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Born at St Anton’s Cissbury Avenue Peacehaven in
5th September 1946
KNOWN TO MOST PEOPLE AS JOE
This came about when as a baby his grandmother would
bounce him on her knee calling him GI JOE somehow JOE stuck plus later after
travels to the Amazon nickname AMAZON JOE
Mr. Neilson attended
Peacehaven infant’s school in Roderick ave at the age of 5 to 7 years. Then his life changed totally
when my father a Ships Engineering Officer made the decision to retire for the
sea and became a land-based engineer.
When the British Indian
Steam navigation company offered him a job in Basra Iraq as the engineer in
charge of the dockyard in Basra. It was usual practice for children to be sent
to boarding school in the U.K.
But my mother insisted
that I travel with them. As Joe says this was to lead to a childhood, which he
was to see and do more things than most people do in a whole lifetime.
At the age of 7 we moved
to Basra Iraq. Where I learnt passable Arabic or I think it was as our
house guards where Afghan tribe’s men as my parents seemed to forever at cocktail
parties these men used to be my baby sitters. They where great giving me a real
pistol to play with showing me how to load it plus they had Lee Enfield 303
rifles yet again showing me who it worked (now at this time I realise they
would have been teaching their children of 7 years old how to become fighters)
During my childhood I
very seldom had children of my own age to play with.
But spent most of my time
with adults as in most places I was the only European child.
I became a great people watcher.
After 18 months my father was assigned to
Bahrain. Before taking up this new position. We cruised the Persian Gulf
we went ashore in Oman, which at that time was still a walled city, then
to Bombay and India.
My mother and myself left
Bahrain because of civil unrest and returned to the family home in Friars
avenue Peacehaven.
In 1957 my father was
appointed Booth Lines resident engineer in Iquitos Peru 2.500 miles (which took
a month to get up river) up the Amazon,
Which was still largely
unexplored this was a turning point in my life.
We had a saying Jungle down the street this
was true within a mile you could be in the forest. I did not a attend school
and I was the only European child in town and there were only 2 cars in the
town. At the age of 11 I had my first rifle a single shot bolt action .22 I
spent my learning to canoe fish and hunt this town was still an outpost I loved
every minute of it a boys own dream come true. Yet again I spent most of my
time with adults. There where some real mad adventurers living in Iquitos plus
Nazis hiding out.
We did have Indians
coming out of the forest to trade. It had a bad side as well we had riots in
the town which lead street fighting and police and army retreated to our house
and it was like the wild west with guns being fired out of our windows. Later
that night I saw my first person shot died by the chief of police just outside
of our front door.
But the Amazon rain
forest at that time was one of the most beautiful things on earth now destroyed
Teenage years what most
teenagers do “rebel chase girls and riding fast motorcycles.” Coffee Bars and
Rock an Roll
http://www.heritageplus.org.uk/page_id__646_path__0p259p.aspx
But living in a country
area we did a lot of shooting hunting.
Was a member of
Peacehaven youth club we had a very good target shooting team.
I never had a great
interest in sport but by a chance became involved in Fencing and became a
medallist Fencer and was ask to Fence for Sussex.
But more interested in
teaching in my teens took fencing classes at Peacehaven Youth Club and other
youth clubs in the area. Later teaching at evening classes at the Hillcrest in
Newhaven.
But Iater in my teens I
was drawn back to the Amazon and South America
Besides having adventures
in South America which to long to relate here.
But spent a very dangerous time in the Silver
Triangle of Colombia and meeting some of the most feared drug lords in
Medellin.
I a spent time with
rebels in an unnamed country in South America.
I have lived with
Amazonian Indians. Plus did solo expeditions in to unexplored areas of the
Amazon.
I did a solo canoeing of the Amazon. Plus expeditions in to unexplored areas of the Rio Negro, The Rio Blanco, and The Tacharto. The Mucaja, Australian Adventurer Harry Nash and myself are believed to have been the first Europeans to climb the Sierra Grande in Roraima.
I became a member of The
Long River Canoeist Club and was also an accredited adviser by the Royal
Geographical Society as an adviser on the Amazon covering such areas equipment
jungle survival etc.
I worked with the Royal
Marines advising them on jungle survival. Plus helped planning of major expeditions
to the Amazon basin. I advised many young People going to rain forests on
Operation Raleigh 1980s. I was at one time credited as one of this countries
Crossbow experts I still a very keen Crossbowman.
In Portugal I was
involved with members of the underground before the 1974 revolution.
As an
environmentalist for 40 plus years I believe that mankind has passed the point
of no return over population will within a lifetime will turn this planet into
a disaster area.
David JOE
Neilson November 2010