MEMORIES of much-loved Grayswood rman and veteran TV war correspondent Michael Nicholson have been revived with the sale of the 1973 Range Rover that was the star of his book, ‘Across the Limpopo’.

Tributes poured in following the news that Mr Nicholson had been taken ill and died, aged 79, while on a cruise before Christmas. The car he immortalised in the story of the epic five-month drive of 12,000 miles he and his family made back home from Africa, which was first owned by ex-Formula One star Duncan Hamilton, is being offered for sale by Mayfair and Maldon-based JD Classics.

In 1981, he, his wife Diana and their two small sons, Tom and William, decided to return overland from a four-year posting in South Africa.

Mr Nicholson and his family (pictured right with the car) headed through Zambia to the Nyika Plateau of Malawi, through Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area with its wild rhinoceroses, and Dar es Salaam, where the group had a dangerous encounter with bull elephants.

The unstoppable Range Rover overcame many other obstacles during the journey home, including the Weiwei Drift in Kenya, a series of boggy washed-away bridges where their average speed slowed to just 2.5mph. The final leg of the journey led the family through Egypt, Sudan, Greece and the rest of Europe before reaching the UK.

The car was dry-stored for many years, before being treated to a comprehensive bare-shell restoration by Range Rover specialist Bishops 4x4 and put on sale.

JD Classics’ director Derek Hood said: “The classic Range Rover market is hugely popular at the moment, and this is a wonderful opportunity to own a very special part of it. From its Le Mans-winning racing owner to its incredible journey through Africa – chronicled in a book and many photographs accompanying the car – this Range Rover has perfect provenance.”