Ernest Lucas Guest
Encyclopedia
Sir Ernest Lucas Guest KBE, CMG, CVO, LLD
(20 August 1882 – 20 September 1972) was a Rhodesian statesman, lawyer and soldier. His grandfather moved from Kidderminster
, England to South Africa, where he was born in Grahamstown
. At the outbreak of the Second Boer War
, although he was underage, he enlisted and saw active service. In the First World War, he again joined up and was slightly injured in France.
In the period between the two wars Guest began his legal career while in Southern Rhodesia
, and was given a leg up when he fought a case against Sir Charles Coghlan
, at the time Premier of the colony, and won. Coghlan invited him to become a partner in his firm, which became known as Coghlan, Welsh & Guest. On his return from the First World War, Guest took responsibility for the Salisbury
practice.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1928 as a member of Coghlan's Rhodesia party, representing the constituency of Charter, which he held until 1946. At the 1946 elections he stood for Salisbury Gardens and held the seat until his retirement from office in 1948. He first became a cabinet minister in Godfrey Huggins' Government, appointed Minister of Mines and Public Works in June 1938. During the Second World War, Guest was Minister for Air and administered the Rhodesia Air Training Group. After the war he was also Minister of Defence, Minster of Finance and Leader of the House.
He married Edith May Jones and had two daughters and twin sons, both of whom were killed in action during the Second World War. At his death, both the High Court and Parliament paid public tributes to him. His continuing legacy is most evident in the Kariba Dam
, a project which went ahead with his active backing and support.
, Eastern Cape
, South Africa
on 20 August 1882. The Guest family, headed by his grandfather, arrived in South
Africa in 1861 from Kidderminster
, where they had been engaged in the printing business for three generations. Mr. Guest senior was appointed manager of the
Frontier Times, printed and published in Grahamstown, and here the family lived until Ernest's father, Herbert Melville Guest, moved to Klerksdorp in the Transvaal
in 1889, having bought the local newspaper and printing business.
. However, he contracted ptomaine poisoning and, after treatment, returned to Grahamstown unfit for further service.
After recovering, he joined the Kimberley Mounted Corps and guided two officers from Lichtenburg to Klerksdorp with a message to the Boer Commandant. He was captured but managed to escape to Warmbaths. He was sent to a camp for ex-prisoners of war where he was placed under open arrest pending his appearance before a board to determine whether he had actually been taken prisoner or had surrendered voluntarily. He satisfied the Board of Officers and was given an order
on the Paymaster for his pay and a railway ticket to his depot at Kimberley. His unit had been disbanded and he was given his discharge.
He joined up again, enlisting in Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, on 2 January 1901 and was given the rank of Sergeant of the Special Scouts, chasing Boer commandoes, without success.
He was recommended for a commission and posted to the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles. However, the Colonel decided that he was too young to lead a force composed of miners who were considerably older than him. He returned to Klerksdorp, where he learned that the Bechuanaland Rifles were recruiting experienced officers. He went to Mafeking and was accepted into the unit. The Rifles were part of a mobile force, the Divisional Scouting Corps, attached to a division of British and Rhodesion troops, whose function was to execute Kitchener's scorched earth policy, destroying Boer farm buildings and crops and rounding up women and children in concentration camps.
Guest's father, who had served in the Kaffir Wars in the Cape, was a member of the Klerksdorp Town Guard during the war. Guest senior was a first-class shot and possessed a large number of trophies for Bisley
shooting. Ernest's eldest brother, Ivor, also served in the war, as a lieutenant in the Engineers.
, however, took no steps to aid recruiting for the forces, and many men who had the money paid their own fares to England to join up. A number of eligible recruits could not afford to go, so Guest, together with Captain Alwyn Knowles of the Bedfordshire Regiment, who as a reserve officer was awaiting his call-up, opened a private recruiting office. When the recruits arrived in England they were enlisted by Colonel J. B. Brady, a well-known Bulawayo personality, to form a Rhodesian platoon in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
.
Guest and Captain Knowles were summoned to the Defence Department to appear before the Attorney-General, the Commander, Military Forces, and the Comptroller of the Defence Department and told to stop recruiting forthwith, or face a charge under the Foreign Enlistment Act. The fact that the Act did not apply to Southern Rhodesia as a part of the Empire, and even if it did no offence had been committed against it, was apparently of little consequence.
The Administration had decided to raise a regiment in Rhodesia for despatch to England, and Guest joined the Salisbury battalion of the 1st Rhodesian Regiment with the rank of Lieutenant. They were sent instead to South Africa to assist in suppressing the Boer Revolt
of 1914. They were not deployed against the Rebellion and when it ended the battalion was sent, with the Imperial Light Horse, to reinforce the South African troops in German South-West Africa. They landed at Lamberts Bay on Christmas morning of 1914. They made no contact with the enemy until they were sent to Swakopmund, and Guest's company ("D" Company) was ordered to occupy a farm on the edge of the sand dunes. Every day they saw German patrols, but they kept out of range. One morning an advance picquet was fired on by Germans who had occupied the opposite sand dune during the night and in the subsequent skirmish the company lost two men. German wounded brought in a couple of days later told them there had been a number of casualties among the enemy.
In the meantime mounted troops were advancing towards Windhoek
, the capital, and when they occupied it the campaign came to an end. The battalion returned to Salisbury. Guest was still determined to see something of the war in Europe. Coghlan put no obstacle in his way and his wife was agreeable. When he arrived in England he sought a commission in an infantry battalion serving in France, and in due course he was gazetted as Captain into the South Lancashire Regiment. Before long he went with his battalion to France where they were posted to the 59th Division, then in the line. The sector they occupied was not very active, but shelling and sniping from both sides were carried out fairly regularly. It was not long before Guest was slightly wounded, and then he fell victim to an irritating and persistent skin complaint which was common in the trenches and did not respond to treatment. He was evacuated to England and after a brief period in hospital was sent to the Imperial Hydro at St Annes, where he was told that he would not be fit to return to his unit for six months.
Through a contact at the War Office
he had his name put on a list of officers available for special employment. A few days later he was summoned to London and after a series of interviews was accepted as one of a party of officers being selected to undertake a propaganda lecture tour of the United States. In the course of his tour Guest delivered 160 lectures to audiences totalling some 282,000 people. He arrived back in England on Armistice Day, November 11, and took three weeks' leave to which he was entitled. Then he was sent to France to lecture on the attractions of Southern Rhodesia, since it was the official belief that a large number of soldiers would have become unsettled and wish to emigrate. Rhodesia had little to offer, in contrast with Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and so received the rejects. Guest secured his repatriation to Rhodesia and soon managed to arrange passages for his wife and family (who had spent most of the war in England) and himself to return home.
Other members of the Guest family also served in the First World War. Ivor Guest, Ernest's eldest brother, was a lieutenant in the Witwatersrand Rifles in the South West African campaign, and when the regiment was disbanded at the end of it he was commissioned as a machine gun officer in the Second Cape Corps for service in East Africa. He was killed in action in November, 1917, at Nahiwa while checking the advance of a vastly superior enemy force. His gun crew had become casualties and he was handling the gun himself when he was killed.
His two younger brothers also served in the Transvaal Scottish
. The elder of them, Duke, was later commissioned in the South African Scottish and served in France. He was gassed and after a long stay in hospital was declared unfit for further service and remained in England until the end of the war.
After the war, Ernest Lucas Guest was considered a hero.
The need to matriculate was an obstacle. He used a family connection with St Andrew's, Grahamstown, to attend as a day boy and passed his matriculation. He duly applied to the Supreme Court for admission as an attorney in the Transvaal, was accepted and took the oath. He was then offered a post with the leading firm of attorneys in Klerksdorp but Rood prevented him from taking it up on a clause in his articles which prohibited him from practising in competition for some years without Rood's permission.
He now met Fred Hopley, who had recently been practising in Bulawayo
. He informed Guest that a solicitor in Bulawayo, Louis Champion, wanted someone to take over his practice for six months while he was away on a shooting trip. His application was accepted by return of post and he was asked to report early in July 1910. Champion's practice, as Deputy Sheriff, consisted mainly of debt-collecting and lending money to doubtful borrowers at a high rate of interest.
Guest prepared his petition for admission to the Rhodesian Court and briefed counsel to represent him before the Chief Justice, Sir Joseph Vintcent. The Judge dispensed with the requirement to apply first for admission in the Cape Colony and admitted him as an attorney of the High Court of Southern Rhodesia.
A few days after his arrival a young man arrived to practise in Bulawayo as an advocate. He was Robert Hudson. So began a friendship that was to endure for the rest of Hudson's life and through many vicissitudes – in the legal profession, on active service in the First World War, during the years when they were both members of the Cabinet. Hudson, who for some years was Minister of Justice, became Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia.
and was due to leave for England shortly. He offered Guest the management of his practice during his absence. Hendrie had an excellent practice and employed several clerks. His brother was a prominent estate agent and put all his property transfers through the firm. Guest gained much valuable experience, especially in the conveyancing field, and he also had a number of cases in the High Court, in the Magistrate's Court and in the Court of the Mining Commissioner.
In one of the latter cases, a prominent mining company had pegged some gold claims on his client's farm and Guest was instructed to oppose their registration. The mining company was represented by Sir Charles Coghlan
, the senior partner of Coghlan and Welsh. The Commissioner gave judgment in Guest's favour.
Coghlan then invited Guest to join his firm in Salisbury, which he did in January 1912. The Salisbury office had been opened by Mr A B Tancred. He fell ill and died, providing the opportunity for Guest to join the firm as a partner. For a while, the firm was known as Coghlan, Welsh, Townsend and Guest, when Townsend, one of the 1820 Settlers
, joined the firm in Salisbury. It reverted to Coghlan, Welsh and Guest, when Townsend died a little time later.
On his return to Rhodesia after the First World War, Ernest Guest took over the Salisbury practice from Sir Charles, who returned to Bulawayo.
He played his part in the campaign to determine Rhodesia's future in the 1922 Referendum
, breaking rule through the British South Africa Company and rejecting the chance to join the Union of South Africa in favour of establishing Responsible Government
inside Southern Rhodesia. The electorate returned a vote for self-government, which began in October 1923 with Coghlan as its first Premier of Southern Rhodesia. Although he was on the opposite side to Sir Charles, the statesman was impressed by his capabilities, and when, just before he died, he drew up a list of those he would like to see stand for election to the next Legislative Assembly, he put Ernest Guest's name at the head of it. Guest first stood for Charter, representing the Rhodesia Party at the 1928 elections. Despite the constituency being largely Afrikaans
, he won the seat, defeating the incumbent Charles Edward Gilfillan of the Progressive Party with a majority of 283 votes to 211. He held Charter until 1946, being re-elected in 1933, 1934 (unopposed) and 1939. At the 1946 elections he stood for Salisbury
Gardens and won, remaining there until his retirement from politics in 1948.
Rhodesia Party was defeated by the Reform Party of Godfrey Huggins. Guest was a key advocate in accepting the merger of the two parties under the new name of the United Party
and Huggins appointed him to his Cabinet in 1938.
He was Minister of Mines and Public Works, from 1 June 1938 to 1 February 1944. The Electricity Supply Commission came under his portfolio. It had responsibility for ensuring that the generation of electricity kept pace with the ever·growing needs of mining, farming and secondary industry. When Guest became Minister The Commission was constructing a thermal power station at Umsweswe but kept running short of money. The Minister of Finance, Jacob Smit, was reluctant to grant it further funds but would support a hydro-electric scheme. Guest proposed Kariba
as a source of hydro-electric power and Smit provided the money for further investigation. Guest arranged with a civil engineer named Jeffares, who had earlier surveyed the route of the proposed Sinoia/Kafue railway and knew the country around Kariba, to survey the area, select a site for a power station and submit a report. When he eventually did so, Guest appointed a committee of engineers to examine the proposal. They reported favourably but did not recommend that the scheme be proceeded with immediately. Nor was the Cabinet particularly impressed and the idea was strongly criticised by the Opposition in Parliament. The outbreak of the Second World War caused it to be shelved but after the war the project was revived as a joint scheme to serve the two Rhodesias.
to run a flying school and to train personnel to man three squadrons, which was duly accepted.
The three squadrons later became 44
, 237
and 266
Squadrons, Royal Air Force, bearing the name of Rhodesia. The Rhodesian Air Training Group called for submissions from the public for suggested designs for the Squadrons' crests.
Meanwhile, preparations were underway in Rhodesia to expand facilities for the training of pilots. In January 1940 the Government announced the creation of a Department of Air, completely separate from that of Defence. Lieutenant Colonel E. Lucas Guest was appointed Minister of Air, a post he held from 28 March 1940 to 6 May 1946. Guest inaugurated and administered what became the second largest Empire Air Training Scheme, beginning with the establishment of three units at Salisbury, Bulawayo and Gwelo, each comprising a preliminary and an advanced training school.
Rhodesia was the last of the Commonwealth countries to enter the Empire Air Training Scheme and the first to turn out fully qualified pilots. No.25 Elementary Flying Training School at Belvedere Air Station, Salisbury, was the first school to be opened, on 25 May 1940 by Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham. It was followed by a Service School at Cranborne. In Bulawayo, an Elementary School was established at Sauerdale, although due to the unsuitability of the ground surface, it was moved to Induna, with a Service School at Kumalo. Gwelo had an Elementary School at Guinea Fowl and a Service School at Thornhill. The Elementary Schools were equipped with Tiger Moths and the Service Schools, single-engine Harvards and twin-engine Airspeed Oxfords. At Moffat, the first gunners passed out in September 1941 from the first and only Bombing and Gunnery School in Southern Rhodesia.
The Southern Rhodesia Air Force effectively ceased to exist after its last training course was completed on 6 April 1940.
The trainees came mainly from Britain but also from Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Fiji and Malta.
During the War, Rhodesians manned both fighter and bomber squadrons of the Royal Air Force and maintained a communications squadron in Rhodesia itself. with three stations in the Salisbury area at Belvedere, Cranborne and Mount Hampden. Eventually Rhodesia ended up with no fewer than eleven full-size air training stations.
No. 1 Squadron, Southern Rhodesia Air Force, was among the units posted to East African Force
in Kenya in September 1939 to undertake the role of army co-operation, i.e., reconnaissance and air-photography work, as well as dive-bombing operations and ground-strafing, and conduct artillery shoots. On 22 April 1940, the squadron was renamed No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron, Royal Air Force and took the motto Primum Agmen in Caelo (The Vanguard in the Sky), being Rhodesia's first in the field.
In September 1940, 237 Squadron
was relieved by units of the South Arican Air Force and redeployed in Sudan, where the Operations Record for the last three months of 1940 showed it was involved in reconnaissance, dive-bombing and pamphlet-dropping. At the start of 1941, the Squadron was re-equipped with less antiquated aircraft. The Hardys were replaced by Westland Lysander II army co-operation planes as well as Gladiator fighter biplanes. 237 Squadron moved out of East Africa after the defeat of the Italians in May 1941. They had seen active service in Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea and Abyssinia.
The Squadron was involved in the Western Desert Campaign
against Rommel
. After a lull in the summer of 1941, it took heavy casualties in the closing months inflicted on it by Me109F and Macchis. It was withdrawn to the Canal Zone in February 1942 after five moths in the Western Desert.
The Squadron's crest was presented to it by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder on 30 March 1942.
266 Squadron
, RAF, was formed at RAF Sutton Bridge
on 30 October 1939. Equipped with Spitfires, it was the Rhodesian fighter squadron and it took as its motto a Matabele word Hlabezulu (Stabber of Skies). It first went into action over Dunkirk on 2 June 1940.
By June 1941, the Squadron, led by Sqn Ldr T.B. de la P. Beresford, was stationed at Wittering
, near Peterborough. Its duties included patrolling, escorting convoys, offensive sweeps of northern France and the Belgian and Dutch coasts, as well as escorting bombing raids over France and the Rhine.
The majority of the Squadron were Rhodesian, with the exception of a few groundstaff and the commanding officer.
In January 1942, the Squadron received Typhoons and later in the month moved to Duxford
.
44 Squadron
, RAF, stationed at Waddington
, south of Lincoln, was renamed 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron in September 1941, and took as its motto Fulmina Regis Justa (The King's thunderbolts are righteous). The bomber Squadron, equipped with Hampdens, took part in raids on Berlin and many other targets, as well as mine-laying in sea traffic lanes.
It was also in September 1941 that the Squadron received the proto-type Lancaster bomber
, the first squadron of the RAF to receive the new aircraft. On a visit to the Squadron in December, Guest and Meredith were taken on a flight in the new plane. Although the order was given in December to cease operations in the Hampdens, it was not until 3 March 1942 that the Lancaster was put on active service on its first battle mission for the entire RAF. The Squadron, with its Lancasters, was given key targets to bomb: on 17 April 1942, six Lancasters from 44 Squadron alongside six from 97 Squadron
, bombed the MAN diesel engine factory, which produced more than half of the German U-boats, as well as engines for ships, tanks and transport vehicles. The success – at a cost of five planes and crew to 44 Squadron – earned the thanks of the Prime Minister himself. The Squadron was further involved in the obliteration of Rostock on 8 May and took part in the 1,000-aircraft attack on Cologne on 30 May.
From 1944 to 1946 he was also Minister of Internal Affairs.
From 1944 to 1948, he was Leader of the House.
He was briefly Minister of Finance from 7 May 1946 to 26 September 1946.
He acted as Prime Minister at various times in 1947 and 1948 during the absence of Huggins and acted for other ministers on a number of occasions.
, where the two met. They had two sons, twins, and two daughters.
Maureen Pilling née Guest, Sir Ernest's second daughter, went to England soon after the outbreak of war and enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
(WAAF). She was not left long in the ranks and when she was commissioned as Staff Officer to the Officer Commanding, WAAF. Later she was posted to Cairo and Palestine. She married a Squadron Leader
in the RAF and remained in Cairo until the end of the war.
Ernest 'Melville' C Guest (1920–1943) was nominated by the Governor of Southern Rhodesia as a Cadet for the Royal Air Force
at Cranwell
, and he passed out shortly before the outbreak of war. He was granted a permanent commission as Pilot Officer on 9 October 1939 and promoted to Flying Officer on 9 October 1940.
He came home on leave to attend the wedding of his elder sister, Gwen, and a telegram addressed to him was included by mistake in the congratulatory telegrams read out at the reception. It read: "Return to England immediately and report to Air Ministry". He was posted to a Reconnaissance Squadron and flew a number of sorties over enemy territory and was also in the escort that accompanied the Dutch Royal Family to England. He was later posted to a squadron in West Africa and then transferred to 61 Air School at George
in the Western Cape as a navigation instructor. He was unhappy at George and soon sought to return to operational duty. He had not been in England long when his and another aircraft were sent out on an anti-submarine patrol. They were attacked by six JU88s. The other aircraft sought the protection of the clouds but Melville decided to fight it out. He did not return. A fortnight later his son
was born.
As well as three Mentions in Despatches, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
in 1942:
John Guest (1920–1941), Melville's twin brother, was granted a Rhodes Scholarship
at Trinity College, Oxford
as the war broke out but decided not to take it up and to enlist in England instead. After his recruit's course he was sent to an Officers' Training School and was then commissioned in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
. At that time the regiment was reforming after the French disaster, and John, anxious to get into battle, applied for a transfer to the Middle East. He served with the Nigeria Regiment
in the Abyssinian campaign
, and when that ended was transferred to the King's African Rifles
in the Western Desert. He joined it a few weeks before it went into action in Libya. He was killed in a bayonet charge at Sidi Rezegh in November, 1941.
by King George VI
during the Royal Family's visit to Rhodesia in April 1947, and CMG in 1949 New Years Honours List.
The University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, recognised him with an Honorary Degree in 1953, Doctor of Laws.
was one of the greatest engineering achievements in world history. It was of enormous value to the development of both Rhodesia and the Zambian Copperbelt, and the creation of the largest manmade lake in Africa south of the Sahara. That honour now belongs to Lake Volta
in Ghana
.
Doctor of law
Doctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
(20 August 1882 – 20 September 1972) was a Rhodesian statesman, lawyer and soldier. His grandfather moved from Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, England to South Africa, where he was born in Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
. At the outbreak of the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, although he was underage, he enlisted and saw active service. In the First World War, he again joined up and was slightly injured in France.
In the period between the two wars Guest began his legal career while in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
, and was given a leg up when he fought a case against Sir Charles Coghlan
Charles Patrick John Coghlan
Sir Charles Patrick John Coghlan was the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia and held office from October 1, 1923 until his death on August 28, 1927....
, at the time Premier of the colony, and won. Coghlan invited him to become a partner in his firm, which became known as Coghlan, Welsh & Guest. On his return from the First World War, Guest took responsibility for the Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
practice.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1928 as a member of Coghlan's Rhodesia party, representing the constituency of Charter, which he held until 1946. At the 1946 elections he stood for Salisbury Gardens and held the seat until his retirement from office in 1948. He first became a cabinet minister in Godfrey Huggins' Government, appointed Minister of Mines and Public Works in June 1938. During the Second World War, Guest was Minister for Air and administered the Rhodesia Air Training Group. After the war he was also Minister of Defence, Minster of Finance and Leader of the House.
He married Edith May Jones and had two daughters and twin sons, both of whom were killed in action during the Second World War. At his death, both the High Court and Parliament paid public tributes to him. His continuing legacy is most evident in the Kariba Dam
Kariba Dam
The Kariba Dam is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world, standing tall and long.- Construction :...
, a project which went ahead with his active backing and support.
Early life
Ernest Lucas Guest was born in GrahamstownGrahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
, Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on 20 August 1882. The Guest family, headed by his grandfather, arrived in South
Africa in 1861 from Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, where they had been engaged in the printing business for three generations. Mr. Guest senior was appointed manager of the
Frontier Times, printed and published in Grahamstown, and here the family lived until Ernest's father, Herbert Melville Guest, moved to Klerksdorp in the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
in 1889, having bought the local newspaper and printing business.
Second Boer War
At the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, Guest was two years short of the minimum age of 18 for enlisting. However, he managed to join the First City Volunteers, a Grahamstown regiment in which his father had served. From there he joined the Eastern Province Light Horse, attached to the Highland BrigadeHighland Brigade
Highland Brigade is the name of several military units:* Highland Brigade , a historical unit of the British Army, which has been formed a number of times...
. However, he contracted ptomaine poisoning and, after treatment, returned to Grahamstown unfit for further service.
After recovering, he joined the Kimberley Mounted Corps and guided two officers from Lichtenburg to Klerksdorp with a message to the Boer Commandant. He was captured but managed to escape to Warmbaths. He was sent to a camp for ex-prisoners of war where he was placed under open arrest pending his appearance before a board to determine whether he had actually been taken prisoner or had surrendered voluntarily. He satisfied the Board of Officers and was given an order
on the Paymaster for his pay and a railway ticket to his depot at Kimberley. His unit had been disbanded and he was given his discharge.
He joined up again, enlisting in Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, on 2 January 1901 and was given the rank of Sergeant of the Special Scouts, chasing Boer commandoes, without success.
He was recommended for a commission and posted to the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles. However, the Colonel decided that he was too young to lead a force composed of miners who were considerably older than him. He returned to Klerksdorp, where he learned that the Bechuanaland Rifles were recruiting experienced officers. He went to Mafeking and was accepted into the unit. The Rifles were part of a mobile force, the Divisional Scouting Corps, attached to a division of British and Rhodesion troops, whose function was to execute Kitchener's scorched earth policy, destroying Boer farm buildings and crops and rounding up women and children in concentration camps.
Guest's father, who had served in the Kaffir Wars in the Cape, was a member of the Klerksdorp Town Guard during the war. Guest senior was a first-class shot and possessed a large number of trophies for Bisley
Bisley
-Places:* Two villages in the United Kingdom:**Bisley, Surrey**Bisley, Gloucestershire*Bisley Ranges is near the Surrey village and is the headquarters of the National Rifle Association, UK -Others:...
shooting. Ernest's eldest brother, Ivor, also served in the war, as a lieutenant in the Engineers.
First World War
On August 4, 1914, Southern Rhodesia was at war with Germany. The British South Africa CompanyBritish South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
, however, took no steps to aid recruiting for the forces, and many men who had the money paid their own fares to England to join up. A number of eligible recruits could not afford to go, so Guest, together with Captain Alwyn Knowles of the Bedfordshire Regiment, who as a reserve officer was awaiting his call-up, opened a private recruiting office. When the recruits arrived in England they were enlisted by Colonel J. B. Brady, a well-known Bulawayo personality, to form a Rhodesian platoon in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
.
Guest and Captain Knowles were summoned to the Defence Department to appear before the Attorney-General, the Commander, Military Forces, and the Comptroller of the Defence Department and told to stop recruiting forthwith, or face a charge under the Foreign Enlistment Act. The fact that the Act did not apply to Southern Rhodesia as a part of the Empire, and even if it did no offence had been committed against it, was apparently of little consequence.
The Administration had decided to raise a regiment in Rhodesia for despatch to England, and Guest joined the Salisbury battalion of the 1st Rhodesian Regiment with the rank of Lieutenant. They were sent instead to South Africa to assist in suppressing the Boer Revolt
Maritz Rebellion
The Maritz Rebellion or the Boer Revolt or the Five Shilling Rebellion, occurred in South Africa in 1914 at the start of World War I, in which men who supported the recreation of the old Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa...
of 1914. They were not deployed against the Rebellion and when it ended the battalion was sent, with the Imperial Light Horse, to reinforce the South African troops in German South-West Africa. They landed at Lamberts Bay on Christmas morning of 1914. They made no contact with the enemy until they were sent to Swakopmund, and Guest's company ("D" Company) was ordered to occupy a farm on the edge of the sand dunes. Every day they saw German patrols, but they kept out of range. One morning an advance picquet was fired on by Germans who had occupied the opposite sand dune during the night and in the subsequent skirmish the company lost two men. German wounded brought in a couple of days later told them there had been a number of casualties among the enemy.
In the meantime mounted troops were advancing towards Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
, the capital, and when they occupied it the campaign came to an end. The battalion returned to Salisbury. Guest was still determined to see something of the war in Europe. Coghlan put no obstacle in his way and his wife was agreeable. When he arrived in England he sought a commission in an infantry battalion serving in France, and in due course he was gazetted as Captain into the South Lancashire Regiment. Before long he went with his battalion to France where they were posted to the 59th Division, then in the line. The sector they occupied was not very active, but shelling and sniping from both sides were carried out fairly regularly. It was not long before Guest was slightly wounded, and then he fell victim to an irritating and persistent skin complaint which was common in the trenches and did not respond to treatment. He was evacuated to England and after a brief period in hospital was sent to the Imperial Hydro at St Annes, where he was told that he would not be fit to return to his unit for six months.
Through a contact at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
he had his name put on a list of officers available for special employment. A few days later he was summoned to London and after a series of interviews was accepted as one of a party of officers being selected to undertake a propaganda lecture tour of the United States. In the course of his tour Guest delivered 160 lectures to audiences totalling some 282,000 people. He arrived back in England on Armistice Day, November 11, and took three weeks' leave to which he was entitled. Then he was sent to France to lecture on the attractions of Southern Rhodesia, since it was the official belief that a large number of soldiers would have become unsettled and wish to emigrate. Rhodesia had little to offer, in contrast with Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and so received the rejects. Guest secured his repatriation to Rhodesia and soon managed to arrange passages for his wife and family (who had spent most of the war in England) and himself to return home.
Other members of the Guest family also served in the First World War. Ivor Guest, Ernest's eldest brother, was a lieutenant in the Witwatersrand Rifles in the South West African campaign, and when the regiment was disbanded at the end of it he was commissioned as a machine gun officer in the Second Cape Corps for service in East Africa. He was killed in action in November, 1917, at Nahiwa while checking the advance of a vastly superior enemy force. His gun crew had become casualties and he was handling the gun himself when he was killed.
His two younger brothers also served in the Transvaal Scottish
Transvaal Scottish Regiment
The Transvaal Scottish Regiment is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit.-History:...
. The elder of them, Duke, was later commissioned in the South African Scottish and served in France. He was gassed and after a long stay in hospital was declared unfit for further service and remained in England until the end of the war.
After the war, Ernest Lucas Guest was considered a hero.
Admission to the Rhodesian Court
Guest had left school without any educational qualifications at the start of the Second Boer War. Nevertheless, he managed to start his legal career when a Klerksdorp solicitor, Maurice Rood, offered him a job drawing up claims for compensation by farmers whose properties had been destroyed or damaged by the British forces. The claims were to be submitted to the "Compensation Committee", on which his father served. When the committee ceased to function his job ended. Rood then suggested that he become articled to him.The need to matriculate was an obstacle. He used a family connection with St Andrew's, Grahamstown, to attend as a day boy and passed his matriculation. He duly applied to the Supreme Court for admission as an attorney in the Transvaal, was accepted and took the oath. He was then offered a post with the leading firm of attorneys in Klerksdorp but Rood prevented him from taking it up on a clause in his articles which prohibited him from practising in competition for some years without Rood's permission.
He now met Fred Hopley, who had recently been practising in Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
. He informed Guest that a solicitor in Bulawayo, Louis Champion, wanted someone to take over his practice for six months while he was away on a shooting trip. His application was accepted by return of post and he was asked to report early in July 1910. Champion's practice, as Deputy Sheriff, consisted mainly of debt-collecting and lending money to doubtful borrowers at a high rate of interest.
Guest prepared his petition for admission to the Rhodesian Court and briefed counsel to represent him before the Chief Justice, Sir Joseph Vintcent. The Judge dispensed with the requirement to apply first for admission in the Cape Colony and admitted him as an attorney of the High Court of Southern Rhodesia.
A few days after his arrival a young man arrived to practise in Bulawayo as an advocate. He was Robert Hudson. So began a friendship that was to endure for the rest of Hudson's life and through many vicissitudes – in the legal profession, on active service in the First World War, during the years when they were both members of the Cabinet. Hudson, who for some years was Minister of Justice, became Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia.
Coghlan, Welsh & Guest
Bryce Hendrie, whose office was next door to Louis Champion's, had been appointed Commanding Officer of the Rhodesian contingent to attend the coronation of King George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and was due to leave for England shortly. He offered Guest the management of his practice during his absence. Hendrie had an excellent practice and employed several clerks. His brother was a prominent estate agent and put all his property transfers through the firm. Guest gained much valuable experience, especially in the conveyancing field, and he also had a number of cases in the High Court, in the Magistrate's Court and in the Court of the Mining Commissioner.
In one of the latter cases, a prominent mining company had pegged some gold claims on his client's farm and Guest was instructed to oppose their registration. The mining company was represented by Sir Charles Coghlan
Charles Patrick John Coghlan
Sir Charles Patrick John Coghlan was the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia and held office from October 1, 1923 until his death on August 28, 1927....
, the senior partner of Coghlan and Welsh. The Commissioner gave judgment in Guest's favour.
Coghlan then invited Guest to join his firm in Salisbury, which he did in January 1912. The Salisbury office had been opened by Mr A B Tancred. He fell ill and died, providing the opportunity for Guest to join the firm as a partner. For a while, the firm was known as Coghlan, Welsh, Townsend and Guest, when Townsend, one of the 1820 Settlers
1820 Settlers
The 1820 Settlers were several groups or parties of white British colonists settled by the British government and the Cape authorities in the South African Eastern Cape in 1820....
, joined the firm in Salisbury. It reverted to Coghlan, Welsh and Guest, when Townsend died a little time later.
On his return to Rhodesia after the First World War, Ernest Guest took over the Salisbury practice from Sir Charles, who returned to Bulawayo.
Early career
After the First World War, Guest became involved in municipal affairs. He served on a committee to help returning soldiers to adjust to civilian life. He was elected to the Salisbury Town Council, and during his second term was appointed Deputy Mayor. For the best part of a year, he acted as Mayor during the Mayor's absence in the United States.He played his part in the campaign to determine Rhodesia's future in the 1922 Referendum
Southern Rhodesia government referendum, 1922
The Southern Rhodesia government referendum of October 27, 1922 saw the voters of the colony of Southern Rhodesia by a comfortable majority reject the chance to join the Union of South Africa in favour of establishing a responsible government within the colony...
, breaking rule through the British South Africa Company and rejecting the chance to join the Union of South Africa in favour of establishing Responsible Government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
inside Southern Rhodesia. The electorate returned a vote for self-government, which began in October 1923 with Coghlan as its first Premier of Southern Rhodesia. Although he was on the opposite side to Sir Charles, the statesman was impressed by his capabilities, and when, just before he died, he drew up a list of those he would like to see stand for election to the next Legislative Assembly, he put Ernest Guest's name at the head of it. Guest first stood for Charter, representing the Rhodesia Party at the 1928 elections. Despite the constituency being largely Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
, he won the seat, defeating the incumbent Charles Edward Gilfillan of the Progressive Party with a majority of 283 votes to 211. He held Charter until 1946, being re-elected in 1933, 1934 (unopposed) and 1939. At the 1946 elections he stood for Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
Gardens and won, remaining there until his retirement from politics in 1948.
Cabinet Minister
At the 1933 elections, Sir Charles Coghlan'sCharles Patrick John Coghlan
Sir Charles Patrick John Coghlan was the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia and held office from October 1, 1923 until his death on August 28, 1927....
Rhodesia Party was defeated by the Reform Party of Godfrey Huggins. Guest was a key advocate in accepting the merger of the two parties under the new name of the United Party
United Federal Party
The United Federal Party, previously known as the United Party and the United Rhodesia Party, was one of Southern Rhodesia's most successful political parties, and governed the country for over 30 years...
and Huggins appointed him to his Cabinet in 1938.
He was Minister of Mines and Public Works, from 1 June 1938 to 1 February 1944. The Electricity Supply Commission came under his portfolio. It had responsibility for ensuring that the generation of electricity kept pace with the ever·growing needs of mining, farming and secondary industry. When Guest became Minister The Commission was constructing a thermal power station at Umsweswe but kept running short of money. The Minister of Finance, Jacob Smit, was reluctant to grant it further funds but would support a hydro-electric scheme. Guest proposed Kariba
Kariba
Kariba is a town in Mashonaland West province, Zimbabwe, located close to the Kariba Dam at the northwestern end of Lake Kariba, near the Zambian border. According to the 1992 Population Census, the town had a population of 20,736....
as a source of hydro-electric power and Smit provided the money for further investigation. Guest arranged with a civil engineer named Jeffares, who had earlier surveyed the route of the proposed Sinoia/Kafue railway and knew the country around Kariba, to survey the area, select a site for a power station and submit a report. When he eventually did so, Guest appointed a committee of engineers to examine the proposal. They reported favourably but did not recommend that the scheme be proceeded with immediately. Nor was the Cabinet particularly impressed and the idea was strongly criticised by the Opposition in Parliament. The outbreak of the Second World War caused it to be shelved but after the war the project was revived as a joint scheme to serve the two Rhodesias.
Second World War
At a special sitting of Parliament on August 28, 1939, Rhodesia determined to stand by Great Britain in case war should break out, as was expected. Of a white population of just 65,000, only 10,000 were fit and available for active service. The risk to the colony's future prosperity of a full Rhodesian formation being wiped out, dictated against the creation of such a unit. So mostly small groups of Rhodesians were distributed throughout the British Army, Navy and Air Force. In the Defence Report of 1939, it was stated that forces would be trained and organised not only for internal security and defence but also to defend British interests in service outside its borders.The Empire Air Training Scheme
As early as 1936, an air training scheme was inaugurated at Cranborne, near Salisbury, where the civilian flying school instructed pilots. Facilities were later extended to Bulawayo. In August 1937, Squadron Leader G.A Powell and Flight Lieutenant V.E. Maxwell were seconded from the RAF to oversee service training. In September 1939, the Rhodesian Air Training Group, under the direction of Air Vice Marshal (later Sir) Charles Meredith, took in 500 recruits at Cranborne. An offer was made to British Air MinistryAir Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
to run a flying school and to train personnel to man three squadrons, which was duly accepted.
The three squadrons later became 44
No. 44 Squadron RAF
No. 44 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is no longer operational. For most of its history it served as a heavy bomber squadron.-History:...
, 237
No. 237 Squadron RAF
No. 237 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron. During the Second World War the unit was formed from No. 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force for operations in North Africa.-History:...
and 266
No. 266 Squadron RAF
-World War I:The squadron was formed from No's 437 and 438 Flights at Mudros, Greece on 27 September 1918 to carry out anti-submarine patrols in that area, flying Short 184s and 320s along with Felixtowe F.3s. In February 1919 it was transferred to the Caucasus on HMS Engadine. It operated from...
Squadrons, Royal Air Force, bearing the name of Rhodesia. The Rhodesian Air Training Group called for submissions from the public for suggested designs for the Squadrons' crests.
Rhodesia Air Training Group
Meanwhile, preparations were underway in Rhodesia to expand facilities for the training of pilots. In January 1940 the Government announced the creation of a Department of Air, completely separate from that of Defence. Lieutenant Colonel E. Lucas Guest was appointed Minister of Air, a post he held from 28 March 1940 to 6 May 1946. Guest inaugurated and administered what became the second largest Empire Air Training Scheme, beginning with the establishment of three units at Salisbury, Bulawayo and Gwelo, each comprising a preliminary and an advanced training school.
Rhodesia was the last of the Commonwealth countries to enter the Empire Air Training Scheme and the first to turn out fully qualified pilots. No.25 Elementary Flying Training School at Belvedere Air Station, Salisbury, was the first school to be opened, on 25 May 1940 by Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham. It was followed by a Service School at Cranborne. In Bulawayo, an Elementary School was established at Sauerdale, although due to the unsuitability of the ground surface, it was moved to Induna, with a Service School at Kumalo. Gwelo had an Elementary School at Guinea Fowl and a Service School at Thornhill. The Elementary Schools were equipped with Tiger Moths and the Service Schools, single-engine Harvards and twin-engine Airspeed Oxfords. At Moffat, the first gunners passed out in September 1941 from the first and only Bombing and Gunnery School in Southern Rhodesia.
The Southern Rhodesia Air Force effectively ceased to exist after its last training course was completed on 6 April 1940.
The trainees came mainly from Britain but also from Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Fiji and Malta.
During the War, Rhodesians manned both fighter and bomber squadrons of the Royal Air Force and maintained a communications squadron in Rhodesia itself. with three stations in the Salisbury area at Belvedere, Cranborne and Mount Hampden. Eventually Rhodesia ended up with no fewer than eleven full-size air training stations.
237 (Rhodesia) Squadron
No. 1 Squadron, Southern Rhodesia Air Force, was among the units posted to East African Force
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
in Kenya in September 1939 to undertake the role of army co-operation, i.e., reconnaissance and air-photography work, as well as dive-bombing operations and ground-strafing, and conduct artillery shoots. On 22 April 1940, the squadron was renamed No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron, Royal Air Force and took the motto Primum Agmen in Caelo (The Vanguard in the Sky), being Rhodesia's first in the field.
In September 1940, 237 Squadron
No. 237 Squadron RAF
No. 237 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron. During the Second World War the unit was formed from No. 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force for operations in North Africa.-History:...
was relieved by units of the South Arican Air Force and redeployed in Sudan, where the Operations Record for the last three months of 1940 showed it was involved in reconnaissance, dive-bombing and pamphlet-dropping. At the start of 1941, the Squadron was re-equipped with less antiquated aircraft. The Hardys were replaced by Westland Lysander II army co-operation planes as well as Gladiator fighter biplanes. 237 Squadron moved out of East Africa after the defeat of the Italians in May 1941. They had seen active service in Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea and Abyssinia.
The Squadron was involved in the Western Desert Campaign
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...
against Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
. After a lull in the summer of 1941, it took heavy casualties in the closing months inflicted on it by Me109F and Macchis. It was withdrawn to the Canal Zone in February 1942 after five moths in the Western Desert.
The Squadron's crest was presented to it by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder on 30 March 1942.
266 (Rhodesia) Squadron
266 Squadron
No. 266 Squadron RAF
-World War I:The squadron was formed from No's 437 and 438 Flights at Mudros, Greece on 27 September 1918 to carry out anti-submarine patrols in that area, flying Short 184s and 320s along with Felixtowe F.3s. In February 1919 it was transferred to the Caucasus on HMS Engadine. It operated from...
, RAF, was formed at RAF Sutton Bridge
RAF Sutton Bridge
RAF Sutton Bridge is a former RAF airfield found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the River Nene, next to Walpole in Norfolk.-History:...
on 30 October 1939. Equipped with Spitfires, it was the Rhodesian fighter squadron and it took as its motto a Matabele word Hlabezulu (Stabber of Skies). It first went into action over Dunkirk on 2 June 1940.
By June 1941, the Squadron, led by Sqn Ldr T.B. de la P. Beresford, was stationed at Wittering
Wittering
Wittering may refer to,* Wittering, Cambridgeshire, formerly in Northamptonshire** RAF Wittering, near the above* Wittering, Sussex, which is divided into:** East Wittering** West Wittering...
, near Peterborough. Its duties included patrolling, escorting convoys, offensive sweeps of northern France and the Belgian and Dutch coasts, as well as escorting bombing raids over France and the Rhine.
The majority of the Squadron were Rhodesian, with the exception of a few groundstaff and the commanding officer.
In January 1942, the Squadron received Typhoons and later in the month moved to Duxford
Duxford
Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, some ten miles south of Cambridge.-History:The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex...
.
44 (Rhodesia) Squadron
44 Squadron
No. 44 Squadron RAF
No. 44 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is no longer operational. For most of its history it served as a heavy bomber squadron.-History:...
, RAF, stationed at Waddington
Waddington
Waddington is a large rural commuter village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Situated approximately south of Lincoln on the A607 Grantham Road...
, south of Lincoln, was renamed 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron in September 1941, and took as its motto Fulmina Regis Justa (The King's thunderbolts are righteous). The bomber Squadron, equipped with Hampdens, took part in raids on Berlin and many other targets, as well as mine-laying in sea traffic lanes.
It was also in September 1941 that the Squadron received the proto-type Lancaster bomber
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
, the first squadron of the RAF to receive the new aircraft. On a visit to the Squadron in December, Guest and Meredith were taken on a flight in the new plane. Although the order was given in December to cease operations in the Hampdens, it was not until 3 March 1942 that the Lancaster was put on active service on its first battle mission for the entire RAF. The Squadron, with its Lancasters, was given key targets to bomb: on 17 April 1942, six Lancasters from 44 Squadron alongside six from 97 Squadron
No. 97 Squadron RAF
No. 97 Squadron, was a Royal Air Force squadron formed on December 1, 1917 at Waddington, Lincolnshire, first as a training unit, until moving to Netheravon in March 1918, and re-equipping with the Handley Page O/400 heavy bomber. The squadron served in France for the remainder of the war...
, bombed the MAN diesel engine factory, which produced more than half of the German U-boats, as well as engines for ships, tanks and transport vehicles. The success – at a cost of five planes and crew to 44 Squadron – earned the thanks of the Prime Minister himself. The Squadron was further involved in the obliteration of Rostock on 8 May and took part in the 1,000-aircraft attack on Cologne on 30 May.
After the war
After the war, with Guest as Air Minister, Rhodesia capitalised on her experience to form her own highly efficient Air Force. He also tackled the problem of young airmen returning to civilian life, training aircrews for civilian duty as well as helping young men complete their academic education. He continued as Minister of Defence and Air from 7 June 1946 to 15 September 1948. He chaired the South African Air Transport Council in its deliberations in 1947 regarding air traffic control and the establishment of control centres at Nairobi, Salisbury and Johannesburg, as well as communications and the future needs of air transport in southern Africa.From 1944 to 1946 he was also Minister of Internal Affairs.
From 1944 to 1948, he was Leader of the House.
He was briefly Minister of Finance from 7 May 1946 to 26 September 1946.
He acted as Prime Minister at various times in 1947 and 1948 during the absence of Huggins and acted for other ministers on a number of occasions.
Family
Ernest Guest married Edith May, daughter of Thomas Jones of Singapore. She had been brought up by an uncle in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, where the two met. They had two sons, twins, and two daughters.
Children
Gwen GuestMaureen Pilling née Guest, Sir Ernest's second daughter, went to England soon after the outbreak of war and enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
(WAAF). She was not left long in the ranks and when she was commissioned as Staff Officer to the Officer Commanding, WAAF. Later she was posted to Cairo and Palestine. She married a Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
in the RAF and remained in Cairo until the end of the war.
Ernest 'Melville' C Guest (1920–1943) was nominated by the Governor of Southern Rhodesia as a Cadet for the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
at Cranwell
Cranwell
Cranwell is a village situated in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It is part of the Civil Parish of Cranwell and Byard's Leap and is located 3.95 miles north-north-west of Sleaford and 16.3 miles south-east of the county town of Lincoln...
, and he passed out shortly before the outbreak of war. He was granted a permanent commission as Pilot Officer on 9 October 1939 and promoted to Flying Officer on 9 October 1940.
He came home on leave to attend the wedding of his elder sister, Gwen, and a telegram addressed to him was included by mistake in the congratulatory telegrams read out at the reception. It read: "Return to England immediately and report to Air Ministry". He was posted to a Reconnaissance Squadron and flew a number of sorties over enemy territory and was also in the escort that accompanied the Dutch Royal Family to England. He was later posted to a squadron in West Africa and then transferred to 61 Air School at George
George, Western Cape
George is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...
in the Western Cape as a navigation instructor. He was unhappy at George and soon sought to return to operational duty. He had not been in England long when his and another aircraft were sent out on an anti-submarine patrol. They were attacked by six JU88s. The other aircraft sought the protection of the clouds but Melville decided to fight it out. He did not return. A fortnight later his son
Melville Guest
Melville Richard John Guest, OBE is a former British diplomat and first-class cricketer.He was born in what was then Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia two weeks after the death of his father, a RAF pilot who was killed in action over the English Channel. He attended Oxford University, where he played...
was born.
As well as three Mentions in Despatches, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
in 1942:
- "This officer has now completed over 1,000 hours operational flying. His qualities of endurance are phenomenal, his ability as a pilot is exceptional, and his devotion to duty is of the highest order. All his work has been done quietly and efficiently. He has set an excellent example to the younger pilots of the Squadron."
John Guest (1920–1941), Melville's twin brother, was granted a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
as the war broke out but decided not to take it up and to enlist in England instead. After his recruit's course he was sent to an Officers' Training School and was then commissioned in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
. At that time the regiment was reforming after the French disaster, and John, anxious to get into battle, applied for a transfer to the Middle East. He served with the Nigeria Regiment
Nigeria Regiment
The Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force, was formed by the amalgamation of the Northern Nigeria Regiment and the Southern Nigeria Regiment on January 1 1914...
in the Abyssinian campaign
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
, and when that ended was transferred to the King's African Rifles
King's African Rifles
The King's African Rifles was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within the East African colonies as well as external service as...
in the Western Desert. He joined it a few weeks before it went into action in Libya. He was killed in a bayonet charge at Sidi Rezegh in November, 1941.
Honours
Guest was appointed OBE in 1938 and KBE (Civil Division) in the 1944 New Years Honours List "for public services, especially in inauguration of Empire Air Training Scheme." He was also appointed CVORoyal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
by King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
during the Royal Family's visit to Rhodesia in April 1947, and CMG in 1949 New Years Honours List.
Death
Sir Ernest Lucas Guest died on 20 September 1972 at the age of 90, in Salisbury, Rhodesia. A special sitting of both divisions of the High Court was convened to pay tribute to Guest on 27 September 1972. In Parliament, a motion of condolence was moved on 14 November 1972 by John ('Jack') Hartley Howman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Public Services – and a partner in Coghlan, Welsh & Guest – as Acting Leader of the House.Legacy
The construction of Kariba DamKariba Dam
The Kariba Dam is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world, standing tall and long.- Construction :...
was one of the greatest engineering achievements in world history. It was of enormous value to the development of both Rhodesia and the Zambian Copperbelt, and the creation of the largest manmade lake in Africa south of the Sahara. That honour now belongs to Lake Volta
Lake Volta
Lake Volta is the largest reservoir by surface area in the world, and the fourth largest one by water volume. It is located completely within the country of Ghana, and it has a surface area of about 8,502 km² . Lake Volta lies along the Greenwich Meridian, and just six degrees of latitude...
in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
See also
- Politics of RhodesiaPolitics of RhodesiaRhodesia was a democratic nation in the sense that it had the Westminster parliamentary system with multiple political parties contesting the seats in parliament, but as the voting was dominated by the White settler minority and that the black Africans only had a minority level of representation at...
- Southern RhodesiaSouthern RhodesiaSouthern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...