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Bwana, There's a Body in the Bath!
Born in Shanghai and shipped to England as a child, Peter Whitehead then made his way to Australia, solo, at the age of 13 in 1938, in order to save his family money.
Alone and working in near slave-like conditions as a farm labourer, Peter learned the art of breaking wild horses and so began a lifelong love affair with animals.
After wartime service as a horse breaker for the army and a gunner on a Liberator bomber, Peter headed to Africa and a richly varied career as an agricultural officer, national parks ranger, big game hunter, animal wrangler and rancher.
He worked on the sets of several big-name movies, including Hatari! with John Wayne, and handled lions for the smash hit film, Born Free.
Peter survived two aircraft crashes, as well as encounters with man-eating lions, zombie witches, and killer hippos, and nearly drowned in a crocodile infested river.
Along the way, he also helped save an endangered species and found a woman who would put up with him.
Bwana, there’s a body in the bath is Peter’s story of nearly a century of incredible adventures.
Alone and working in near slave-like conditions as a farm labourer, Peter learned the art of breaking wild horses and so began a lifelong love affair with animals.
After wartime service as a horse breaker for the army and a gunner on a Liberator bomber, Peter headed to Africa and a richly varied career as an agricultural officer, national parks ranger, big game hunter, animal wrangler and rancher.
He worked on the sets of several big-name movies, including Hatari! with John Wayne, and handled lions for the smash hit film, Born Free.
Peter survived two aircraft crashes, as well as encounters with man-eating lions, zombie witches, and killer hippos, and nearly drowned in a crocodile infested river.
Along the way, he also helped save an endangered species and found a woman who would put up with him.
Bwana, there’s a body in the bath is Peter’s story of nearly a century of incredible adventures.
- GenresAfrica
369 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 9, 2022
20 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Peter Whitehead
33 books8 followersUnderground filmmaker, novelist, falconer and music video pioneer Peter Whitehead is no longer in this world, a stunning, overwhelming fact to anyone who knew him or formed a fragment in his fragmented life. He was captivated by myths and in many ways sought to turn his own life into one. Films such as The Fall (1969) appeared to provide keys to the secrets of the media age and were undeniably potent, locking libidinal energy into swinging camera movements and tight 16mm edits. It was a hybrid piece about violence and revolution in the USA: part-essay film, part-avant-garde formalist work, part-personal film, part-psychedelia, part-reportage documentary.
In his guise as a counter-cultural documentarian, the strikingly handsome Whitehead, who has died aged 82, travelled the world, changed his identity, moved between classes and had relationships with numerous glamorous, often famous women – almost like a 60s spy. He was partially emblematic of the age by the way he went from a working-class background, the son of a Liverpudlian plumber, to Cambridge University, there making numerous connections that bubbled up later in his life.
In his guise as a counter-cultural documentarian, the strikingly handsome Whitehead, who has died aged 82, travelled the world, changed his identity, moved between classes and had relationships with numerous glamorous, often famous women – almost like a 60s spy. He was partially emblematic of the age by the way he went from a working-class background, the son of a Liverpudlian plumber, to Cambridge University, there making numerous connections that bubbled up later in his life.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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December 28, 2023I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a book signing. This is a biography of Peter Whitehead's life, a very interesting fellow, most notably known for handling the lions in the movie Born Free. If you've ever read a children's book where 12 year olds do all sorts of improbably heroic things, that's exactly the life Whitehead has led. He watched a film about Australia when bunking off school as a child and managed to convince his mother to let him move there, alone. At 13! The 1930s must have been wild.
I found the beginning, covering Whitehead's childhood and army career the most fascinating. The later years less so, mostly because it involved a lot of questionable animal handling. Good standards for the time but uncomfortable to read now. Big game hunting and conservation were inextricably linked and it's sad to think how many elephants were killed by game rangers as late as the 1960s/70s.
I dislike rating biographies because what am I supposed to say, 'sorry your 30s weren't that interesting?' Same, dude. Same. Still this was well written and I'm glad I read it.
I found the beginning, covering Whitehead's childhood and army career the most fascinating. The later years less so, mostly because it involved a lot of questionable animal handling. Good standards for the time but uncomfortable to read now. Big game hunting and conservation were inextricably linked and it's sad to think how many elephants were killed by game rangers as late as the 1960s/70s.
I dislike rating biographies because what am I supposed to say, 'sorry your 30s weren't that interesting?' Same, dude. Same. Still this was well written and I'm glad I read it.
May 23, 2022
***REVIEW***
Bwana There’s a Body in the Bath is the fabulous autobiography of Peter Whitehead, born in Shanghai in 1922 and still going strong today! Peter spent his childhood years in England before emigrating, alone, at the age of 13, to Australia where he worked as a farm labourer and eventually became a horse breaker. In World War 2 Peter saw service as a horse breaker, and gunner on a Liberator bomber, after which time he took off for Africa where his life became the stuff of a big-screen, blockbuster movie, even including working on massive movie projects of the time, such as Hatari and Born Free, and as a national parks ranger, big game hunter and rancher. This is a life story definitely worth reading not only for the sheer entertainment value of learning of Peter’s adventures but for the admiration he inspires for his determination, from the age of 13, to make his own destiny. His courage, self-reliance and fortitude have seen him through for one hundred years and I would like to take the liberty of quoting Peter here “…I can definitely say that nobody could have enjoyed a better life than I, because I have done exactly what I wanted, wherever I wanted, and had the support of a wonderful woman.” (Peter’s wife, Lorna, passed away in 1995).
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Bwana There’s a Body in the Bath is the fabulous autobiography of Peter Whitehead, born in Shanghai in 1922 and still going strong today! Peter spent his childhood years in England before emigrating, alone, at the age of 13, to Australia where he worked as a farm labourer and eventually became a horse breaker. In World War 2 Peter saw service as a horse breaker, and gunner on a Liberator bomber, after which time he took off for Africa where his life became the stuff of a big-screen, blockbuster movie, even including working on massive movie projects of the time, such as Hatari and Born Free, and as a national parks ranger, big game hunter and rancher. This is a life story definitely worth reading not only for the sheer entertainment value of learning of Peter’s adventures but for the admiration he inspires for his determination, from the age of 13, to make his own destiny. His courage, self-reliance and fortitude have seen him through for one hundred years and I would like to take the liberty of quoting Peter here “…I can definitely say that nobody could have enjoyed a better life than I, because I have done exactly what I wanted, wherever I wanted, and had the support of a wonderful woman.” (Peter’s wife, Lorna, passed away in 1995).
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June 30, 2023
Peter Whitehead has led a fascinating life. Never one to be anxious about where his next meal, or job, was coming from, he found that time after time a job turned up just when he needed it. He started his working career in Australia, as a 13-year-old, working with horses, trained up cavalry mounts for soldiers in the Second World War and later went to Africa, where he spent most of his life with horses and a variety of other animals - and a good number of bureaucrats still working under the old systems left over from the days of the British Empire.
Adventure after adventure is written up in a very readable style, including his connections with various films that were made at least partly in Africa, such as the famous movie about Elsa the lioness called Born Free.
This is an immensely readable book even for readers who might not be into dealing with animals and African adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Adventure after adventure is written up in a very readable style, including his connections with various films that were made at least partly in Africa, such as the famous movie about Elsa the lioness called Born Free.
This is an immensely readable book even for readers who might not be into dealing with animals and African adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
June 11, 2023
What an amazing life the now 99 year old Peter Whitehead has had! We, as readers, are so fortunate he wrote his life's story with a little help from well known novelist, Tony Park. Peter certainly packed a lot into his life from Shanghai, to England, to Australia, to Africa, Ireland before finally retiring to the south island of New Zealand. But even in his nineties he is still going strong and speaking to many groups about his life's adventures. This is the only book I have ever read twice. Loved it!!
May 25, 2024
Good read , because I know most of the places, in fact think I met David in Botswana when i was with Standard Chartered Bank.
Loved the descriptions of the Film Directors. Just as I knew them when the wanted to borrow money for films when I was in London.
The Plane crash in Zambia was similar to the Bank/Phillps plane around the same are later.
Well he has had a good life that why i travel north from Cape Town in winter with my 4X4 and bush trailer to Namibia, Botswana & Zambia. Luckily my friend has a house on the Zambezi where I visit.
Loved the descriptions of the Film Directors. Just as I knew them when the wanted to borrow money for films when I was in London.
The Plane crash in Zambia was similar to the Bank/Phillps plane around the same are later.
Well he has had a good life that why i travel north from Cape Town in winter with my 4X4 and bush trailer to Namibia, Botswana & Zambia. Luckily my friend has a house on the Zambezi where I visit.
October 20, 2022
This is not a typical Tony Park adventure book but an autobiography of the life of his uncle. The first chapter drew me in with a great description of the life of a game ranger in colonial Zambia. However a large part of the book describes his life in Australia as a horse trainer which I found tedious as a I am not interested in horses and do not understand a lot of the horse terminology that is used
March 24, 2024
A Really Good Yarn
An entertaining read about a remarkable man, a wandering life, no challenges too hard to conquer. A true individual with no boundaries.
An entertaining read about a remarkable man, a wandering life, no challenges too hard to conquer. A true individual with no boundaries.
March 2, 2025
The best book I’ve read in a year. Light hearted but action packed. A great look at an incredible life in Australia and Africa in a distant time.
June 8, 2025
High adventure with a bit of derry doo! Quite and interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews