Born on the 8th April 1919 in Selukwe, the man who was ultimately to lead the government which launched Rhodesia on the road to independence following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on 11th November 1965, passed away peacefully in the Western Cape, South Africa. His long and often controversial political career had humble beginnings following his military service to Great Britain in 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron during the Second World War. Over and above his dedication to the land that he served in government from the early 1960s, his greatest passion was for the land, and he remained on his farm in Selukwe for many years after the ultimate hand-over of power to the state of Zimbabwe in April, 1980. Since his passing, there have been many of his former enemies who have come to realise the true nature and direction of the policies his government strove to bring about, and as a result, also his supreme belief in the ultimate rights of all who shared the country formerly known as Rhodesia.