Pages For this Section
Winnie, her life in Kenya.
Barnoldwick to - where?
Leaving England
First Impressions
Eldoret
Kisumu
Trip to England
Parties and Picnics
Home Leave
War Years - the last years in Kisumu
Nairobi
Post Script
Winnie's Cook Book
image: The Browns
1918, and the war to end all wars was over. Men and women, whose lives had been interrupted whilst they served their King and country, were returning to their homes. Among these men, was Frank Hewitt, whose elder brother, Bateman, was killed in action in Mesopotamia, returned to his home in Salterforth, Yorkshire. His father, mother, seven brothers and sisters and a new baby brother, named after Bateman, were pleased to see him. Frank decided to stay in the Royal Army Medical Corps (a weak right eye denied him a combative role) after the war. By 1922, he was an acting Sergeant, but his service was terminated with a gratuity as a result of cut-backs in Government expenditure which were instituted in that year. He found he was not satisfied returning to the pre-war routine and he reflected on his future. His army experience had widened his horizons and he looked for a profession in which he could train, using his medical experience and limited extra education.
image: The Hewitts
With his gratuity, he bought a correspondence course from Bennett's College and studied to be a Health Inspector (then called Sanitary Inspector and now Environmental Health Officer) and after qualifying, applied for a position as a Civil Servant in the Colonial Office, having an ambition to travel. When he was offered a posting overseas he rushed home to tell the family the good news and pulled out the Atlas to show his mother the country in Africa to which he had been posted - Kenya. It was not marked! The Atlas was an old edition, which showed the British Empire in red, then there was the rest of the world. Africa showed a great deal of red, including British East Africa. The Colony and protectorate was not named "Kenya" until 1920. For all his mother knew he could be going anywhere in Africa!
image: The Bride and Groom
At that time he was engaged to Winifred Brown, who lived in the next town, Barnoldswick. Winnie was the second daughter of Harriet and William Archibald (Archie) Brown. The war years had also interrupted her life, but in a different way. Her father was a compulsive gambler and the family had need of another source of income to live. Harriet worked hard as a tailoress and Winnie, following her elder sister, Mollie, continued her education on a part time basis and worked part time as a weaver in a cotton mill. Life in Barnoldswick was little affected by the war and Winnie had led quite a social life. She was a member of the local Tennis Club and attended local dances in the Conservative Club, as well as supporting her younger sister, Connie, in the amateur productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. After the war, at one of the local dances, she met Frank. They were attracted to one another and became engaged, planning to marry when Frank had completed his studies.
image: Archie, Hetty, Frank, Winnie, Connie and Teddy Edwards
Frank walked over to Barnoldswick to tell Winnie the good news of the job in Kenya - she had supported him throughout the long period of study and he anticipated she would be delighted with the news. But he was wrong. She had cold feet about going overseas. After all, she had been abroad once, to the Isle of Man, and that was far enough. She wasn't going to Africa. and broke off the engagement.
Frank left for Kenya on his own. This was 1924. From all accounts, he found the challenge stimulating, he enjoyed the life and made some good friends. During his absence, Winnie kept in touch through his sisters Hetty and Eva and frequently visited the Hewitt home. Frank came home on leave in 1927 and it did not take much persuasion for Winnie to change her mind about Africa. It sounded almost civilized and she agreed to an early marriage.
Part of the honeymoon was spent in Bognor on the Sussex coast. On a stroll, they visited a show bungalow (single story house) on a new development. Here, the young couple evolved a life plan: Frank could take the option to retire on a small pension in 1945 with a gratuity which would buy one of these bungalows, furnish it and have enough left over for an Austin 7. Winnie felt it was too soon to question where children might fit in and, of course, neither could predict the Depression and the Second World War, which changed everyone's plans.
A few days in London gave Frank and Winnie a chance to do some shopping. London was famous and still is, for the wide range of department stores including some which catered for the overseas traveler to tropical countries. On recommendation they went to Gamages in Holborn.
With the help of an assistant, they chose household goods, pots and pans, glasses and linen. Nearer the time of their departure, they went through the list again, deciding what they could do without because of the expense. They sent off their final list, departure labels and check. Everything they ordered was beautifully packed and arrived at their destination at the same time as themselves.
