📚 Delta Scout: Ground Coverage Operator
Author: Anthony Trethowan
Publisher: 30° South Publishers (Pty) Ltd., Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal
Publication Date: 2008 (First Edition); Second Impression 2009; Third Impression 2012
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-920143-21-3
Printed by: Pinetown Printers, Durban
Condition: Good. Softcover with slight cosmetic water damage; text and binding integrity unaffected.
🔍 Synopsis
A memoir of service with the British South Africa Police during the Rhodesian Bush War (late 1970s). Trethowan, born in England in 1955 and raised in Southern Rhodesia from 1958, recounts his seven years with the BSAP from 1974 to 1981. The narrative begins with training and postings as a Uniformed Branch Patrol Officer in remote stations throughout Matabeleland, documenting frontier police work and his acquisition of Sindebele language. As the bush war intensified, he transitioned to Ground Coverage operations (reconnaissance and tactical deployment), later moving into Special Branch intelligence work. For four and a half years he was directly involved in military operations until Zimbabwe's independence. The account covers both the mundane and extraordinary aspects of police and counter-insurgency workanecdotes of prospectors, farmers, hunters, and eccentrics alongside accounts of combat operations under fire.
💬 Reviews
"A refreshing change to read about the amazing work that the BSAP did" during the Rhodesian conflict, in contrast to the more widely documented Selous Scouts and SAS operations. reader review
"The book comes across showing the author as a sensitive, humorous but capable man who did well in difficult circumstances." Amazon review
Notable:
Delta Scout was Trethowan's Ground Coverage call sign during BSAP operations in the Rhodesian bush war of the late seventies. This is a significant primary source documenting the BSAP's lesser-known but critical role in counter-insurgency operations during the conflict. Published by 30° South Publishers, a specialist publisher of Rhodesian and Southern African military and historical works. The book provides perspective from the perspective of a young British-born officer who grew up in Rhodesia and served across police and military rolesa valuable insider account of the transition from colonial policing to wartime operations.
📌 Hashtags: #DeltaScout #RhodesiaBushWar #BritishSouthAfricaPolice #BSAP #RhodesiaCombat #GroundCoverage #MilitaryMemoir #AnthonyTrethowan #RhodesiaHistory #CounterInsurgency #CheckoutBooks
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