herald appeared for a job as mechanic in Umtali, in Rhodesia (Duly and CO) sometime early 1947, we all moved up in June 1947 and stayed briefly in the "Balmoral" before buying a house in the then new suburb of Palmerston (No 2 Rudland Ave).

My parents were married in PE November 22 1941, mothers brother, Desmond Spindler being best man (he was an SAAF bomber pilot during the war).

My mother, being an accomplished violinist, was met at the Umtali Railway station by Graham Clarke (the Town Clerk) as he had heard somehow that she had led the PE Orchestra. He became a great family friend.

I can't think of any more suffice to say that Gus poured an awful lot of time into the Ratpit!

Enclosed are some of Dad's photographs from his days with Number 25 Squadron of the South African Air Force.

Liberator Bomber SAAF1944

SAAF Air Mechanics

Gus Walton In Venice

SAAF in Italy 1943

SAAF Technician Team

Included here are various pieces of memorabilia from Dad's records.

SAAF 25 Squadron Co and Christmas message

25 Squadron (SAAF) Christmas Dinner 1944caption

Souvenir Programme S.A. Forces XV Vs N. Z. E. Forces XV

The Teams

End

Trevor served Rhodesia with 4 Rhodesia Regiment (based in Umtali) and attained the rank of Colour Sergeant. Now residing in England

Thank you to Trevor for sharing these memories of an Umtali family with us.

Comments are always welcome, please mail them to Eddy Norris at orafs11@gmail.com

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Labels: 25 Squadron, Italy, Walton