The Boy: Baden-Powell and the Siege of Mafeking Book

Historical mythology credits Robert Baden-Powell, father of the Boy Scout movement, as the "Hero of Mafeking" and the St. George who saved England in its darkest hour. In reality, the authors of this revisionist history assert that he was the "Monster of Mafeking" --- responsible for untold tragedy during the siege of that town in the South African War. In this new biography, the authors set out to debunk some of the myths that we have lived with for so long. Cryptic though it may seem, "The Boy" refers at once to Baden-Powell's suspected lover, Kenneth McLaren; to Baden-Powell being the ultimate "boy-man"; and to Sol Plaatje and the long line of South African black men condescendingly called "boys". In this highly controversial look at events surrounding Mafeking, the Tshidi-Barolong inhabitants of nearby Mahikeng, the native "stadt" just outside Mafeking, emerge as the real luminaries in the drama of the siege. Time and again, they saved Baden-Powell from himself and ensured that the town was not overrun by Boers. The authors claim that it is two of these men who deserve the title "Hero of Mafeking". One was Sol Plaatje, who went on to become the first Secretary-General of the South African Natuve National Congress, the forerunner to the African National Congress. The other was Mathakgong, a cattle raider and guerrilla fighter. When the glossy cover is jerked from the fetid pit that is Mafeking, a crime unfolds that is beyond denunciation. Approximately 2,000 people died during the Siege of Mafeking. One thousand - African, Boer and Briton - were killed in action, died of wounds, or expired from disease. The other thousand - all Africans, except for one Dutch child - died of starvation. Was Baden-Powell the immaculate hero that his defenders would have us believe he was? Or was he a genocidal tyrant as the authors assert? This critical reappraisal of a key event in South African history casts new light on a fascinating story that many had thought they knew well.Read More