|
| ||
|
Monty Ramsden (late of Scunthorpe, where his brother Harry ran a small fish and chip shop) was a stubborn man. And his Yorkshire stubborness came to the fore when he received the "order" from the new Amir of Balagash that all British citizens must leave Southern Sudistan. He was determined to stay, despite intimidation, so he, his wife Molly and their daughter Mary began to fortify their river station on the banks of the White Nile, just south of Azab. 
Before the defenses were complete the local District Commissioner Malahide Wolmondesley (pronounced Wimsey) arrived to warn them the the Dervishes were coming to forcibly evict them. With Wolmondesley was his faithful bearer Wing Ding. Unfortunately as he arrived, so did two dhows full of dervishes. And Ramsden was up for a fight !  The dervishes poured off the dhows onto the wharf, despite being under fire. Monty Ramsden was distracted as his daughter Mary tried to control her dog Fido..  The dervishes charged across the wharf, supported by their riflemen. They shot down the Flemish trader Piet van Hoot and dispite casualties from Monty's rifle went straight for the French sailor Jean-Pierre Matelot.  Matelot had turned up at Ramsden's station after hearing that Monty had a daughter. He didn't realise that she was 6. Despite fighting valiantly, Matelot was cut down. Meanwhile dervish warriors attacked Commissioner Wolmondesley, and Wing Ding leaped to his rescue.  The Commissioner and his man downed their assailants but not before two warriors, working their way through the scrub managed to reach the incomplete defenses of the station. Only Molly Ramsden stood in their way...  ...and her double barrelled shotgun. With two blasts at point blank range she felled the dervishes...  ...who turned out to be the leaders of the attacking band. The rest of the dervishes fled back to the dhows and Ramsden's Station was saved. A gallant group of Britons had stood up against eviction by the rebels. But this left unanswered questions. Would this encourage others to stand. Would it provoke Mustapha Thalot, the new Emir into the violence that he had thus far eschewed? Would it provoke the British Government into action ? We shall see.     
| ||
|
|
