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: By Lake Victoria
1934, plans were made for a trip to England. Winnie went ahead of Frank and it was to be a journey she did not forget in a hurry. She was still prone to seasickness. The ship had a well-equipped nursery where the children could be left and it was a popular and busy center at meal times, as children did not eat with adults - their meals were served before the adults.
On one occasion, Winnie was sitting on deck, watching the children play when her neighbor grabbed her arm and softly said "Mrs. Hewitt, don't panic but look at your son!"
image: Peter with George the duck, 1939
All she could see of Kenneth were his feet. He was lying full length in the anchor hole, watching the waves. The ship was being painted and the cover normally over the hole had been removed. There was another occasion when Kenneth completely disappeared and the whole ship's crew searched the ship from stern to bow. He was found in the engine room, chatting to the engineers and watching the cogs and wheels go round. The engineers were quite used to little boys visiting them and did not realize anything was amiss! Whenever Kenneth went missing, the engine room was the first place Winnie went to and she usually found him there.
This time, Winnie had a very nice cabin on the boat deck and going through the Red Sea when it was so very hot, both day and night, she opened the window wide enough so that the children could not climb out and left the door on its hook, to catch any sea breeze. She left the children, who were almost asleep, and went to dinner. But the children were not sleepy that night! They managed to take the door off its hook, close and bolt it from the inside. Returning from dinner, Winnie could not get in; the children were asleep and no amount of calling or knocking could awaken them! A very thin crewmember had to be found who could squeeze through the gap of the window, to open the door. Once inside the cabin, Winnie discovered her children had had a very busy evening! Washing powder was strewn over the dressing table top and she was very distressed to find the children had managed to destroy her best bottle of toilet water by pushing washing powder grains through the tiny hole!
Frank joined the family before Christmas, which was spent in the Canal Cottage, Salterforth, and the home of Frank's family. The children were overcome to find Father Christmas also visited children in England as well as Africa! They returned to Kenya early 1935, but not before replenishing their household needs. They did not go to London on this occasion, but visited Manchester and did their shopping at Lewis's.
On arriving in Kenya, they were delighted to find they were returning to Kisumu and that many of their friends were still there. Their next house was further up the hill near the Railway Club and they had more accommodation for their growing family. Winnie was also acquiring more personal pieces of furniture to supplement the Government issued basic furniture. She also added to her collection of brassware and on this last trip, purchased a large brass tray with collapsible legs on which it stood.
Soon after settling into their new home, Winnie gave birth to her second son on 8th September 1935. He was named Peter Geoffrey. His second name was Frank and Winnie's choice alone!
At the time of Peter's birth, Maria was the family ayah and she remained with the family until they moved to Nairobi to live. She had a deformed leg, walking on tiptoes on one foot. Because of the deformity, she had been rejected by her tribal family (this was common) and was brought up in a Catholic Mission. She was always very cheerful and was so very kind and gentle. The children adored her and she had a great influence on Peter - his first language was Ki-swahili. "Maria used to bring you all to the Church to meet us after the evening service (it was held once a month) then we would go down to the Lake to watch the hippos."
Winnie continued with her hobbies of crochet and embroidery and taught herself tatting. As well as sewing for herself, she sewed for the children, frequently using her out of date clothes for them.
She also supervised the garden and care of the chickens and there was a dog, Jix, whose sole interest in life seemed to be chasing cars and bicycles. One day Frank brought home some fertile duck eggs to put under a broody hen. Unfortunately, she stopped being broody at a critical time and an alternative incubator had to be hastily assembled. A large sufuria (saucepan) was filled with water and kept at a steady temperature over a low heat on Winnie's paraffin stove. The lid was inverted and filled with cotton wool. Two eggs hatched and Frank took over the care of the ducklings. One survived - George - and he soon became Peter's pet, following him everywhere, in and out of the house. "Peter used to bath George!" remembers Winnie.
George took a dislike to Winnie: "he hated me and used to peck my legs if I was anywhere near him!" Later, "he" inconsiderately laid an egg, thus proving that whatever his other accomplishments in life, Frank had no talent for duck sexing. She was formally renamed Georgina.
When the family moved to Nairobi, Georgina was given to the Dewars, a family friend with children of the same age, as a pet. On a later safari to Kisumu, Frank dined off duck with the Dewars. It was a bit tough but he never knew if it was Georgina!
As there was no European Government School in Kisumu, it was necessary to send children, when they reached eight years, as boarders to the Nakuru European School. For the younger children, an Order of Loreto Nuns, responsible for a Mission School for African children on the outskirts of Kisumu, ran a morning school session for European children for which they charged a modest sum. Parents were rostered to take and collect children from the school and it was not unusual for a father to forget to collect. Winnie, like most other wives didn't drive and a second car in a family was unheard of. It would have been impossible for the Nuns to telephone the parents, as very few households had telephone connections. As a result, there were often some very upset children left in the Convent long after the normal finishing time.
