The Sunshine Land: Ghana Fifty: Memories of Independence, 1957

by David Wedd

Fifty years ago, David Wedd was a young army officer in West Africa's Gold Coast, when that country became Ghana, the first black African colony to gain independence from British rule. In an account that is by turns exciting, funny and poignant, he depicts the changeover 'from the inside'. His lively portrait of the emerging nation introduces us to a whole gallery of the European and African soldiers in his Battalion; traders and market women; religious leaders and witch-doctors; sportsmen, teachers and musicians; and political leaders, including Ghana's first Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah. He tells of his work as an intelligence officer in the new nation and his exploration of the rain forest with its exotic scenery and wildlife, and he shares with us his journey north, through Burkina Faso and Mali to the Sahara Desert and the old town of Timbuktu. Throughout these pages his love of West Africa, with its varied landscapes and above all its exuberant people, is inescapable.

292 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2007

Reviews

[James Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book David Wedd recounts his experiences and observations made during his tenure as a leftenant seconded to the Gold Coast Regiment in 1956. The following spring the British colony of the Gold Coast became Ghana, the first of many former colonies to become independent states. Thanks to notes and journals he kept during the period his book discusses the regimental life of African soldiers and the unique aspects of life in the tropics. Wedd's observation of the transfer of power to Kwame Nkrumah (who would later start another tradition, that of first-elected leaders deciding they need to remain as dictator) is confined to the enthusiastic celebrations and ceremonies related to independence. Later in the book, when he discusses post-coup trips to Accra, does he look at the problems related to Nkrumah's presidency.

What I found most fascinating was the trip David Wedd and James Ankumah (another officer of the regiment) took to Timbuktu. While a fascinating adventure, dealing with new people, French bureaucracy and the difficulties of African motor transport it was a trip that possible in the 1950s that could not be done today. It also says something about the kind of things lieutenants can get away with that field grade officers cannot.

Includes lots of photos by the author.