Books

‘Call me Nana!’ is an autobiographical tale from the Moxon Society’s founder, James ‘Jimmy’ Moxon O.B.E. (1920-1999), also known as Nana Kofi Abonyaa, written in 1990 and first published posthumously in 2025. The book recounts Jimmy’s experiences in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), where he served as a District Commissioner and remained after Ghana’s Independence in 1957 to become Director of Information Services in President Kwame Nkrumah’s new government. His deepening integration with the local Akan culture and people led to him being enstooled as Ankobea (a sub-chief) of Aburi in the Adonten Division of Akuapem in 1963 and this account is centred on the period of his chieftaincy.

The book is not only a personal memoir filled with anecdotes, cultural insights, and reflections on Jimmy’s unique position as a white chief in Africa, but also a tribute to the people of Ghana and their enduring cultural heritage. His story is one of adaptation, respect, and mutual understanding, highlighting the complexities and rewards of cross-cultural experiences.

by Bob Moxon Browne (2019) 76pp, Full Colour illus. Large format: US Letter size (similar to A4). Essential reading for anyone in Moxon Society Tree MX005.

A vivid account of two families – the Moxons and the Brownes – who combined an entrepreneurial spirit with artistic and scientific prowess.

Four marriages took place between members of these two families between 1787 and 1840, and their offspring, in the following hundred years produced a geologist, several bankers, explorers, soldiers, churchmen, botanists, philanthropists and the artist who illustrated Charles Dickens’s early works.

The author of this book, Bob Moxon Browne, QC, is a descendant of these two families. He is a leading lawyer in Great Britain but in his spare time Bob has been fascinated by family history and has researched his 19th century forebears in depth.

This book is enhanced with almost seventy illustrations by, and of, members of these families.

by John Moxon Hill and Joan Rendall, expanded and revised by Chris Moxon and Philip Lord (2020). 212 pages; 124 illustrations; 4 maps; 17 interlinking family tree diagrams. Essential reading for anyone in Moxon Society Tree MX001.

Charles Mokeson of Cawthorne, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, who made his will, and died, in 1592, has many Moxon descendants spread across the world. This book, originally published by The Moxon Society in 2002, is an inspiring account of how two individuals were able to piece together their family’s history, tracing their two families’ line of descent from Charles Mokeson – and it is hoped that this revised and expanded edition will inspire future family historians to continue their story.

212 pages; 124 illustrations; 4 maps; 17 interlinked family tree diagrams

A facsimile of the First Edition of this 18th century cookery book with an introduction by Don Moxon. 276 pp (A5 size) (2013).

This book contains a fascinating insight into eighteenth century menus and household management as well as the late Don Moxon’s views on the identity of Elizabeth Moxon the person.

The ‘prequel’ to the autobiographical tale, ‘Call me Nana!’

From the shores of colonial Gold Coast to the birth of modern Ghana, this captivating autobiography follows James ‘Jimmy’ Moxon – the young Englishman who arrived as a District Commissioner in 1941 and stayed for a lifetime.

Witness the dramatic shift from imperial order to urgent independence: the 1948 riots that shattered the old ways, the rise of Kwame Nkrumah, the “Wind of Change,” and the pioneering public relations efforts that helped shape a new nation. With humour, insight, and deep affection, Moxon – who became Nana Kofi Obonyaa, a revered local chief – recounts river pirates, political upheavals, celebrity visits, and the thrilling path to freedom.

A unique insider’s account of one of Africa’s most pivotal transformations, blending personal adventure with the making of history, this is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the spirit of a nation that declared itself ‘free forever’.

360 pages

This is a fascinating, short, illustrated family memoir, where Jimmy Moxon (the Moxon Society’s founder) recounts the story of his father and mother and the family life he and his siblings experienced, growing up in middle-class provincial England in the 1920s-30s, a very different world to that experienced by children today.

Jimmy’s father, the Revd T Allen Moxon, was a Public School headmaster and classical scholar, affectionately known by his pupils as “Old Creeps”.

98 pages