Interesting story, and also the inspiration for the annual Africa Beetle Rally
The Libyan Desert, 1952. The only sound that night, 60km from Bangazi, was the low revving of the BMW motorcycle and sidecar. The searchlight mounted on the sidecar swept slowly from side to side hoping to catch the reflection of two eyes in the piercing beam of light. The two young men in their mid-twenties were out rabbit hunting.
The beam swept over something that broke the normal terrain. "What was that, bring it back!" The sidecar passenger brought the beam back onto the objects. The driver cut the engine and a heavy silence descended on the desert. " I don’t believe it!" the passenger whispered. Caught in the beam of light, semi-burried by at least 8 years of wind driven sand, lay a German W.W.II Kubelwagen. A slow search of the area revealed another one. Two Kubelwagens abandoned for whatever reason in the Libyan Desert. Both still in good order and only in need of a new battery and a good tyre pump!
One of those young men was Horst Erich Ernst Grossmann, a bricklayer by trade, working for the British War Department in Libya since 1949. What, you may ask, was a German doing working for the British War Department in North Africa. That, I’m afraid, is an entire story of its own and not part of the odyssey about to ensue.
They retrieved both the Kubelwagens from the desert with not much difficulty. They immediately sold the one in Bangazi for 8 Pounds! The remaining one Horst set about restoring as best he could. Being in the building trade he asked a carpenter friend to manufacture a new roof for his ‘Kubel’. The original had perished under the sun and the sand. This was done with a simple wooden framework covered with galvanized steel sheeting followed by a canvas outer covering. The two front seats were made to fold backwards to enable two people to sleep in the car. Being the standard German Army model, the rear compartment housed 5 Jerry cans and a further one under each front seat.
In 1954 Horst met a fellow colleague by the name of Chris Beidasch. Libya had just gained its independence and the working environment deteriorated to such an extent that Chris suggested that they head for South Africa where he knew a friend who would employ them. It did not take much persuasion before they had both transferred their entire life savings of a few thousand Pounds to a bank in South Africa. In May 1954, with 200 Pounds each, they set off for Egypt. It was at the Egyptian border that they encountered their first obstacle. The authorities wanted a deposit for the ‘Kubel’ to the sum of 150 Pounds! No amount of pleading and bargaining could shift the border authorities and they paid this precious sum with the promise that they could collect it when they exited Egypt.
Onward to Cairo they journeyed. Here they stopped to apply for work permits for South Africa. They were informed that with their much needed qualifications they could get permanent residence permits if they were prepared to wait a further 2 weeks. This they did but the extra wait cost them dearly. They arrived at the Sudanese border 2 days to late. It had just closed for 6 months due to the start of the rainy season! Undeterred they found work with a Swedish company that specialized in tunnel construction. It was at this time that the Aswan High Dam was under construction and there was no shortage of tunneling work to be done for the hydroelectric scheme.
When the border re-opened they quit their jobs and continued South, after being told that their deposit would only be returned to them when they exited Sudan! They followed the River Nile up to Khartoum and it was 80 km further South that they reached an area still flooded by the rains. Here they stayed in a small riverside village until the next river barge came by. The barge could not get to its normal docking platform because of the flooding and the ‘Kubel’ was pulled on-board along two 12m planks spanning the distance from dry ground to the deck of the barge. Horst said it was a hair-raising time, seeing the planks flex to near breaking point. All that for a short 12 km trip further up the river to a place that was dry. Unloading was a mere drive off affair and not many days later they were in Southern Sudan. This is the area of Sudan that is today wracked by civil war and conflict between the Christian South and Muslim government of Northern Sudan. It is also the transition area between the hard desert and more typical savannah/acacia. The wildlife is also much more abundant and Horst recounts that the one night, while sleeping in the ‘Kubel’, he felt the car rocking from side to side with increasing violence. He told Chris to stop messing around and went back to sleep. The next morning he got up and found the ‘Kubel’ surrounded by Hippo tracks. It had been scratching its back on the car!
About 120 km from the Belgium Congo border, near Juba, an old problem reared its ugly head. There was a missing tooth in one of the cogs of the steering mechanism and while driving on a raised section of road the steering jammed. The ‘Kubel’ left the road and rolled! Neither of them was hurt but their handcrafted roof was history as was the front windscreen. A bit shaken they tossed the roof away and removed the remaining broken glass from the windows and continued on their way. They exited Sudan and much to their amazement they did receive their 150 Pound deposit back!
The Congo was not an easy place to drive through. It receives a huge amount of rainfall annually and conditions are very muddy in places to say the least. They battled South in the New Year of 1955. Along the way they cracked the rear hub of one wheel and close to the Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) border (Lubumbashi) they accepted a tow from a truck headed their way in order to save the hub from complete destruction. They had had the crack welded before and were hoping to have it re-welded in Lubumbashi. Alas, that was never to be. The truck towed them at a high speed and kicked up a lot of dust and grit. Not too much of a problem for Horst who wore glasses, but Chris battled and after about four hours behind the wheel before losing control, snapping the towline and careering into a tree. Once again they walked away without major injuries but the ‘Kubel’ had sadly come to an end. The front axle was wrapped around the tree and there was no hope of repairs. They stripped off the tyres and battery, which they sold in Lubumbashi.
A sad end to a simple vehicle that could it have spoken, would have been able to recount an incredible story of its life and adventures.
From Lubumbashi they flew to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and organized lifts to Pretoria, South Africa, and onto Chris’ friend in Paulpietersburg. Horst did not stay long and headed for the coastal city of Durban on the East Coast of what is now KwaZulu-Natal. Here he settled, married, had two sons, one of which is now the organiser of the Africa Beetle Marathon! Horst passed away in December 1998 on the eve of the first event and as a mark of respect the 'Spirit of the Event' trophy was named after him
