Africa in the 20th Century

The author of this book was privileged to live in West and East African countries for over 25 years, followed by a close relationship for a further ten years. There was mutual respect, while a shared sense of humour made the majority of time such a worthwhile environment to both work and play. During the author’s time in Africa there were major changes of colonies to independence, and he witnessed the respect between the nations.

Today, the relationships between peoples of different colours are so important to all our lives; sadly, we still have far too many who cannot accept this. Fundamental cultural changes of this kind take time, and it would be true to say that not enough progress has been made over the past few years.

In many areas of life, it will be the younger generations who will lead. For this reason the author hopes that this publication will be of interest to them as they continue to grapple with the problems of climate change. The book stresses discipline as a vital aspect of life; perhaps we need more of this to counter our apparent concentration on materialism.

2020: given the rapidity of change over the past 25 years, it feels as if we are living in a different world. An unforgivable exception is the racism still witnessed in America. The author lived through the Second World War, which created discipline throughout the nation. He was born into a loving family, and his elder sister remained close due to their shared experiences during 1939/45. He left school at eighteen and undertook his National Service. This proved a worthwhile challenge and, together with a commission, opened the way for an interview with The United Africa Company, very important within Unilever. He was 25 years resident in Africa, where he had a fulfilling career due to the support of the indigenous people. Could a young person find a similar challenge today?