Meet Alan Thrush - author of Of Land and Spirits


Alan Thrush, the unassuming author of Of Land and Spirits, was born in Wallingford, England, in 1954. His family emigrated to Rhodesia in 1960 and Alan came to identify strongly with his adopted country. He says: "...I grew up there and spent the better part of my youth defending what Rhodesia stood for. The country and the events of the bush war shaped my character - I don't believe I shall ever regard myself as anything other than Rhodesian." Alan was schooled at the prestigious Christian Brothers College in Bulawayo, Rhodesia's second city, where he completed his A- Levels in 1973.
    Alan was called up for national service in the Rhodesian Army in 1974 and decided to attest into the regular force where he attempted the gruelling Officers' Selection Board. Alan was successful and received his commission as a second lieutenant in February 1975. His request for an infantry posting was ignored by the Army's powers-that-be, however. Instead, he was packed off to the Corps of Signals which, in turn, sent Alan to the University of Rhodesia to read for a degree in electrical engineering. That was in 1976, however, and the war in Rhodesia had escalated to such an extent that Alan found himself attached to combat units during all his university vacations. The young lieutenant served in the Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment, the Rhodesia Regiment's 8th Battalion, A Company of the 1st Battalion Rhodesian African Rifles, the Rhodesian Light Infantry's 2 Commando, and eventually A Company of the 2nd Battalion Rhodesian African Rifles.
    Alan recalls wryly that he "began to associate university vacs with almost daily combat". Increasingly, too, Alan found it more difficult to divorce himself from the war and concentrate on his studies. His application to be rebadged into a combat unit was successful and so he moved across to A Company of the 2nd Battalion Rhodesian African Rifles where he served much of the remainder of the war under the leadership of Major Andre Dennison - one of the Rhodesian Army's most notable field commanders.
    Alan's three years with the RAR were a time of intensive action. Much of his time was spent on fire force duties throughout Rhodesia and he was heavily involved in the external raids the Army mounted on targets in neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique. It was while serving with A Company that Alan won the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia. He received his medal at the same awards ceremony at which a posthumous Silver Cross of Rhodesia was awarded to his friend and fellow platoon commander, Lieutenant Bruce Thompson.
    In 1979, Alan was posted to the School of Infantry in Gwelo to train officers from the national service intakes.  He returned to 2RAR to join Support Company early in 1980, remaining in the field until the end of the war.
    In July 1980, Alan moved to South Africa where the erstwhile soldier applied himself to a new career in marketing.
    Alan Thrush, the quiet, intelligent man who survived unscathed a war that felled so many, turned his experiences of the fighting into a worthwhile writing project.
    Throughout 1981 and 1982 he resolutely set down a fictionalised account of the war whilst the memories were still fresh. The foundation of Of Land and Spirits was well laid and is technically as accurate as can be. Alan's quest for authenticity extended into two rewrites of the manuscript, the final version drawing into his story the ZANLA and ZIPRA viewpoints.
    What has emerged is a balanced novel worthy of the accolades that have come its way since publication in 1997. Of Land and Spirits has proved an instant best seller in South Africa, were it climbed to top position in the Sunday Times' bestseller list.
    Alan lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he heads up his own marketing firm.