East Africa - War in the Air and Bush. Experiences with 26 Squadron & The King’s African Rifles during the First World War, 1914-18. Flying and Sport in East Africa and Sport & Adventure in Africa - Leo Walmsley;W T Shorthose

Two essential first-hands accounts of the Great War in Africa

Leo Walmsley’s personal experiences serving as a reconnaissance observer for the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) chronicles an under-documented aspect of the war in the so-called East African "side show" campaign against German colonial forces during the First World War. As a member of the largely South African, No 26 Squadron, flying de Havilland designed, B.E 2, bi-plane aircraft, he describes early aerial warfare under extreme tropical conditions, frequently flying over remote bush and even uncharted terrain. This contribution by military aircraft has long been accepted as an essential component of modern warfare, but at this time, the General Staff, routinely dismissed intelligence derived from this source as unreliable. Flying over Mount Kilimanjaro, the Rufiji River, and Lake Nyasa.Walmsley’s narrative also describes the natural beauty of the region in which he operated with its savannahs teeming with wildlife. This first account of this Leonaur two- books- in one- edition curiously segues with the second as Walmsley in due course makes contact with the author of ’Sport and Adventure in Africa’, Captain (Lieutenant-Colonel) William Shorthose (D.S.O) of the 1st Battalion, 4th King’s African Rifles. During this period he was operating in the vicinity of Lake Victoria and commanding a column to Tunduru following an action at the Mohesi River. Shorthose’s original work included much on big game hunting and his post war activities which have been edited from this edition in the interest of cohesion. Contains illustrations and photographs.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.