Jim Barker, a Rhodesian born and bred, owned and had developed a successful tobacco farm at Karoi on what had once been virgin land. Over 38 years he invested every penny he owned into it. When the Bush War commenced he volunteered for the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit (PATU) in which he saw action in the fight against terrorists and became the first Police Reservist to be awarded the much prized Police Decoration for Gallantry. He bought his own light aircraft and was accepted into the Police Reserve Air Wing. He remained in PRAW until the end of the war conducting reconnaissance operations, casevacs, trooping and courier missions often under fire. After the British supervised elections in 1980 which brought Mugabe to power, he turned his attention back to farming and carried out major developments building 20 tobacco curing barns, sheds, an aircraft hanger, staff houses, a farm store, 21 dams for irrigation and much more. All this came to naught when Mugabe instituted his illegal invasions and confiscation of white owned farms for handing over to black peasants. Jim successfully fought the confiscation through the courts but in the end his farm was illegally grabbed without compensation.