Journal of Ronald S C Wilson entitled 'The Trip up through the Lomagundi to the Lorch 29th April 1912 to 17th August'

Journal recording his exploits hunting and prospecting in Rhodesia [Zimbabwe]. Main focus of entries is his and his companions' experiences hunting but he also comments on mineral deposits, geography, climate, his and his friends' health, individuals he encounters (both indigenous and Europeans) as well as his avoidance of the officers of the Native Bureau and subsequent problems he has with the police. With typescript copy.

Ronald Selby Campion Wilson was born on the 23 January 1881 at Hollingbourne, Kent, the eldest son of William C Wilson and Kate Campion. Prior to the First World War he relocated to Rhodesia [Zimbabwe], possibly with a career in the police force in mind but not one that he actually embraced. Until the outbreak of war he acted as an independent prospector whilst also supporting himself by hunting. At the outbreak of the war he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Rhodesian Regiment as a private but was later promoted to the rank of sergeant in the East Africa campaign. He died (of malaria) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on 13 March 1917.

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Gift from Miss Margaret Campbell Wilson of Derby, February 2014

For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance

Copyright held by SOAS, University of London

Wilson's war diary was donated by Miss Campbell Wilson to the Imperial War Museum.