rorkesdriftvc.com Forum Index


rorkesdriftvc.com
Discussions related to the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
Reply to topic
Death of a friend.
Alan
Site Admin

Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 1530
Location: Wales
Reply with quote
Very sadly I have just learned of the death of Lt Col (retired) Mike McCabe.
Well known to this forum, He passed away after a long illness yesterday.

He was known here for a while using Galloglas as his username and more
recently in his own name. He certainly knew his subject and I'm sure
will be greatly missed.

_________________
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mailVisit poster's website
Dewi Evans


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 177
Location: Chwilog, North Wales
Reply with quote
Very sad news indeed.

Dewi

_________________
D W Evans
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mail
Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
Reply with quote
That's very sad news indeed, Alan. Thank you for letting us all know. Although aware he'd been seriously ill, I'd hoped that his recent very welcome reappearance on the forum was a sign that things might be on the mend, so this comes as a very sad shock.

He was a great asset to this forum, whether contributing in his own name or under his well known pseudonym - not the first one he used here if I recall correctly. With a military background (37 years in the RE I believe) linked to his long familiarity with Zululand itself he was perfectly equipped to analyse matters deeply and to offer his suggestions on what appears to have been his main AZW interest, the Battle of Isandlwana. Several of his very original suggestions of what was possible or what might have happened made me, for one, think more deeply about certain aspects of the battle.

After reading his posts and also corresponding with him for some years, he was not, in appearance, the archetypal Lt. Col I expected to meet! Chatting to him at the NAM or at Brecon was a very rewarding experience, as indeed it was to listen to his fascinating lectures, which were never without their humour. Having been, I should think, the very first of anyone studying the AZW today to have visited Rorke's Drift & Isandlwana - as a Durban schoolboy in 1956! - he seems to have known every nook and cranny of the area, and certainly took a great interest in the well being (or otherwise, as has often been the case) of St Vincent's.

A great brain, great communicator with a teasing sense of humour and a fascinating acquaintance. Very sad news indeed.

Peter
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mail
John Young


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 1020
Location: Lower Sheering, Essex
Reply with quote
What sad news, what a dreadful loss.

I first met Mike several years ago in Rules Restaurant, Maiden Lane, London for an early lunch. It was there we plotted where to build the bridge at Rorke's Drift. Several hours later - as the staff needed our table for the pre-theatre diners - we emerged into the evening hustle and bustle of Covent Garden our task complete.

Let that bridge which spans the watery divide between Natal and KwaZulu be Mike's lasting legacy to the people who live there or visit the area.

Mike loved the Zulu people, so much so that incorporated into his family coat of arms was the word UBUNTU. That Zulu term which expressed humaneness; the caring, sharing and being in harmony with all of creation.

Go well Mike.

John Y.
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mail
mike snook 2


Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 920
Reply with quote
What a terrible, terrible shame; I had hoped Mike's recent return foretold an upturn in his health. Sadly not. I shall remember him atop Mahlabamkhosi, where once he and I spent an extremely interesting morning playing the old battle through in our mind's eye. He was a master of his subject, had a mischievous sense of humour, which I always rather enjoyed, and was a gentleman. Old soldiers never die; they only march that little bit deeper into the battle-smoke. I salute you Colonel McCabe. See you on the other side of the batteries.

M
View user's profileSend private message
Sawubona


Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 1179
Reply with quote
OMG! Hey, I never knew Mike McCabe from Adam, but Galloglas?- THAT fellow was a friend of mine. No, I didn't always agree with him, but I never had anything but the utmost respect (and admiration) for his thoughts and always considered myself fortunate for having heard them. Hamba kahle!
View user's profileSend private message
peterw


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 865
Location: UK
Reply with quote
Very sad news indeed. I met Mike during the AZW event at Brecon in 2011. He had an idiosyncratic, almost eccentric, charm, and a phenomenal grasp of the geography of the battlefield.

My pause for thought this Sunday may just be slightly deeper than usual.

Peter
View user's profileSend private message
Bill Cainan 3


Joined: 19 Feb 2011
Posts: 105
Reply with quote
I echo all the sentiments above.

Those of who were privileged to hear his lecture on Col Durnford at the last AZW weekend in Brecon will remember just what a class act he was

A true gentleman with a superbly developed sense of humour. His passing will be a sad loss for all of us in the AZW "community".

Bill Cainan
Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh
View user's profileSend private message
Peter Quantrill
Guest

Reply with quote
Indeed vey sad news. Mike's fund of knowledge on the AZW and matters Royal Engineers was near unsurpassed.
Always ready to help and proffer valued advice, his loss will be hugely missed.
Mel


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 345
Reply with quote
Sad news indeed.
I met Mike at the NAM and Brecon. Very friendly and sociable. Always ready to share his wealth of knowledge.

I shall miss his "mischievous" posts as G.

_________________
Mel
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mail
Paul Bryant-Quinn


Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 551
Reply with quote
Just seen this sad news. Mike was a gentleman and a scholar; he was also, as I experienced him, profoundly kind. We are the poorer without him.

Requiescat in pace.

PB-Q
View user's profileSend private message
Rob D


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 93
Location: Melbourne Australia
Reply with quote
Very saddened to hear of his passing.
Rob
View user's profileSend private message
Philip Pearce


Joined: 03 Apr 2006
Posts: 12
Location: Nr Porthcawl Spoth Wales
Reply with quote
my respects to his family
View user's profileSend private message
Neil Aspinshaw


Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 290
Location: Loughborough
Reply with quote
I just heard about Mike and was much saddened, I always remember the 22nd Jan at the battlefield with Mike Snook and Martin, Mike turned up, with no sunblock and turned lobster in front of our eyes, he always jested he was of stern stuff.. Rest in Peace Mike..

_________________
Neil
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mailVisit poster's website
Alan
Site Admin

Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 1530
Location: Wales
Reply with quote
There is a tribute to Mike McCabe on Ian Knight's website which you will find very interesting.

http://www.ianknightzulu.com/sad-news-mike-McCabe

_________________
View user's profileSend private messageSend e-mailVisit poster's website
Death of a friend.
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
All times are GMT  
Page 1 of 2  

  
  
 Reply to topic