SIR RICHARD LOSELY AND LOBANGU

Losely and Lobangu were created by Cecil Hayter and continued by Rex Hardinge.

British explorer Sir Richard Losely and his friend, the mighty chief of the Etbaia tribe of Zulus, Lobangu, were created by Cecil Hayter. They made their debut in a story entitled THE SLAVE MARKET, which appeared in the Union Jack, issue 171, in 1907. Probably inspired by H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain and real-life Victorian explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton, Losely is a giant of a man, both in physique (6' 4") and in personality, but even he is dwarfed by the gigantic Lobangu.

Losely plays a special part in the Sexton Blake saga, as he is the only recurring character who has known Blake since childhood. A couple of years Blake's senior, he attended the same schools — initially St. Ermin's and then St. Anne's College — where he was known by the nickname "Spots". Blake was his 'fag' and was nicknamed "Blackamoor", or more usually "Blackie". In adulthood, the two men would continue to refer to each other by these nicknames. At school, Losely helped to bring to justice the gang who murdered Blake's guardian and parents. It is highly likely that the explorer is the only man who knows the true secret of Sexton Blake's background.

After a young life of adventure and exploration, Sir Richard Losely settles into the position of Her Majesty's Governor of the Province of Musardu and the Bambarra hinterlands in East Africa, where he is responsible for maintaining peace and British rule. Though it's explicitly stated that he's married and has a young son named Leonard, we never meet his family, so must assume that they remain in England.

Early in his new career, Losely is captured by a slaver named the White Death. Lobangu (who is aged 37) works for this man but hates him and, with assistance from Blake and Tinker, helps Losely to escape. He then joins forces with the Governor on a permanent basis. Some months later, it's discovered that the giant Zulu is descended from the union of an African explorer of the Losely clan and a half African/half Arab native. He is thus related to Sir Richard and becomes Lord Averstock, sixth baron of Averstock and Marne, inheriting a large English estate. On his initial trip to England, Lobangu isn't impressed and so opts to return to Africa to be at Losely's side. Also to this end, he leaves most of his duties as chief of the Etbaia to his brother, N'Kobe.

Losely and Lobangu appeared in a number of non-Blake tales in the Brave and Bold Weekly, Cheer Boys Cheer and a number of other magazines. After Cecil Hayter's death in 1922, author Rex Hardinge became responsible for the further tales of this adventurous duo.

Chronology

1. Sexton Blake at School (parts 1 to 25) THE BOYS' HERALD issues 238 to 262 (1909)
This serial tells the story of Sexton Blake's childhood. It begins with Blake as an unnamed boy living in mysterious circumstances with his mentor, Dr. Lanchester. When the latter is murdered, the boy finds a letter which directs him to two of Lanchester's colleagues. These men arrange for him to attend St. Anne's college. There he befriends an older boy, Richard "Spots" Losely. Together they defeat two villains, Francois and Jean, who have been blackmailing the headmaster. Blake discovers that Francois was the man who murdered his parents.

2. The Slave Market UNION JACK issue 171 (1907)
Sir Richard Losely has been captured by a slaver named the White Death. Sexton Blake and Tinker travel to Africa to rescue him. Tinker is taken prisoner but Blake meets Lobangu and together they manage to free the captives. Blake learns that the slaver intends to attack the Marani tribe, which guards remote mountains veined with priceless rubies. Losely, Lobangu, Blake and Tinker race ahead of their enemy, gathering friendly tribesmen as they go. By the time they reach the Marani, they have amassed a small army and are able to defeat the White Death's forces.

3. Sexton Blake's Zulu UNION JACK issue 181 (1907)
Sexton Blake, Tinker and Lobangu help Sir Richard to trace a long lost relative; a man descended from the union of an African explorer of the Losely clan and a half African/half Arab native. Eventually evidence proves that Lobangu is, in fact, the man Losely has been looking for. The giant Zulu becomes Lord Averstock, sixth baron of Averstock and Marne and inherits a large English estate. Lobangu reveals that diamonds lie in sacred mountains near where his brother rules the Etbaia. They are guarded by a vicious tribe descended from Egyptians. Blake & Co. manage to defeat these guardians and lay claim to the fortune, thus ensuring the security and prosperity of the Etbaia tribe.

4. The Sleeping Sickness UNION JACK issue 201 (1997)
A Chinaman named Li Yen develops a potent form of beri-beri — the sleeping sickness — which he intends to release into Britain's reservoirs. Blake, Tinker, Losely and Lobangu travel to the villain's base on an African lake but the white men find themselves infected with the disease. They fight the enemy and the overpowering urge to sleep while Lobangu races to find an antidote. He succeeds and Li Yen is defeated.

5. Sexton Blake, Whaler UNION JACK issue 206 (1907)
During negotiations with a tribal chief, Losely, Lobangu, Blake and Tinker are ambushed. They flee to the coast and escape by boat but are swept out to sea by a storm. Eventually they are picked up by a whaling ship brutally run by the aptly named Captain Savage. After being mistreated and forced to join the crew, they begin a campaign of revenge and are soon masters of the ship. Sailing far to the north, they leave the vessel and cross pack ice, living like Eskimos until they are rescued by a far friendlier whaler.

6. By Order of the Foreign Office UNION JACK issue 229 (1908)
An anarchist named Hermann is threatening to contaminate England's reservoirs with an unknown poison from the Abara district near Liberia. Blake is commissioned to stop him and is joined by Losely and Lobangu. They follow Hermann through a subterranean passage under a mountain range and into unknown territory where they are captured by the Abari; a lost tribe descended from Roman Jews. These people are ruled over by a ruthless sect of priests with whom the anarchist has allied himself. The detective's party is sentenced to death but the Abari soldiers rebel and save them. Blake kills Hermann in a duel.

7. Through the Enemy's Country UNION JACK issue 244 (1908)
Sir Richard Losely is helping the besieged Matanga tribe, which is surrounded by the hostile forces of King Ubukosi. Sexton Blake, Tinker and Lobangu journey into the region with a shipment of guns but when their bearers desert they are left stranded. Lobangu tames two elephants and uses them to carry the guns to Losely while Blake and Tinker act as decoys. The two detectives are captured and enslaved but escape and are pursued until they collapse from exhaustion. Lobangu finds them and leads them back to the Matanga camp where they help fight off Ubukosi's forces.

8. The Mammoth Hunters (THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 88, 1909)
Blake, Tinker, Losely and Lobangu are in the Arctic north of Russia exploring a remote region where mammoths are rumoured to still exist. They endure many dangers, frequently come close to losing their lives, but do, in fact, manage to locate mammoths. Blake shoots one and Losely decides to donate the creature's skin to the nation.

9. The White Chief (UNION JACK issue 290, 1909)
Blake, Tinker, Sir Richard and Lobangu fight with Germans on the Pacific island of Fiawai where two tribes are at war with each other. Blake and his friends are there to end the warfare and annex the island for Britain. The Germans are after its rich deposits of gold. With the islanders agreeing to ally themselves with Britain, Blake and Losely set off in pursuit of the German leader, who races to an Australian port to register a claim for the island. The villain wins the race but makes a bad error and loses the prize.

10. The Flying Column (UNION JACK issue 404, 1911)
Lobangu's Etbaia tribe is driven from its land by the neighbouring Askari who are led by the brother of the White Death and a rogue Belgian. Lobangu's brother, N'Kobe, and a girl known as Kala the Rose, are captured. With Sir Richard having been recalled to England, Lobangu asks his replacement, Sir Henry Marsden, for aid. The request is refused. Lobangu prays that Losely, Blake and Tinker will come to his assistance. Miles away, all three feel a sudden urge to visit their old friend, set sail, and arrive in time to rescue N'Kobe and Kala. They then develop tactics through which the Etbaians are able to fight back and win the day. The British government recalls Sir Henry and reinstates Losely as Governor.

11. The Long Trail (UNION JACK issue 504, 1913)
Blake is commissioned to locate a man who has vanished in the forests of central Brazil, and he calls on the assistance of Sir Richard and Lobangu. They set off, and hear rumours concerning a lost race of "white Indians" who inhabit a hidden city. They find a huge lake populated by pterodactyl-like creatures then, in the mountains, the lost race, the Loo-chins, who have a vast wealth of jewels. Blake and his friends rescue the man from captivity and head home.

12. The Land of the Golden Beetle (UNION JACK issue 565, 1914)
Blake and Tinker are with Sir Richard off the coast of West Africa when they're met by Lobangu, who asks them to help rescue a white man who's been abducted by a secretive tribe. The team head inland and encounter the witch doctor of the Snake People from whom they rescue a man who explains that the Snake People are the servants of the Wassulu. He leads them to a secret city where the Head Priest of the Wassulu has them imprisoned. At an amphitheatre, they witness men being killed in by a gigantic beetle. Lobangu challenges the creature, wins the battle, and exposes its secret. This sparks a city-wide rebellion. The priests are overthrown by the people. Lobangu and the Englishmen rescue the white prisoner before heading back to the coast.

13. The Holding of the Kana Pass (UNION JACK issue 592, 1915)
Blake and Tinker are in Africa with Sir Richardand Lobangu when war is declared in Europe. They receive a message asking them to gather an army of natives and hold the Kana Pass in south western Africa against the Germans until British troops arrive. Lobangu finds a German outpost and discovers that the Sangani tribe has sided with the enemy. Blake and his friends raid the fort, empty it of its large stockpile of guns, and take them to the Mokala tribe. The Englishmen train the Mokala in the use of modern firearms and plan a strategy whereby the pass can be defended. The battle is joined and the allied forces hold the Germans at bay despite against all odds. Tthe British forces arrive and the enemy is defeated.

14. The Abbey Mystery (UNION JACK issue 605, 1915)
Losely joins Blake and Tinker at Cadgestone Abbey where a murder has been committed and a treasure is hidden. He assists as four gunmen try to kill the detective and is present when Blake discovers the secret room in which the fortune is hidden.

15. The Place of Fire (UNION JACK issue 652, 1916)
Sir Richard and Blake search for the legendary Mwaa, a Roman city hidden somewhere in East Africa and rumoured to contain a treasure in precious stones. Meeting Lobangu at Dar-es-Salaam, they gather bearers and set off along a river, soon coming under attack by the "Poison Folk." They battle through and reach Mwaa, which is carved into the side of a volcano. They encounter an elderly Italian who's been a prisoner in the city for two decades but who moves about freely thanks to his knowledge of its secret passages. When Sir Richard and Tinker are captured and condemned to death, he rescues them, then asks that they return the favour by helping him to save a friend who is due to be executed by being thrown into the mouth of the volcano. They agree and the mission is successful. They depart the region taking its treasure with them. Behind, the volcano erupts.

16. The Mystery of the Inari Treasure (UNION JACK issue 672, 1916)

17. The Treasure of Sonora (UNION JACK issue 696, 1917)

18. The Golden Reef (UNION JACK issue 752, 1918)

19. In the Hands of the Head Hunters (THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 433, 1918)

20. The Moon of the East (UNION JACK issue 795, 1919)
In China. Losely's friend, Grierson, has been captured and tortured for a year by a cruel race of Orientals, the Loochen, after he was caught stealing a sacred jewel known as the Moon of the East. Blake joins his friend on a rescue mission. The perilous journey involves Loochen assassins, an expedition up a winding river, a climb across a mountain range, a trek through a massive cave, and, finally, a commando-like raid on some vicious native goat herders. The latter provide the clothes needed as a disguise so the group can penetrate the citadel in which Griegson is held captive. The rescue is successful and they all head back to England with the Moon of the East in their possession.

21. The Brass Disc (THE BOYS' REALM issues 1 to 4, 1918)

22. The Forest of Ghosts (UNION JACK issue 851, 1920)
Blake, Sir Richard and Lobangu embark on an expedition to find an ancient Roman city rumoured to contain a fortune in gold and jewels. However, a killer named Strives is determined to lay claim to the treasure and has hired the services of a vicious tribe of cannibals. The two safaris venture into unknown land where they encounter the Forest of Ghosts, an area where all the trees are dead, no birds sing, and everything is silent. Here, Blake's team survives an attack by a dinosaur. They reach the ruins and discover the gold but are interrupted by a herd of dinosaurs. Fortunately, the beasts are distracted by the arrival of the Strives safari, which they attack, killing the villain. Blake and his friends wait until the herd disperses then build canoes and escape back to civilisation, laden with jewels.

23. The Marley Farm Mystery (UNION JACK issue 866, 1920)

24. The Island of Death (UNION JACK issue 878, 1920)

25. The Mystery of La Perousse (UNION JACK issue 883, 1920)

26. The Terms of the Wager (UNION JACK issue 912, 1921)

27. Lobangu's Ju-Ju (UNION JACK issue 936, 1921)

28. Missing at Lloyd's (UNION JACK issue 953, 1922)

29. The Ghosts of Losely Hall (UNION JACK issue 960, 1922)

30. Sexton Blake in South America (UNION JACK issue 988, 1922)

31. Sexton Blake Gun-Runner (UNION JACK issue 992, 1922)

32. The Clue of the White Feather (UNION JACK issue 993, 1922)

33. The Devil Woman of the Malaki (UNION JACK issue 1,052, 1923)

34. The Case of the Lost Lobangu (UNION JACK issue 1,080, 1924)

35. The Tree of Evil (UNION JACK issue 1,475, 1932)
Losely is transferred to the 'Mgombi region of North West Africa to deal with a series of atrocities incited by a spirit named 'Nyani. When Losely succumbs to poisoning, Lobangu dreams of his peril and travels to meet Sexton Blake. Together, along with a hanger-on named Sixpence, they travel to 'Mgombi and save their friend. 'Nyani causes the local tribes to rise up against white rule but Blake and his friends expose the malicious spirit as a trick performed by two crooks for their own profit.

36. THE GHOST HOLE (UNION JACK issue 1,511, 1932)

37. The Land of Lost Men (UNION JACK issue 1,531, 1933)

38. Marked Men (DETECTIVE WEEKLY issue 15, 1933)