A photograph of what may be Makorongo in his Prisoner of War camp near Tokyo in 1944 or 1945

 

Makorongo assured me that he was held in a POW camp outside Tokyo, as did his friends but it wasn't until last year that this High Res photo was posted on the internet. This might be a photograph of him here along with the four other African servicemen captured in Burma during WWII.

There were many Americans working at the copper mine. I was interested to see most of them wore hats.

The screenplay and novel based on the extraordinary true story of how Makorongo go his four African friends out of Japan before the US bombed Tokyo is now out on submission. Let me know if you'd like to see a sample of my 3 x award-winning m/s using the comments below.

The Meeting House

 

In 1942, some 350,000 men of Africa volunteered to join the Allied Forces. 

Brave, resourceful and keen to prove themselves as warriors, many never returned from the Far East theatre of war.

One man managed to get out of a Prisoner of War camp in Japan before the Americans bombed Tokyo, bringing four East Africans with him.

  

His remarkable story is told in The Meeting House, 

now a screenplay by Sophie Neville

'Makorongo's War' wins 'A Woman's Write' international award 2019 for an unpublished novel

'Makorongo’s War' by Sophie Neville has just won the 2019 Grand Prize in A Woman’s Write competition for best unpublished novel.

The judge wrote to say, 'This year’s competition was especially difficult to judge, with many fine submissions from all over the world.' 

'Your book has been through several incarnations to its current, well organized and skillfully written state.'

'Makorongo's War' is currently in the finals of the Eyelands Book Awards for an unpublished novel in the historical fiction category under the new title 'The Man Who Got Out of Japan'. The results will be published soon.

An earlier draft won the Athanatos novel writing contest and was long-listed in the Historical Novel Society's 2018 New Novel Award who noted it was 'told with charm and empathy... in a fresh and unexpected way.'

Makorongo's War in the finals of the Eyelands Book Award

Sophie Neville's newly finished manuscript, Makorongos's War, is in the finals for the international Eyelands Book Award in the category for an unpublished novel. 

The results will be announced on 20th December with an award ceremony in Athens. 

'Makorongo's War' wins the ACM novel writing contest 2017

'Makorongo's War' by Sophie Neville has won first prize in the Athanatos Christian Ministeries' novel writing contest, awarded at the Athanatos Festival in Greenwood WI, USA on 3rd August 2017

Anthony Horvath, director of ACM, wrote to say, 'This year's contest was extraordinarily hard to judge.  I am informed by my judges that we had several very excellent manuscripts that didn't even make it to the semi-finalist stage.'

It is a huge honour for a novel set in East Africa to have won such a prestigious prize in the USA and thanks go to all who have helped bring it to this stage in its development.

*****

Life on an isolated farm in Tanganyika

There are a number of photographs taken at Oosa River in the 1940s, mostly featuring Tony's sister Joy with various handkerchief trees that grew in the garden. She always posed in the same way.

Living on an isolated farm did not perturb her. She made all her own dresses and grew her hair long, pinning it up to avoid having to get it permed or set. They were miles from any hairdresser. 

Although she sold a few of the water-colour landscapes that she painted, Joy never had a formal job. Being married was seen as an occupation in itself.

She loved Africa and the warm equatorial climate. The fact that a large cobra inhabited the fig tree in the garden did not bother her in the least.

Vera's Story

Vera with her dog

Vera's house

Vera on her horse

Tony on his gelding

Tony and Vera on Mt Kenya

Vera's garden

Vera and Tony