The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

This thread is for discussing past and future events.

Moderators: Ian Grace, Will Grace

Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

As mentioned elsewhere last year, 2013 is the 80th Anniversary of Gilg and Kay's epic drive from Liverpool to Capetown. The Gilg family were our Guests of Honour at Pre-War Prescott last July and they brought along all of their father's arrtifacts from his trip - including his trip diary. The plot was hatched there to transcribe that diary and post them on the VMR website - each day - exactly 80 years after the trip, Gilg's daily diary entries.

The trip actually began on February 1st 1933 and lasted 158 days until July 7th, but the diary starts before then and so, to set the scene here are the introductory pages leading up to today, and the collection of the car from Cowley in three days time. I'll be setting up a separate web page for the entire diary as the year progresses and post daily as the diary entries progress through 1933.

Transcript of Alan Cameron Gilg’s hand written log book of his African Odyssey in 1933
(Queries/comments in red font)

Flyleaf

A. Cameron Gilg
Messrs The Westminster Bank
25, Victoria Street
Liverpool

Title Page

Log of The ‘Mirabell’ Name crossed out
(‘The Mountain Maid’) Name crossed out

Morris Minor S.V. (8h.p.) HF 8547

Bound for Cape Town from Liverpool, Eng!

Captain Alan Cameron Gilg of Cheshire Eng.

Chief Officer Walter Kay of London, Eng.

Page 1

Preliminary

1932. June 19th 23.15h Idea of a long distance trip first conceived
June to November Idea maturing but nebulous
November 24th 23.15h Decision to attempt trip from England to Capetown in a Morris Minor
November 25th Decision passes ‘sleeping on it test’. Commenced preliminary investigations.
November 28th First steps
November 28th to December 16th Discussions with numerous people, and correspondence with Messrs Morris, the AA etc
December 16th Thanks to intermediary service of E.L.J, did good deal with Wards of Wallasey. New car ordered. Receive £60 on ‘Ariadne’ KF8069. Paid £25 deposit. Letter from Morris’s saying they will alter back axle ratio (to 5.9) free of charge.
December 19th Through D.K.J met Frank Howard who may come with me.
December 31st Destroyed old diaries in order to start a fresh life unhampered by ghosts of the past seven years.

Page 2

January1st Arrived in town. (London??) Staying at Piccadilly Hotel. Met Walter Kay and entertained him to supper. An ideal companion if I can get hi. Knows the route from A-Z.
January 2nd To AA at 11h. Acting on their advice have altered route. Now going via Gibraltar, Gad and & Lake Chad to Juba thence as per original plan. Managed to get hold of a copy of ‘Cape to Cowley via Cairo’-much helpful information therein.
January 3rd Saw Uncle Ewan and Aunt Lily. Had tea at their flat. V.nice to see them again. Much helpful advice. To Stanfords where obtained maps of Sahara etc. Evening with Walter Kay-will get definite answer by the 17th. Possible return journey with him in any case.
January 4th Acting on advice from Uncle Ewan managed to get a few minutes with Admiral

Page 3

Sir. Wm. Goodenough, K.G.B, M.V.O., President of the Royal Geographical Sciety. Gained interest & got address of Mr W. Donkin who may be very useful in regard to introductions for means of obtaining pame (odd word clearly ame at end but first letter has been written over with a p) at as to render passage through Sahara easier from an authority point of view-ie-lessen the risk of being stopped by military or their authority. Also other useful advice.
Had had some hopes of picking up new car on way back to Cheshire. Wired Morris’s - their reply is-“Doing utmost have car available Jan 14.” So we are held up there. This means that a start is not possible before about the 31st inat (inat???). I sincerely hope that we should get across to Nairobi before the rains. Every day of delay now makes the chance less. Damn.
Jan 9th Wire from Walter Kay. He is coming on the trip. Good. Encouraging and helpful letter from W. Donkin.

Page 4

12th January To Oxford to fetch car. Two letters of introduction received from W.Donkin.
IanWegg
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:39 am
Location: Hampshire, UK.

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by IanWegg »

The word "pame", could this have just been "same": ...who may be very useful in regard to introductions for means of obtaining same (i.e. obtaining introductions)?
31st inat is surely 31st inst. meaning 31st of this month (from the Latin "instante mense").

The 31st December entry is a shame. If he hadn't done that we would know a lot more about the catalyst to the whole adventure, but in the end it was his business.

Thanks for posting, this is fascinating. I'll look forward to the future instalments.

~iw
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Thanks Ian,

You just never know when you will need a latin scholar in this club!

Yes, I'm sure your corrections are right. I'll pass them on to the family.

I just received the next batch of diary entries today, so plan to throw together the web page over the weekend. What a fascinating project to take us through the year.

Ian
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Today - 1st February - is the day 80 years ago that Gilg and Kay set off from Liverpool and were not to rest until they reached Capetown on 8th July. From today I will be uploading daily progress reports extracted directly from Kay's original trip diary to the Gilg (http://www.vintageminor.co.uk/Gilg/Gilg.htmlpage of the website. I also have a considerable number of documents, photos, maps etc. which i will be uploading at the trip progresses.

To celebrate the success of the expedition, we will be welcoming a large number of the Gilg family at our Summer Rally at Prescott, on Saturday 20th July.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

As you will see from the Expedition page, Gilg and Kay are on their way again and things are about nto get interesting.

By coincidence, I am currently corresponding with VSCC member and ex-M Type owner David Mackay. He has prepared a fascinating article for M 145. He tells me:

"Thank you for greetings from Seattle. It is a lovely part of the world but one I have never visited. I do have a cousin who lives near you, in Sequim. She is an artist who paints as Iris Enterprises, I know her as Susan Edey. Her mother had an interesting motoring adventure. She had been single in South Africa in 1930 when she and another lady, Margaret Belcher, decided to drive a 1926 Bullnose Morris from Cape Town to UK. Her mother’s name was Miss Budgell (Budge) and they were accompanied most of the way by another lady as passenger called Miss Day. The car answered to the name of Bohunkus. All that is left of the Morris is one door which Sue’s sister once showed to me. I mentioned this to a friend who lives near me and he produced the door! Strange how these things happen."

I will try to find out more.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Eureka! We have discovered the chassis number of Gilg's tourer. Among the massive stack of papers and documents from the expedition that are systematically being scanned right now was the International Certificate for Motor Vehicles for the car which quotes the chassis number as SV26737, and the Genome confirms this was indeed a tourer. I have asked Gaydon for the build data. We do know that the car was fitted at Cowley with a special low-ratio back axle. The Certificate also tells us that bthe car was blue, and was fitted with engine number 27138A.

Anyone got this chassis lurking in their shed? :?

The diary entries are getting more interesting as they head into the African hinterland towards the Sahara.

In related news, I have been sent more information on the 1926 Bullnose drive from Cape Town to Cowley, Oxford in 1930 which is also absolutely fascinating, but took a slightly different route via Cairo and I'll try to squeeze it into M 145 if possible.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Diary getting very interesting - see the website. They are in the middle of the Sahara and yesterday met up with another Minor heading from Kenya to England.
IanWegg
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:39 am
Location: Hampshire, UK.

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by IanWegg »

Ian Grace wrote:Diary getting very interesting - see the website. They are in the middle of the Sahara and yesterday met up with another Minor heading from Kenya to England.
"Truly a fact far more strange than any fiction."

Greatly enjoying the diary, thanks for the postings.

~iw
KartikeyaL
Posts: 184
Joined: Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:37 am
Location: Jaipur , India

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by KartikeyaL »

Really Interesting, Thanks for Posting !! :)
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Per S.S. “Accia”

A.G.Ex.1933​Railway Guest House,

Despatch No.7​Kano.

​             Nigeria.

​                  March 30th 1933

Dear Dudley,

Taking up the tale there is not quite so much to relate this time.

We left Gao on the 26th and almost immediately struck a sticky patch.  Imagine 50 miles of loose sand and in places no indication of the way; the wind having blown sand into & over previous tyre marks.  We groaned along in second, & twice, when in bottom we were only saved from sticking by Walter jumping out & pushing, while I hung on grimly & coaxed the engine.  During this arduous business we were able to aid a Transsaharienne lorry which had sustained punctures & had no pump.  We lent them ours.  They had been there for over 24 hours, and hailed us with joy. The native driver thought that L??????? Was an aeroplane, our open exhaust making such a row.  There he was starring at the sky when low & behold a Morris Minor appears from behind a Berberis tree.  Priceless.

We reached Niamey to find a very cheery Frenchman who welcomed us with  - The Gods!- iced beer.

Next day we got to Dogondoutchi where the Chef de Cercle, sole white man in the place welcomed us and giving us primitive quarters in the rest house, entertained us to a good dinner.  Walter had a touch of the sun which prevented him from eating so we doctored him & packed him off to bed.  He was much better in the morning though ravaged with mosquito bites.  These little fellows seem to leave me in disgust.  I’m probably impregnated with nicotine.  Anyway they leave me severely alone.

On the 28th we stopped at  Birni N’Konni to get petrol but found that the local supply had run out, but, we were informed , it was quite alright for was there not a camel train even then approaching with fresh stock.  Eh bien! In four or perhaps five days we should have as much petrol as our desires.  But, we argued, we must get on – to Kano – to NAIROBI -  AV CAP “Av Cap” they echoed, one must see the Resident.  One saw the Resident & he,doubtless feeling the two Frenchmans’ love of “Le sport” graciously allowed us a case (8galls) from the Government store.  So with cries of “Vive le sport” & Vive la France we carried on.

By this time Walter’s rapidly returning appetite & my ever present one demanded lunch.  So at Madaona we stopped at the Chef de Cercle & there beheld two British cars.  In two minutes we were talking to four Government officials returning to England by the route we had come.  In the following two hours our lunch seemed to get forgotten & as food at these places is given by courtesy & hospitality we could hardly demand it. So hungrily we proceeded to Maradi only to find no food there.  On again & into British Territory, reaching Katsina at 22.00(GMT) or 23.00h (Nigerian time); everyone in bed, so we had to rouse the A.D.O. who showed us the rest house & gave us some Macbannachy & beer.   The rest house was very stuffy & there were no beds, so Walter rigged up the mosquito net over a deck chair while I slept in a rug under a tree alongside the car.  These rest houses provide a cook who produces on demand, eggs & so forth.  Sure enough at seven oclock I woke to see a native squatting a couple of yards away -  “Good morning, sah” says he, “me daily cook. What you desire?  This sounded good but it turned out that he had exhausted his stock of English.  I had learnt a word or two of Haussa so we got water, bread & milk & this staving off the pangs of hunger departed for Kano where, after a drive along an excellent road, we arrived to find a delightful haven.  How good it is to meet Britons again & to have bacon & eggs.

We expect to proceed on April1st for Nairobi.  All goes well car being overhauled while we rest and sweat.  It is 92O in the shade as I write (17.30) Phew!   Mail ???? holds good as originally made.  For all communications after Johannesburg address to c/o Seahurst Hotel, St.James, Capetown – until further notice.

Cheerio from both of us

Yours sincerely

A.Cameron Gilg.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

Mar 29th to Apl.1st. Good time at Kano (Railway Guest House) Made several friends-Alan Anderson of Dunlopp’s & wife, Konstam of the Vacuum Oil Co., Blum, an Aerican writer, Metcale of the N.R. Caterers &c.&c. Some good games of Rummy and poker. Saw half an hours cricket. Native city. V.hot.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

​Railway Guest House,

​Kano.

​Nigeria.

​31/3/33

Darling Bunpuzzle,

It was delightful to have a letter again.  God knows when you’ll get this as the mail went yesterday. Damm!

You will have got all the news via Iris, I expect.  We are pressing on now & I have so many people to write to that it’s difficult to get them all in so I hit upon the device of sending official despatches to Richmond Jones.  I have 37 people on my mail list & at each stop we make one or two friends & promise to write.  Hopeless!  And then it’s so hot here that one’s energy is soon used up.  But its v. nice & such decent people. (Hold on while I go & see that dog).

The Sahara crossing was damned hard work & we were glad to get across but it was very interesting.  The desert is a terribly cruel place which gives man nothing except a sense of insignificance.  One is glad to see life again.  Here for instance there are such jolly little lizards which scuttle all over the place at incredible speed.  I tossed a lighted match near one & he made a dart at it and oh what a shock poor Percy got & how he hurried home to tell the folks.  We then tried them with cake which they enjoyed, though Beelzebub was rather shy.  Beelzebub is a great big lazy fellow who sticks to the horizontal, but, in contrast to the others sober clothing, he has joined the bright dress movement and wears a natty yellow collar, a bright blue coat, grey waistcoat, and yellow tights a tail of varied hue.

At Gao we met Prince Bibesca who gave us a letter to deliver to the Governor at Niamey.  And so I shook hands with a real Prince.  Nasty man though.

We are both very fit and the car is holding up despite incredible roads (?).  Motoring in England now would seem absurd.  We found it very muddling changing to the left when entering Nigeria.

All being well we hope to reach Nairobi in about 3 weeks.  We have settled very well into a routine and have every hope of getting right through.

Give Biddy a big hug for me, and all the best to Ralph & all the entourage, and to yourself the love and affection of

African Alan
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Ian Grace »

61st Day April,2nd. Dep. Kano at 6.45h. At first we had a good road, but after Wudil it deteriorated badly, there being patches of sand ploughed up by busy traffic. There were huge ruts
 
Page 62
 
Into which the car sank & we ploughed on through axle deep. W had halted to fill with petrol when Walter noticed that one of the nuts of a front spring bolt had gone and that others were loose. This was because of the extra leaf we had had fitted at Kano. We proceeded via Azare to Potiskum without further trouble though we felt anxiety about the loose nuts. We reached Potiskum at 17.10h, & getting an apathetic reception from the D.O., had to fend entirely for ourselves. The rest house lies on the verge of the village which makes it interesting. We managed to get hold of a good boy who had travelled a good deal & talked good English. Through his help we were able to get eggs (10 for 2d), milk, tea & biscuits, and a sort of cake like bread. We having fed, after a fashion he suggested bringing a mattress. We readily agreed, whereupon he brought mattress, sheets & pillows. We were apparently in ‘bad country’ so we had
 
Page 63
 
a policeman to guard us & our belongings while we slept. This was compulsory. There was theft every night in the town & even murder. These crimes were the work of local bushmen. Undisturbed however by these rumours we lay down on our luxurious bed. I was soon lulled to sleep by the medley of sounds, but Walter slept but poorly-so he told me in the morning. Much hotter to-day. Rain seen in the distance. A few peals of thunder.
Mileage:- Day 189m. Total 5895m.
Duncan
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:59 pm

Re: The Gilg Expedition - 80th Anniversary

Post by Duncan »

I seem to have joined the register. The journey is becoming more interesting by the day. Will it be re-appearing on the previous format at per page per day?
Post Reply