Humphrey Gibbs was born into an Edwardian upper-class family in 1902. After Eton and Cambridge he emigrated in 1928 to Southern Africa, eventually deciding to farm in Southern Rhodesia. He was a prominent churchman, and was active in organizing the country's farmers. He promoted conservation before it was fashionable to do so. A reluctant MP, he welcomed the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and supported the cause of multiracialism. Gibbs became Governor of Southern Rhodesia in 1959, and six years later was faced with the problem of UDI. He remained at Government House and was a conduit between the British government and the rebel regime, stepping down only after the country declared itself a republic. In retirement he watched civil war ravage the country he loved and he welcomed its evolution into Zimbabwe. He left his farm only when the dissident troubles in Matabeleland became too severe. His funeral took place in Harare Catherdral in November 1990.
'...a highly readable and impartial book, unlikely to be superseded...a welcome corrective to the tendentious version of events in Ian Smith's recently published autobiography.' - Robert Blake
List of Plates
Introdution; R.G.Mugabe
Foreword; R.Blake
Preface
Acknowledgements
A Note on Place-Names
Map of Places Mentioned in the Text
Chronology
The Early Years
Into Africa
Farming in Peace and War
Politics and Federation
Southern Rhodesia in the Late Fifties
First Years as Governor
The End of Federation
Prelude to UDI
The Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Tensions and Talks
A Long Haul
A State of Uncertainty
Near the End of the Road
Retirement at Bonisa
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ALAN MEGAHEY read History at Cambridge, and was ordained in 1971. He has spent most of his career in independent schools, as Head of History and as a housemaster; he is currently Chaplain of Uppingham School. For ten years he was headmaster of Zimbabwe's leading independent school, Peterhouse, which was where he became acquainted with Sir Humphrey Gibbs. He gave the address at the funerals of both Sir Humphrey in 1990, in Zimbabwe, and Dame Molly Gibbs, in 1997 in Kent.