Musings Of An Ex-Rhodesian - What About The King

One might think, perhaps, that eighteen years would be time enough to develop a sense of identity.  After all, we had never been anything other than British.  In front of the Post Office, Police Station, District Commissioners Office, Customs Office and Immigration Office, at the railway station and both the primary and secondary schools, it was the Union Jack that stirred languidly in the tropical sun.  On occasions of civil solemnity it was 'God save our Gracious King' that was sung, low, slow and meaningful.  Memories from more than half a century ago remain vivid.  Of the dignitaries of our little Rhodesian border town standing stiffly, a little awkwardly to attention as they sang, and as a boy I wondered at the power of a monarch so far distant.

Our money bore his likeness, his head was printed on our postage stamps.  He was our sovereign leader, he was the King.  The very word resonated with a power and pride that evidently all the adults felt and was ingrained in us from birth.

This little bit of Africa, with other bits adjoining and scattered over the continent, bringing civilization, peace and progress to the continent, was under the  control of that one man, the king, whose power extended over much of the world beyond Africa too.  And over it all, the king, the king, was potentate.  Primarily he was the great benefactor, bringing blessings in a varied multitude of ways, to tribes and nations all over the globe.  And because there were always those who made trouble, the king was always the one to keep the peace, providing the security we felt, being British and benefactors to the world and all who wished to live in peace to make the best they could out of life.  It never occurred to us that anyone would want it any other way.

This put a burden of tremendous responsibility on our King, but being King, he commended, and deserved, the loyalty, effort and energy of all decent, right-minded people to direct the running of the world in the best way possible.

So we took off our hats and stood to attention, proud and wondering and ready to follow our elders to do whatever was necessary, directed by our king.  It was a feeling we inherited from our earliest childhood.  It stirred the blood and we felt that it was good; good for our country, good for everybody. So our hearts were in it when we said, and sang and shouted: "Long Live the King!"

1932 CANADA "King George V" 3 Cents (Deep Red) Stamp (#197)