Win this book
Ed Bird’s book Special Branch War is about the slaughter in the Rhodesian Bush Southern Matabeleland from 1976 to 1980.
The book is published by 30˚South Publishers.
This searing account primarily covers Ed Bird’s Special Branch (SB) service in the Beitbridge area of southern Matabeleland, encompassing operations Repulse and Tangent of the bitter Rhodesian “bush war’.
A meticulous recorder, Bird implemented and maintained the Beitbridge SB incident log, and it is this diary of terror and death upon which Bird’s account hangs, interspersed with detailed accounts of firefights, ambushes, landmine blasts, ZANLA executions, traitors and assassinations, SB ‘dirty tricks’ and ‘turning’ terrorists.
Although first and foremost an intelligence-gatherer, Bird thrived on combat and against all protocol inveigled his way onto Fire Force operations and as an airmobile MAG machine-gunner on converted Police Reserve Air Wing aircraft.
Decorated for bravery but overlooked for promotion, Bird’s BSAP career became victim to spurious political expedience.
The Author of Special Branch War
Ed Bird grew up on his parent’s farm in Matabeleland, Rhodesia in the 1950’s. He joined the British South Africa Police (BSAP) in 1964.
After a year’s overseas sabbatical in 1971, he re-joined “The Force”, still in uniform with the District Branch stationed in the Victoria Province. 1972 he was attached to Special Branch (SB) and deployed, with only a constable as company to the Zambezi Valley in the Centenary/Sipolilo area, where he soon established that the area had been heavily infiltrated and subverted by ZANLA.
Phase II of the “bush war” began in earnest in December that year with the opening of Operation Hurricane. Bird was then posted to Dotito in the Mount Darwin area, again on his own, where he worked closely with the embryonic Selous Scouts in the “pseudo” concept. After a brief CID probation, he was posted to the Prime Minister’s office at SB HQ as the SB liaison officer to the Selous Scouts in March 1974. In 1976, he was posted to SB Beit Bridge, where he stayed until his transfer into Gwanda in late 1979. He resigned from the BSAP in May 1980 and after a spell of gold mining, moved to South Africa. Married to Patsy, with two daughters, Tracey and Diane, he lives on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
To win this special book, answer the following question:
When did Ed Bird resign from the BSAP?
Send your answer along with name, surname and contact details to wen@secundainsig.co.za. Only emails sent to this address will be legible.
The seventh correct answer for a single person will be considered as the winner.
The competition’s closing date is 11 July 2014.
Terms and conditions apply.