CANNON FODDER

Introduction to: CANNON FODDER

An English Boy Raised and Blooded in the Cannon's Mouth


Like many English couples exhausted and disenchanted after World War One, Douglas Baker's mother and father emigrated with their children to South Africa searching for new opportunities to settle the restlessness that the war had engendered in them. South Africa itself was a potpourri of races and cultures which offered opportunities that favoured some, whilst allowing them to retain their very English culture.


Douglas himself, born in England, had to contend with conditions in the foreign land in which his family had chosen to raise him. South Africa was a war torn nation where there had been 82 fiercely fought battles against indigenous peoples like the Zulus, more recent settlers like the immigrant Boers, German colonials and more recently rebellious elements bordering on civil war. Added to this furore, a mix of contending civilizations was the discovery of gold and diamonds on the Rand and at Kimberly which added to the excitement and competition. It was through the English residents and Empire builders like Cecil Rhodes that the curse of Apartheid and its stark regulations were challenged.

Cannon Fodder is the prequel to War, Wine & Valour (published in 2005), and documents the author's childhood up to his volunteering to fight for king and country during the Second World War.