Alcohol Abuse Advice

The Gods who fell from the Sky

 

Surviving a plane crash at four. The loss of the right leg at eleven. The destruction of his left hip at fifteen. This young Douglas Bader reaches the pinnacle of his dreams in life. Impervious to the word can’t he embraces life.

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Richard Mawson, wife Penny and family return to England from South Africa in 2005 and purchase a pub in Henley upon Thames. Penny falls head first from a car seriously injuring herself, followed by a fall downstairs which breaks her back. While recovering from these injuries she leaves for South Africa to visit her brother who is also ill.

The story now backtracks to Gatwick airport, July 1946 where an Avro Anson is about to depart for Southern Africa, usually a ten day trip. On the flight are Richard Mawson (aged4), his parents and younger brother. The plane crash-lands in the Luangwa valley where the family are rescued with the help of local villagers who call the family ‘Gods who fell from the Sky’. A priest from a nearby mission sets out to find the family and takes them to Fort Jameson from where the family eventually fly to Salisbury, Rhodesia. Here Dot Mawson, Richard’s mother, falls in love with the city and the family buys a restaurant, then a hotel and a farm. A new life in a new country.

Aged 11 Richard, eldest son, loses his right leg in a farming accident and struggles to come to terms with his altered life until his father buys a boat. The very thing that levels the playing field and makes all competitors equal. Richard starts racing. And winning. Success leads to him representing his country in this sport and aged fifteen he acquires an F1 Hydroplane. He wins two championships before a horrific accident on the Zambezi river smashes both his face and left hip.

 

Conceding to his mothers wishes he sells the Hydroplane. She would like him to enjoy a gentler sport but undeterred he takes up motor racing, to her consternation. In a couple of months, he is good enough, and signs to race for a local dealership and the course of his life is set, he is apprenticed to the motor industry and passes with honours.

Paul Hawkins, a visiting UK team driver, persuades young Richard to come to Europe and learn to set up cars to race. Too late for the European season he sets off for the Monaco Grand Prix and Europe and lands a job with the makers of the movie ‘Grand Prix’.

A year on he returns to the U K, does some race car rebuilds and race preparation with a team which leads to him preparing and racing some of the fastest cars of the era. This leads to the formation of a race preparation workshop and race team with a group of South Africans and a race base of five cars. The cars are raced successfully around the world.

Richard returns to Rhodesia to help his parents run the family business and put into practice what he has learnt in Europe by opening a race preparation shop, a general car servicing and repair garage while also running factory cars in races in Southern Africa. Alfa, Renault Gordini, and Ford are the main suppliers. While in Europe he built a car for G.M. to contest the saloon car championships with success so he approached G.M. to buy a Chev Firenza Can Am, the fastest production car in the world. Once delivered the car and he make a winning team and over the next eight years Richard wins over 70 races.

The world petrol crisis of 1973 meant a cessation of motor racing in Southern Africa so he turns to motorcycling. After a couple of weeks trail riding with Southern African champions a set of crutches was purchased to complete the equipment. In this year too, he marries a Miss Rhodesia, Penny Brown.

Anticipating the start of family life it is a deep sadness when Penny loses a son born prematurely, followed by the loss of twin boys. Plagued by depression over the losses Richard’s wife turns to prescription drugs and alcohol for solace.

With the Rhodesian Terrorist war hotting up Richard is seconded to the Army for his mechanical and design capabilities, he is attached to special forces in the Rhodesian Armoured Car regiment.

Penny gives Richard a son though this seems to make little difference to her as she still mourns her losses. Dot Mawson retires and the hotel, garage, army and racing keep Richard fully occupied. The army use Richard both in Rhodesia and cross-border operations. His input in the manufacture of landmine-proof and detection vehicles proves successful and is adopted by South Africa.

With the Lancaster House talks handing power to the Nationalists Richard decides to leave his beloved Rhodesia and moves to Umhlanga Rocks in Natal, South Africa. Penny has another son and her dream is realised when the family is complete by the birth of a daughter. However this makes little difference to her drug and alcohol abuse and nineteen years later Richard brings the family home to England. Penny gradually recovers from the alcohol/drug abuse but is seriously injured in two accidents. She returns to South Africa to visit her brother and four days later is found dead in bed, devastating the family.

 

 

 

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