Media
Reviews:
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Jason van Deventer - Highway
Mail (A Caxton / CTP Group newspaper - South Africa)
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Tim Ramsden had a busy two years in service of the South African nation, spending nine months mastering mechanised infantry tactics and techniques before becoming part of one of the first national servicemen (NSM) intakes to be deployed into the townships in addition to serving along the Angolan and Mozambican borders.
Border-line Insanity – A National Serviceman’s Story is Ramsden’s very-readable account of his two-year stint (January 1984 to December 1985) in browns, as well as his mobilisation in mid-1988 as part of 81 Armoured Brigade, dispatched to Ruacana in northern Namibia to counter the Cuban 50th Motor Rifle Division that was bearing down on the SA occupation force there.
Ramsden broke regulations at the time by presciently keeping a diary of his activities and that of his platoon in addition to having a camera to hand. As a result the book is well supplied with original and previously-unpublished photographs. One perennial weakness of this style of book remains maps. Unfortunately just one general map of Namibia is included in this book. The reviewer lives in hope that this issue will be addressed.
Border-line Insanity is how it was for generations of white youngsters conscripted into the South African Defence Force and sent to distant borders. An excellent account of training at De Brug, township duty in Thokoza and plodding through the Ovambo bush in the worst possible conditions – in the midst of the rainy season when the country becomes one large swamp. Also well-described is basic training, and a deployment into the Kruger National Park – “Army life at its best” to patrol the Mozambique border. The deployment had unfortunate consequences for three of Ramsden’s section mates who entered Mozambique for a swim and found themselves taken prisoner…
Leon Engelbrecht - DefenceWeb
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It’s a story common to tens of thousands; called up, broken down, trained, thrust into action. Only a few have been able to produce a compelling narrative; Ramsden is one.
He doesn’t gloss over the racism of the time, nor the fiery hatreds and temporary insanities, likewise the lasting bonds formed at such a time. He kept a diary and an (illegal) camera; his acute ear for dialogue and a good visual sense make this an enthralling record.
Particularly interesting in view of today’s rewriting of history is his description of “township duties” where he describes being welcomed, even feted, as an alternative to the hated police. So too is the “add on” account of three of his comrades who strayed into Mozambican territory and spent a lengthy period in a Maputo jail.
James Mitchell - The Star
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Readers'
Comments:
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Tim , what a great read with such detail. I won't ask how you managed to take such nice pictures, especially the ones when walking across the Grootfontein apron, with the place crawling with Mil Police. Your attention to detail is remarkable as I too was there with Alpha Company in 84 as Ops Medic based in and around 61 Mech Batt.
In a strange way I found it disparaging that I never got the opportunity to see and take part in the concluding battles of Ops Hooper and Modular etc but I was studying at the time.
Your account of the Cuca shops and the people was just so uplifting. I loved the people as I treated hundreds at Cuca shops and TBs. I often get flashbacks of those smells of diesel fumes and gunpowder smoke which certainly came to the fore whilst reading this magnificent memoir. You mentioned the shooting accident when a poor soul was shot in Alpha comp in training on De Brug. I have more detail if you wish but it was a very tragic moment on that fateful day, as I attended him when it happened.
This was war, and your'e so forthright in saying that we were kept in the dark with very little or no information which was one of the big frustrations of that war, even until today.
Dr. Simon Abbott
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I would like to congratulate you you on a really fine piece of writing, more especially as it is a first off!. I was amazed at the amount of detail present - of events, of observations, and of emotions you were able to recall after so many years, and yet still impart such a sense of vividness and immediacy for the reader. There was always the danger of repetition because of the on-going repetition of circumstances, but in the main you managed to cloak this with interesting asides. You told it as it was and pulled no punches, which is what makes it a unique record which I am sure will be referenced by (impartial) historians of the future. Their insight would be augmented by an even rarer photographic record of life on the border. I found your imaginative use of similes and metaphors very descriptive and
appropriate. You were able to impart to the reader the strong bonds of friendships developed among the comrades of Platoon 3, despite inevitable clashes and vast differences in backgrounds among yourselves. This was most strongly brought out following the capture of three of them. The final chapter dealing with Lawrence's experiences in Mozambique (which were no doubt similar to those of his two fellow prisoners) was very moving, and, although you were not there, you seemed again to capture in writing the immediacy of the moment from what he was able to tell you years later. Somehow I found myself repeatedly looking at the cover picture of your face beneath the helmet; there was an air of mystery in your enigmatic expression which concealed thoughts that might have been going through your mind at the time, and I wondered what they
were.
The inclusion by the publisher of the Roles of Honour, the Honoris Crux Awards and the insert on Freedom Park were most welcome, but the latter leaves a sad taste in the mouth, and casts doubt on the possibility of there ever being a South African Rainbow Nation.
Mike Sole - Randburg, South Africa
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Hi Tim.
I saw your book for the first time this past weekend. I was browsing in a CNA in East London and I saw your face on the cover and it seemed familiar. I picked up the book and read a few lines in the foreword and knew that this book was about the same Bravo company that I served in. Naturally I bought the book and almost read it at one sitting. I was the Company HQ medic in Bravo company.
I vaguely remember you, but I remember well many of the others you write about. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it to be a largely accurate account of our experiences.
Warwick Osmond - South Africa
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My own story is also full of opvoks, rondvoks, quarries, dry river beds,
ammo cases, gyppo guts, death, dust, thunderstorms, flies, dehydration,
cancelled passes and a host of other very vivid memories which are too
many to mention. However, it is not as interesting as yours, and so is
not worthy of a book.
Your book was a brilliant read, and I am absolutely delighted, as a
white male South African, that your story has been told. It is not only
your story; it is our story, and by telling it you have scratched an
itch that thousands of us have had for the past few decades. I thank you
for that!
One of the aspects of the book that I particularly enjoyed was your
affection for Africa - both for the people and for the environment. That
was obvious from your interaction with black families in the township
and in SWA, and from your appreciation of nature, even in the toughest
of circumstances. Your description of the eagle being shot on the border
struck a chord with me; I recall being absolutely appalled by a troop
shooting an owl with tracers one night – a curiously similar incident
to yours.
To me, our fight was really just a smallish battle in the wider struggle
against the global expansion of communism. If the National Party
had capitulated by withdrawing from SWA/Angola and allowing a
one-man-one-vote-once election to take place prior to the end of the
Cold War, it would have been lights out for South Africa, which would
then have become a chaotic Marxist state. Nelson Mandela was
released only two months after the Berlin Wall came down – in my view
that was no coincidence. By “holding the bridge”, we bought time for
the Soviet Empire to go bankrupt, which spelled the end of Communism as
a global threat, and allowed the democratisation of South Africa without
a descent into Soviet-backed anarchy, poverty and starvation (like all
our frontline states), which would have been far worse for black South
Africans than for us whites. I am proud to have been part of this
struggle and whilst the liberal media likes to portray our battle as a
battle lost, the overall war has, most decidedly, been won. It is
now up to black and white South Africans alike to reach out and grab the
unique commercial opportunities which present themselves in sub-Saharan
Africa, rather than to squander these through a culture of entitlement
and corruption.
Many thanks again for your superb book. If you happen to be in
London sometime, please look me up. My wife and I would be
delighted to treat you and your family to a braai.
Charles Barlow - UK
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Tim,
This is Dolf Bam (ex 2nd lieutie). I got your book on Sunday 26, 2009 as a gift from a friend, how discovered it in a bookshop in Pretoria. Paging the book, he discovered that I was mentioned all over the book.
It takes me only two nights of intense reading and studying the content. Once started to read, time didn’t matter because of the intense and emotional recall of a year (1985) in my life.
I must complement you on an excellent piece of work. This is the most accurate documentation of the South-African boarder and trans-boarder war that I have read, and very important out of the viewpoint of a troop and not that of a war corresponded.
Being a platoon commander with platoon 3 was the biggest challenge of my live. Coming from a farm, Afrikaans speaking, boarding school on the platteland, and a very conservative upbringing in a Dutch Reform family and community: this was a culture shock. Commanding mechanized companies and battle teams in Owambo and Angola (Ops Modular) during 1987-1990 was a peace of cake thanks to platoon 3. During Ops Modular I constantly wandering how would platoon 3 and I managed this, being the best Meg Platoon in 1984. During all of this I lost a total of seven men in action. With the turn of the New South-Africa I was a Major due for a Lt-Colonel in 4 months, calling it quits going back to the family farm. The most important thing that I learned from platoon 3 was to treat all men just and equal, with great success. In doing that I never had members of my command challenging authority and blatantly disobeyed orders.
Pleasing the rank of Coy HQ as well as the needs of the troops of platoon 3 was a daily struggle for survival. Motivating, 39 men under my command to execute the “senseless” patrolling of the Yati at a pace of up to 300km per day and at times longer distances than that was not a pleasant task. All of this in extreme conditions as mentioned in detail in your book.
I managed to come out of this as a proud member of platoon 3, telling all the tales to my staff members and troops over the years (1986 – 1996). The lessons learned from this are still applied on a daily base in my live. I am a commercial farmer in difficult economic times. Farming on the family farms in the Amersfoort and Wakkerstroom district, where the farmers offered you and Wayne the beer on your way back from Durban to 4
SAI.
The constant challenging of authority and disobedience of orders resulted in the capture of the late Kpl Kolenda and his two troops Sandor and Laurence by FRELIMO, inside Mozambican territory. This incident took a heavy toll on me (21 years old), knowing that I had issued direct and very clear orders on the boundaries of the operation and not to wonder off in to Mozambique. (I have kept the proof of that up till today)
After reading Border-Line Insanity I am constantly thinking of platoon 3 and what have became of us all. Who passed away? Where are the rest and what are they doing today etc……..
If you want to? Please e-mail me. I will scan you a photo of Paul, Sandor and Laurence taken after their return to 4 SAI.
Regards,
Dolf Bam - South Africa
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Border-Line Insanity, by Tim Ramsden, shed light on events I never knew
happened. I was shocked to hear not only how blacks were treated, but
even more so how the South African government treated their own young
men. The context was not pleasant to read--brutally honest, raw and
real, however, it was well written and kept my interest from cover to
cover.
This book depicts an event in history that is hard to talk about, but
inevitably harder to deal with later on in life if not talked about. The
emotional baggage that was unpacked and sorted out in this book is huge.
It is scary to think of how many war veterans there are carrying around
baggage and passing it down to their children and children's children.
This book can trigger many frightening thoughts in ones head, however,
this book is more so a shining source of hope, for it shows us how even
painful wounds of that magnitude can be healed.
This book didn't only educate me on the events that took place in South
Africa, but also educated me on the importance of knowing our world's
history. I believe this book sparked an interest for history in me--an
interest and a curiosity that my generation is seriously and dangerously
lacking. One could say that we are lucky to live in a peaceful country
where we have our freedom and although this is true, I don't think young
people know enough about not having freedom to fully appreciate its
worth. How can we appreciate our freedom if we don't know what we are
free from?
Throughout high school history classes I have learned a lot about the
history of our world; however, the texts we read in class are bland and
boring, written with no emotion. After reading Border-Line Insanity I
feel I have a better understanding about how war is--the complete
opposite of our impassive history text books--full of emotion. It is
because of my new understanding that I am able to appreciate my freedom
in a way I could not before. I think that in this day and age, my
generation is so desensitized, to the point, where we take things too
lightly, and are indifferent to things that would have otherwise shocked
and disturbed us. We see evil in movies, the news, and even in video
games and think nothing of it. I have to admit that I am a victim of
this generational ignorance. If I did not know the Author of this book,
I don't think I would have been able to care as much as I did. Just
realizing this about myself has made me see how naïve my generation is.
More war veterans need to be brave, like Tim, and tell their real
stories to their sons and daughters, so that their sons and daughters
will be able to make real of past wars. We need to educate our children
in order to make sure they know that past wars were very real, and that
they were more than just a scene out of a movie. So, thank you Tim for
this book. It was a cold bucket of water splashed over my unconscious
soul--sent shivers up and down my spine, but nevertheless, woke me wide
awake.
Ally Zeps - Canada
Source: www.amazon.ca
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Some of the reviewers like myself may have
known Tim at school and many like myself were also conscripts. I read
the book because I wanted to understand the authors experience. Army
life for me could not have been more different than that described by
Tim. His book is an exceptionally vivid and open personal reflection of
his experiences which highlight the dreadful nature of human hate and
conflict. After reading this book one realizes just how severe the
impact of "National Service" was on many ordinary and even
"well educated" young South Africans.
You, the reader will be able to reflect on the amazing and peaceful
evolution of the NEW South Africa. Some of Tim's moments of reflective
introspection will be shocking but highlight the miracle of
reconciliation.
In his inauguration speech in 1994 President Mandela said "...We
must therefore act together as a united people, for national
reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world...
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will
again experience the oppression of one by another ..."
It is my hope that the readers of Tim's book will be the peace makers so
that it "never and never again shall be..."
I urge you to read Tim Ramsden's book "Boarder-Line Insanity".
Ro Luyt - South Africa
Source: www.amazon.ca
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"The eyes are the windows of the
soul" In Border-Line Insanity, I felt it in validation.
Tim shares his bare-all life experience as an 18 year-old soldier in the
South African Army during the years of the Apartheid. This soul, mind,
and heart felt book takes one through an emotional, yet entertaining
roller coaster journey leaving the readers yearning for more.
This gripping book is written with passion, intensity and power tapping
into the core of human feeling, understanding and most importantly,
truth. I remember clearly the day when my dad had explained his similar
situation of that of Laurence's, rotting away in a Burmese jail cell for
nearly four months in the early 1960's. The horrendous inhumane
conditions, disrespect of human life and the unspeakable tortures shed
so much light into how truly evil prison life can be and how precious
human life really is.
Tim, I would really like to praise you for sharing your incredibly brave
and personal experience with the world and for allowing us to get a
glimpse of the harsh realities of life in the South African Army.
It was not only an honour but a pleasure to have been given the
opportunity to read this wonderful piece of work. For this, I deeply
thank you.
Karima Ahmed - Canada
Source: www.amazon.ca
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How do I begin but tell everyone that
"Border-Line Insanity" is truly an amazing read. I very much
enjoyed this true story which leaves the reader wanting more!
"Border-Line Insanity" is a very detailed, compelling and
descriptive book that only allows you see everything happening before
your eyes through the eyes of the writer and what he experienced during
the apartheid in the South African Army in the mid 1980's. I found as I
read this book; I laughed, I cried, I thought, I wondered, and I
realized how thankful I was to have grown up enjoying my teen years
during the 1980's as a Canadian female; but now, can even be more
thankful for all the Canadian teenage boys who were free from war and
army life not having to be forced to join something they knew nothing
about.
I can only give two thumbs up for this book and feel honoured that I was
able to read it and hope that everyone will gain the same experience I
had not wanting to put it down. Excellent book Tim!!! I loved it!
Dara S. Spurrell - Canada
Source: www.amazon.ca
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Being an ex soldier of the South African
Defense Force myself, this book brought back many memories, some good
and others not so good.
I found the book to be a true encounter of a soldiers 2 year call-up to
the army to protect a country we were lead to believe belonged to us,
the white man.
Tim, well done man - you have written a fantastic book. Thank you.
Bruce Cable - South Africa
Source: www.amazon.ca
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Sometimes through adversity, the true
measure of a person is revealed. Anyone who has spent time in the
military (wherever in the world that may be) will relate to the story
that Tim so vividly explains. But more than a depiction of military
life, this is a journey of self discovery that anyone can find
similarity with. Thanks Tim for documenting this part of your life.
Peter Moulder - New Zealand
Source: www.amazon.com
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Tim Ramsden's book gives an honest, yet
sometimes horrifying, account of what national service in the South
African Defence Force was like in the apartheid years of the 1980s. This
well-crafted and accurate book will interest to all those who have
fought in the ghastly wars around the world in the last few decades.
Vietnam, Iraq, Rhodesia, Bosnia all come to mind. Long periods of
boredom, male bonding and horrible living conditions with moments of
indefinable terror are minutely detailed. Well worth reading.
AW Hambly
Source: www.amazon.com
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