Verney Lovett Cameron
by Ann Ball BEM
by Ann Ball BEM
The Victorian explorer Verney Lovett Cameron was the first European to cross equatorial Africa from sea to sea. He was born in 1844, the son of Revd. Jonathan Cameron, vicar of Shoreham, and his wife Frances. He joined the Royal Navy in 1857 and saw service for three years in the suppression of the slave trade in the Indian Ocean on HMS Star. He was tasked by the Royal Geographical Society with leading an expedition to assist David Livingstone who was living in Ujiji, in today’s Tanzania.
In May 1873 he departed from Zanzibar to the mainland with 192 bearers and 34 soldiers, carrying all their food and lengths of cotton and beads to barter during the journey. Six months later news reached the expedition that Dr Livingstone had died, and they met his faithful servants Chuma and Susi taking his body back to England.
Cameron collected Livingstone’s books and papers to be returned to England and then continued west to survey Lake Tanganyika and follow the Lukuga River and the Congo Zambesi watershed. He finally arrived at Catumbela, on the coast of present-day Angola, two years and nine months later in November 1875 – a journey of 4,100 km.
Shoreham thought he would never return, so there were great celebrations when Cameron arrived back in the village in April 1876: Charles Cope’s painting (pictured above) in Shoreham Church records this moment. Featured are Verney with his arm around his mother and his two sisters sitting behind as he is welcomed by Vicar Jonathan – not forgetting his dog Pickle, sitting on the left-hand side with a blue ribbon saying, “Welcome to my master”.
A silver ink stand was presented by George Wilmot of the Mount, churchwarden, on behalf of the villagers on 5th May 1876. The inscription reads: “Presented to Lieut Verney Lovett Cameron by the inhabitants of Shoreham on his return home from his exploring expedition to Africa.” The ink stand can be seen at major events in the village. Awarded the CB by Queen Victoria, Cameron retired from the navy in 1883. He was killed in a hunting accident in 1894 and is buried under a simple cross in Shoreham churchyard.