An Awesome Email!

[Michael Alexander]

Hey my fellow Oranjemunders, have a look at this email I just received, anyone want to reply?

"Dear Mr Alexander,

I have been reading your fascinating website about
Oranjemund. I am a British journalist based in Sweden,
and I am currently researching an article that
features Oranjemund quite heavily. It's about a
screenplay that was written in the 60s set in the
town: the main character was a diamond worker who had
set up a model airplane club in the town, and then
tried to use the models to fly out diamonds! Steve
McQueen was earmarked for the part, but the film was
never made. Have you ever heard of this film or, more
importantly, the story behind it? I see you have a
'tall tales' section on the site, and the scriptwriter
told me he had heard a story similar to the above
while in the area, and decided to build his screenplay
around it. Do you have any information about the
history of the Model Airplane club you could give me
for the article? It would be much appreciated.

Yours faithfully,

Jeremy Duns
Stockholm"

[Cherry (Alcock)]

Mike,

Try to get hold of Roger Burchell; I recall he knew something about this.

[georgswa (Georg Ruf) (RIP)]

@ Jeremy Duns

Hi , nice to see you on our board

I dont know about the model airoplane but there was a real story about a plane end 60 th beginning 70 th

A Geologist on his job in the desert collected the stones for a while, deposited them somewhere in the large Minig area in the desert. He left Oranjemund and returned later by plane and landed near the hide out of the stones.

Up to here he was succesfull !!!! No one noticed him or followed. Remember that is a well protected large area.

He clibed in his plane and attempted to lift off, his undercarriage however was damaged and he could not leave the desert with his plane. How he was arrested i dont know....

To my knowledge he was jailed for 15 years.....

The plane remained in the mine and is to be found near 4 plant

May be our local photographer ( Alfred Boehme) can search and make a picture

End of the story. I know that from my time in the 70 th

The people on this board are mainly second generation and were kids those days not caring so much of these stories. The people that would know more are unfortunatly no internet freaks.

I am the fossil on this site with 67 years age.

Question to mike: Ask aunty Reschke i am sure she knows more about that story. If i have contact by phone with Günter Machts again ( now 82) i will ask him about it

@ Jeremy visit my Homepage and contact me if you wish

Georg

[Bev Coates (Now Walker)]

I will ask my dad too, as the stories all sound familiar.........

[Michael Alexander]

Here's Sue's 10 cents worth....

"Hi there
Not sure if this is the same story  re  model aeroplane -
Here goes:
It was NOT a model aeroplane, but a proper 2 or 4 seater aeroplane  -  landed on the beach, got stuck in sand, - think near Affenrucken  ( this plane I think it may be the same plane, was stored in a shed near the old Gemsbok workshop south east of North Hostel.
Also not sure if this  was the little aeroplane  that was brought to town
at the back of a truck to a Christmas tree party to show the kids the areoplane in the early seventies. "

[Michael Alexander]

... and who should walk into the store today?...none other than ex Security Chief, Roger Burchell..... Strange world...

Anyhow, he remembers a bit about the story, it was tried once to smuggle diamonds over the fence , across the desert, but this was unseccessful.... he cannot remember what went wrong, but reckons that I should speak to Charlie Blakemore , who was running the model plane club at the time...he will try put me in touch with Charlie.....

[Michael Alexander]

Oh! I forgot, I said to Roger that he should write a book about all the diamond wheeling and dealings from his day as chief up here, to which he replied that he has just finished and just finalizing a few things..... So stand aside geoffrey Jenkins , here comes Roger....

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

Speak to Alfred his in touch with Charlie.

[joco Mueller]

 :looser1: le storyeft the place  1065,and when came to the town in 1957 the story of the plane was already told, but nobody knew real details.
Every one seemed to know about the only one stone on the beach he touched when trying to get airborn. Even some people knew abou this
in Luderitz,where I was working for one year before joining CDM. The the same "story" is more or less likey told in at least 2 books (fiction) I have read.But at my time nobody knew what happened to the plane - the theft they all were sure was jailed.

[Michael Alexander]

Roger told me today that the beach plane was a very small plane and was confiscated and eventually brought back to town and used as a kind ride at the mule derby!

[georgswa (Georg Ruf) (RIP)]

Jack Anette gave me an introduction tour in mai 73, he told me the story and showed me the plane near 4 plant

If that has come to town, it must have beeen much later then 1979 

[Michael Alexander]

Roger also mentioned that it was last seen after that at the field services workshops.......

[georgswa (Georg Ruf) (RIP)]

Roger also mentioned that it was last seen after that at the field services workshops.......

Yes that figures

[Michael Alexander]

I  think a lot of funny things were dumped there!

[Michael Alexander]

A second email

"Dear Mike,

I can't tell you how interesting it is to hear from
you. I've read the Unripe Gold and found the setting
of Oranjemund fascinating and intriguing. The 'real
plane' story mentioned on your forum is, I think,
referenced in that book: the charactwer in the book
who is head of security in Oranjemund comments that
there was once 'a James Bond attempt to smuggle a
parcel of diamonds out by plane'. But smuggling them
out by radio-controlled model plane is something I've
not heard of, and if Mr Blakemore can provide any
information I'd be most grateful, because I'd then
have a really authoritative source - from Oranjemund!
- for my article, which would absolutely make it, I
think.

Anyway, wonderful to hear from such an exotic place. I
hope the power come back on. Greetings from a very
frosty Stockholm,

Jeremy"