Monday 16 April 2018

Sixty one years ago this month...


On the 2nd April 1957, under a cloudless sky and with flags fluttering and bands playing, 144 years of British control of the naval base of Simon's Town, at the foot of Africa, came to an end. The home of the Royal Navy's South Atlantic fleet since the 1800s, Simon's Town controlled the hinge point of the important Cape sea route and was of vital importance during the 2nd World War. So why did Britain let it go?

Well, there were several reasons. At the end of the war, Britain's position is the world had changed. Nations which had been part of the eastern Empire were starting to assert themselves to begin the journey to independence. Britain no longer needed - or could afford - a dedicated fleet based at the foot of Africa, especially after a punishing war. From the point of view of the Union of South Africa, Simon's Town's naval base was the foundation from which the country hoped to expand its own fledgling navy. It seemed sensible to end the long association in the interests of both parties.

But there were regrets on all sides. Locals enjoyed their status as an outpost of British taste and culture - and even-handedness. South Africa had already embarked on a policy of Apartheid, and mixed race residents worried for their status and their jobs once the town reverted to South Africa. From the British side, some felt that Simon's Town's strategic position on the Cape sea route was crucial to world peace and trade, and should therefore be protected by an Allied power.

But agreement was reached and Simon's Town duly turned from British to South African under that cloudless sky. Yet the town was to enter a dark phase ten years later when the government declared it a White Group Area. All non-White residents were to be evicted. Despite petitions and protests, the evictions were enforced and a good proportion of the town's population was removed.

This tragic event takes its toll on the fictional heroine in my novel, The Girl from Simon's Bay, set on the town's historic streets. Would her fate and the outcome of the book - and, of course, the fates of those residents forced out - have been different if the town had remained in British hands?
My darling, writes her wartime lover, I have written to you twice but both my letters have been returned, address unknown.
I sent a telegram when I heard of the evictions, but I fear I was too late.
There is a tightness in my heart, as if my body is bracing itself for irrevocable loss.
I am coming to South Africa to look for you...

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