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It is with great sadness and a very heavy heart that I write this goodbye to my friend, my "go to" encyclopedia for information on military, cultural and Zulu history and customs of this region, a sounding board for events and new ideas and information on medals.
Pat Rundgren will leave a huge hole in our area - his passion for the history, his incredible breadth of knowledge, his willingness to always share his knowledge and for always being there when it came to tours, reenactments, writing articles and so much more.
Always ready for reenactments
For over 20 years he served on the Dundee Tourism committee. From the very early years he was part of the Battlefields Route committee and was a founder member of the professional association of Battlefield Tour Guides and served as secretary for many years. His wit and sense of humor was evident in all notices and minutes of meetings - and always drew a reaction and interaction from the guides - and his call sign as he ended his messages- Kambula Kid.
He served on the Talana Museum Board of Trustees for over twenty years and as Chairman for the past five years. Many was the time when he thought that I was really barmy especially when it came to convincing so many people that Dundee was going to start and perform battle reenactments - and we are still doing so 25 years later.
Demonstrating Zulu weapons and tactics
He wrote so many articles for a variety of magazines, but the ones I was most involved with him, were for the The Heritage Portal and lately the Battlefields Route digital magazine. These articles were informative and helped promote our region by creating awareness of the history and some of the many unique stories attached to the historic sites.
As I sit here writing this and thinking back on the years of working together I am remembering so many of his comments and how he knew exactly how to get a reaction out of me.
"You are obviously getting ready to travel again as you have asked me for the umteenth time to sign your updated will".
When I was getting worked up about events and getting everything organized just so: " Just calm down and take it easy - it will be over this time tomorrow - next week - and then it won't matter."
We will never have a Board of Trustees meeting and lunch afterwards without hearing you say "Pam says you can order steak today" as he knew I would remind him that funds were limited and not for spending on meals.
And for our tourism meetings - "I'm not coming unless there are egg sandwiches"
Well Pat there will always be egg sandwiches for you.
Go well my friend - you were one of a kind.
Pat reading an interpretation board
About the author: Pam McFadden has spent many years researching the battlefields of KwaZulu-Natal. She has been interested in them since a young child. As a registered specialist guide on these battlefields for the past 40 years, her knowledge about events and the people involved is considerable. From 1983 to 2021, as curator, Pam developed the Talana Museum in Dundee into one of the finest in the country. She remains a Trustee of the museum and is involved in the finances as well as digitising the considerable archival collections.
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