First Impressions

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

When the S.S. MANTOLA berthed in Mombasa the dockside hummed with Africans, Arabs and Indians, as they gathered in groups to bring ashore passengers' luggage. But first, the Immigration and Customs Officers boarded the ship to complete documentation of passengers' papers and custom duties. Once the gangplanks had been lowered, there was no stopping the wave of black porters, as they swarmed up the gangway to be the first to get the best tips. Cranes swayed overhead and sent their hooks down into the dark holds of the ship. There, baggage was loaded onto large nets, attached to the hook of the crane and was soon swaying in the sunlight, swinging out and down onto the dockside. The baggage was taken into the corrugated iron custom's shed where the temperature was already rising to an unbearable heat. Here, under the letter "H" Frank and Winnie found their "NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE" boxes which they had not seen since leaving London, as well as their cabin luggage. After dispatching most of their luggage to the railway station, they went out into the sultry heat. They climbed into a rickshaw and, with one African pulling and one African pushing, they were transported to the Hotel.

The Hotel, (segregated for Europeans only) with its deep verandah and dark interior, was blissfully cool. After registering, they were taken up the wide staircase to their bedroom. The shutters were closed to keep out the mid-day sun and the room had a musty, stale smell. Opening the shutters did little to eliminate the stuffiness. A small lizard 7-10 cm long darted in front of Winnie, startling her and continued its journey up the wall and out of reach. Winnie never liked the gecko lizard. That night, she met another pest of the tropics - the cockroach. They came out in their thousands and swarmed over everything. At least they could be squashed, unlike the lizard. The cockroaches seem to disappear at dawn and stay out of sight all day but the lizard was always around.

This was to be her first night in the tropics sleeping under a mosquito net. The mosquito net was necessary to avoid the malarial mosquito biting the sleeper. The net was hung either from the ceiling on a hoop or else suspended over the bed by four posts and a frame. Whichever way, it was essential to tuck it under the mattress. They also gave the timid a great sense of security against all types of creepy crawlies as well as mosquitoes. Other precautions were also taken against the malaria-carrying mosquito. All verandahs were enclosed with mosquito netting and at dusk, every room was sprayed with "flit" (a proprietary insecticide dispensed from a spray pump). Europeans also believed that drinking tonic water, which contains quinine, would prevent them catching malaria! There were no anti-malarial tablets in those days.

As Frank had spent part of his first tour of duty in Mombasa, he was an excellent guide and showed Winnie the historic parts of the Island. Mombasa, as part of Kenya's coastal strip, was leased from the Sultan of Zanzibar and administered by the British Government. Mombasa was perhaps the only place in East Africa where Arabs, Indians and Africans appear to live in harmony, the primary religion being Islam.

Frank showed Winnie the old historic town, first visiting Fort Jesus. This Portuguese Fort dated back to the fifteenth century and had a horrendous history. It was built by the Portuguese whose garrison was besieged there for two years. The garrison was starved into surrender the day before the relieving fleet arrived. It was used as a prison until the 1960s.

Wandering from Fort Jesus, they stepped into narrow streets, where the white washed stone houses almost met each other across the street with the dark, heavily carved wooden doors and shutters giving the occupants privacy and security in the congested town. Vasco de Gama's monument stands to tell the story of a great Portuguese explorer who landed on this part of the African coast in 1498 on his way to the Far East.

Continuing down the street from the monument, Frank took Winnie to the "old" harbor, where the dhows from the ports of Arabia docked. They sailed from the North with the Monsoons bringing cargo from Arabia including carpets and rugs, terracotta, brass and copperware. They sailed North with salt, ivory and in earlier days, slaves. The dhows have an ancient origin. Their heavy sails furled along the beams, and crew, with flowing white robes, blended into the ancient scene and contrasted with the modern steamship in which Frank and Winnie had arrived.

As well as being tourists, Frank introduced Winnie to his friends and the two days in Mombasa soon passed. The train to Nairobi, was an overnight journey. When they arrived at the railway station, the chocolate brown colored train, with KUR&H (Kenya Uganda Railways and Harbors) painted on each carriage, was waiting. It was a collection of passenger carriages of different class and the platform was crowded with people of all races.

With the help of a porter, they soon found their First Class compartment. Only Europeans traveled First Class, Indians Second or Third Class and African only Third Class. The First Class carriages were either two or four berth compartments, with a fold down hand basin under the window or in the corner. Winnie and Frank were pleased with their two-berth compartment and quickly organized their hand luggage under the seat.

Settling into their compartment and saying goodbye to friends (a departing train was always a good excuse for a gathering of friends), Winnie watched the colorful pageant on the platform. The Indian women, swathed in pastel saris, dragging unwilling children towards the front of the train and the Second Class carriages, followed their men folk, who were shouting at the porters to hurry. The Africans were also in a hurry, competing for seats in the Third Class carriages. The women dressed in brightly printed cotton sarongs, carrying their babies and with their luggage balanced on their heads accompanied their men folk of many tribal groups, some of whom were very scantily clad.

Kenya is a country, which was developed from the railway. The line on which Frank and Winnie were to travel originally stretched from Mombasa to Kisumu, the Kenyan port on Lake Victoria, which received the cotton crop from land-locked Uganda.

The building of the railway was fraught with many problems - not only the terrain but also the man-eating lions, which are so vividly described in J.H. Patterson's book "Man Eaters of Tsavo" published in 1907. (The film "The Ghost and the Darkness"? is based on this book.) In the 1920's it was not uncommon for wealthier travelers to stop the train in order to shoot lion or other game beside the track. A line was later built through Eldoret to pass north of the lake to Uganda's capital, Kampala.

As the sun was setting into one of Mombasa's spectacular sunsets, the train slowly steamed out. Once over the causeway separating Mombasa Island from the mainland, it gathered speed. Impala and zebra ran along side the train, soon to be left behind.

Not having a buffet car, the train stopped at Voi for dinner. European passengers disembarked and in the cool of the evening, walked to the dak bungalow and while they ate their dinner, the bunks in the compartment were made up into beds. The bedding, which had to be ordered before departure, was rolled out onto the bunks and consisted of crisp white sheets and pillows and brown blankets. Winnie recalled," as the railway track was covered in thick red murram, it was customary to cover your head with a scarf, otherwise, your face and head would be covered in red dust in the morning."

The train stopped again for breakfast and the passengers walked up to the dak bungalow for a cooked breakfast whilst the local Africans walked up and down the platform selling fresh fruit and milk to Asian and African passengers. Winnie realized she had forgotten something and leaving Frank to order breakfast, returned to the carriage.

To her horror, she found an African sweeping out their compartment - not that this was unusual, but he was "in his nothings"! Blushing and feeling terribly confused, she forgot what she went for and hurriedly returned to the Dak bungalow for breakfast.

When they arrived in Nairobi, they were met by Frank's superior Officer who, on being introduced to Winnie, said: "Hewitt, you have brought us out a very young girl!"