Fighting Men of Rhodesia ep196 | DPO Keith Chisnall part 2 | BSAP Special Branch
Vložit
- čas přidán 12. 05. 2023
- A third generation Rhodesian tells the story of his upbringing on a farm and his days learning to track and survive in the brush. Later he would use the knowledge operational conditions during the Rhodesian War. In classic Special Branch style you will not find an account of a unit called Pachedu in the history books, but it existed. These are historical facts with convert and overt operations which have never been made public before. Keith Chisnall was born in Sinoia in the farming area of Rhodesian in 1957. He joined the BSA Police and was posted to the Centenary District, right at the start of Operation Hurricane and the civil war which tore through the country. He spent time in Zambezi Valley and joined Special Branch where he was part of a clandestine operational team. Today he is a professional guide and spends time painting and working with the wild animals he loves.
Many thanks to Tony Ballinger for setting up the interview!
If you enjoy our content please consider subscribing (it's free)
You can support this channel here ...🙏
www.paypal.com/paypalme/johnvzyl
Join us on Patreon - / johnvanzyl
Greetings from Germany...sad stories from a lost world, a lost period in history I would say.
Salute and blessings to you Keith. Thank you for your service
A fine example of a Rhodesian.. well done Keith 👏👏. A real gentleman and soldier ! We are grateful for all you did for your country and the service you so loyally committed to the green and white . Much respect , god bless you ! Thank you for the stories ! Thanks Hannes and Boss John .. tatender brothers ! Hamba gashle !
Those are such kind words....thank you....I miss my friend Musa deeply...
@@keithchisnall I have no doubt about that .. my condolences. 🙏🏻 may he rest in eternal peace and always be remembered for his service!
Two very talks by Keith, cheers.
As a history teacher here in U.S. that teaches Cold War, your channel is GOLD! Thank you all for standing against communist expansion and your sacrifices.
Although I don't support the idea that the Rhodesian Bush war was simply a fight against Communist expansion, this channel certainly contains a lot of interesting interviews. I was however taken aback some time ago to hear a former member of the Rhodesian Light Infantry and Rhodesian SAS say (in one of the interviews) that there was no racism, discrimination or injustice in Rhodesia, a view of Rhodesian history that can easily be refuted by other Rhodesians and well-informed South Africans.
Excellent interview. I had no idea that you guys in the BSAP were undertaking such intense work. Salute!
Thank you Jules....
Always good to hear about these "little sub-units" of our Security Forces. I am so glad that John & Hannes have done this series (not forgetting Tony Ballinger) because l always felt that the wider world had no idea what our troops were doing & what type of war we were fighting. I'm sure that many in the Western world thought that it was an almost "Vietnam" type of Warfare with vast numbers of troops being helicoptered in to do vast sweeps of the countryside. No we operated in 4 man sticks & in many cases we had no significant backup within 20-30kms of us. I remember on my Recce course when Ant White was explaining to us how to call in a Hunter strike & the 12 of us pissed ourselves laughing saying that us TF can't even call in a chopper casavac never mind a Hunter strike. We once had to casavac one of our wounded guys by road to Ruda airstrip where a PRAW aircraft flew him to Umtali. Fireforce was busy to the south of Grand Reef so no choppers available. People do not realise how limited our resources were, so we just carried on & made a plan
Last time I heard of Ant White, he was extracting timber (and replanting) from a huge piece of land South of Caia on the Zambezi in central Mozambique.
Thanks Keith, great interview. That time after independence was very worrying. One did not know who to trust!!
Great chat Shamwari. And so it happened and so it will end. Salute fellow Rhodesian.
Brilliant interview and great insights into the BSAP. It was not just speeding tickets and house break in's. I served much the same life in "my 3" and am very proud of that. Also had 460 odd SFA's and Bishop Muzorewa visit - he flew in by chopper 😂😂😂😂
Thanks Kieth.
Derrick I guess 3or9 was rather scared to go in by vehicle to your place...haha
@keithchisnall Hi Kieth, are you still in the UK, if so where abouts. Would love to have a beer and compare notes on a particular point you raised.
@@Thepuppy7 no I am in RSA...but I spend half my time in the bush with animals...
Greetings, I sit here in my new country listening to these wonderful stories. Memories flood back! We Rhodies gave our all, only to be kicked in the guts by the interfering poms, plus others. Having been born in Bulawayo, educated in a number of schools, joined BSAP then ZRP, been incarcerated and then released by an insistent Margaret Thatcher, and hounded, I had to leave with my family to my new home. Thanks for the memories, I had forgotten so much. God bless you all.
A very interesting and well told story - thank you Hannes and Keith. Many familiar names and characters mentioned. Brian Timmer RIP a cousin and fellow school lad. Ken Stewart and Dr Kirk , great friend of my parents . And so it goes on.
Appreciate Keith’s summary of how were all proud and dedicated men and women of our little country. That history and legacy is something unique.
Thanks gentlemen.
Salute
It almost sounds like a cliche: 'what was it all for'; but you served with great integrity, and that's invaluable. What is interesting (if that's the right word) is that the successors, to those who so hated us back then, are doing their best to tyrannise the rest of the world: we were simply in the way in the 70s.
Thank you for the great stories, very interesting .
Great interview much respect
Webster! Now there's a name from the past. He and (Taylor RIP), Great times and memories...Keith, we may have met Rushinga; sure I was ready to rip that moonlight scope from your possession. Salute from 7 Eng Sqn., great chats.
Haha yes you would have been able to borrow it for a beer and good story... yes Webster is a good man and my friend... thanks for being in touch Gert...
@@keithchisnall Faaark, you drive a hard bargain - beer I can do but good story, hhmmmm; now I may be under pressure😁. Think the more correct description of that "scope" was Starlight not Moonlight, apologies. Once upon a time early '79, COMPOL pitched before 8 the following morning at Rushinga and it had been an absolute ripper of an evening before in the INTAF "club". Webster and Ken C of GC were there and they had to dig deep to calm the Brass on behalf of Sappers Marymount departing at hi-speed down the gomo as they flew in. Sadly, I think only our mother's really loved us😇🙃
What a helluva story!!! Salute
Incredibly interesting! Thanks guys! an education forsure 🙏
Excellent Thanks for your Stories
Just as an aside, Chelsea is the granddaughter of George Donald (Karoi), he of PRAW fame.
Interesting. There was a lot of unexplained discomfort in the UK media and I remember one friend of Harry's being quoted "Harry's just a young guy who's very much in love and just needs to be left alone."
Salute Fuzz good blokes!
Thanks Trevor...
Very interesting
You may remember Charl8e Seiler town foreman in Bindura
Both fantastically interesting interviews. That beret behind Keith's right shoulder seems to be a S A Intelligence Corps beret, is there a back story and a part 3 ?
Thank you Richard....No I am afraid there is no part 3....you are observant yes it is a 2nd intel beret...I was a member in RSA military...
I see mine daily so it's easy to spot. I was just a kid of 11 when we packed up and went to SA in Feb 1980. Paternal Grand Father was BSAP 1900 to 1922, Maternal Great grand father 1893 pioneer, mashona rebellion, (his grand father 1820 settler Xhosa wars) my Dad was 17 Field Battery Rhodesian Artillery in Italy (Fothergill/Sheppard/Desfountain are names that featured in that unit), my brothers were national service BSAP. For me it was SADF SAINTS.
@@richardbaxter5573 thanku for that info...gee yr family has a great history...our great grand parents may have had a drink together...
I don't know if you guys are aware of the white South Africans who fought recently in Afghanistan I spoke to a British army General who told me 20% of the infantry were white South Africans also in the early 2000s one of the guys guys who rode the shire horses playing the kettle drums was a afrikaans guy
Some in the Foreign Legion as well. Corporal Nel was KIA in Afghanistan.
I was the senior American NCO at COP Kelagai south of Pol-e-Khumri. The critical infrastructure of the combat outpost was run by two South Africans. Loved sitting with them in the evening listening to them talk of their homes. Also, another critical contribution was a New Zealander who drove hot chow to us from P-e-K each day. Driving a van with absolutely no security. Thanks, guys, seriously!
Can we hear from Peter Godwin who wrote the book Mukiwa, I am sure he’s a lot to tell
Good suggestion, thanks!
@ Keith is it true that Roy was also callec Pachedu? I drove past his farm about 3 monfhs ago. Was v sad to see. May he RIP 🙏
Yes thats right Matthys...that was his name that the locals gave him...he wasnt involved in our Pachedu unit tho
The sad part of all of these videos which I love to watch is that all these men lost their lives for nothing For the great country WHICH it is now A BREAD BASKET
Basket Case
Ironically it had been a bread basket for the region before the communists, farm seizures hyper inflation and famine.
Then just a basket case.
Just as the Ukraine had been a bread basket for the world before the Bolsheviks came to power there and engineered a genocidal famine while the New York Times sent Walter Duranty there to lie and cover up the millions of deaths. Plus ca change..
@@stephenashleyingram You are kind to even say its a basket case... Its a trash can...
BSAP were way behind. The army had faxes in every ops room in the late 70's. They were usually located by the Secrephone
S A L U T E .... B R A V O😢😢😢
I'd be interested to know if the Chinese were as closely monitored as the Russians. After all the Chinese were not only the allies of ZANU-PF but also the allies of Kissinger the eminence grise of Lancaster House (who was at that time also protecting the Khmer Rouge because of their ties to his friends, the CCP.)
At that time there was very little Chinese interference so no there was no move to monitor them..
@Keith Chisnall Thanks so much for your prompt reply. Have an audio copy of your book and listening to it now 👍
Kissinger had nothing to do with Lancaster House!!!
@@powerbite92 thankyou...
Russia supported Zipra and China Zanla....hence perhaps Zanu wanted to know what the Zapu backers were up to , at least in the early days after the elections??
Insightful indeed.
We want this past from both parties with openness.
Mike Frankle was a mate of mine fromBSAP.😂