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: Frank's Hillman breaks down.
Frank and Winnie soon renewed acquaintances and their house was once again running smoothly with their domestic staff and Maria. Frank was busy with his Public Health duties and the family particularly enjoyed visiting Steve Death (rhymes with teeth). He was the Government Fisheries Officer. He had a small aquarium, some baby crocodiles and a launch. Being a bachelor, he was only too happy to entertain the family and to take them out on short trips.
Frank's public health duties occasionally took him to an off shore island - Kiboko (meaning "hippo" in Swahili) Island, so named because of the abundance of this mammal near its shore. (Interestingly, the word 'kiboko' was also the Swahili word for a whip, the derivation being that whips were made out of hippopotamus hide.) The visits were made on a small diesel tug operated by the Marine Branch of the K.U.R. & H. (Kenya, Uganda Railway and Harbors) and it was not unusual for this to be made a joint official / family outing.
image: New Ford V8
The water was quite shallow, with huge rocks sticking out of the water. Every available space on the rocks was covered with crocodile, one on top of another, sunning them in the warm mid-day sun. As the launch chugged past and sensing possible danger, the crocodiles quickly slithered into the water, causing quite a tidal wave, as they swam in every direction. Once on the Island Frank would carry out his inspection whilst Winnie and the children shared their picnic lunch with the African wives and children. These were happy carefree days and Winnie was particularly content having her family around her. The threat of war in Europe had little effect.
Winnie and Frank took great pleasure in entertaining friends and in particular putting up those from outside the town. When there was an important social event, particularly Christmas and New Year, this often meant that the children had to vacate their rooms for guests. This was not a serious problem, because the house had a substantial enclosed verandah and the children slept there on camp beds.
This arrangement was only complicated by the fact that the front entrance to the house opened onto the verandah and the merrymakers, arriving home, could sometimes disturb the children. Winnie often recalled the occasion when Cyril and Dorothy Lewis were staying, and Frank and Cyril, neither of whom were known for their quiet decorum at the best of times, had been celebrating to excess. Their arrival at the house, in the early hours of the morning, inevitably woke up the children. It was so dramatic, that it prompted Peter to ask, "are you coming, or going?"
In truth, it is extremely unlikely that either could have given a coherent or considered answer to the question!
Their house was nearer the edge of the township and the garden was regularly trampled by hippo, as well as plants being nibbled by impala that frequented the hillside by the Lake. Jix the dog seemed undisturbed by these night visitors and continued his life's work of madly chasing cars or bicycles, trying to bite the revolving wheels.
Snakes were common around the house. It was said that if the common harmless snakes were killed, the more dangerous and poisonous snakes would move in. On one occasion, Kenneth and Peter were playing outside, under a large, shady tree watched by Winnie from the verandah. Jix started to bark ferociously, jumping at the tree trunk as if he wanted to climb the tree. (The road outside was obviously quiet!) Winnie came out to investigate and looking up into the tree saw a python laying on the wide branch overhead. The shamba boy (gardener) was hastily summoned to deal with the snake and the two boys were removed to a safe distance, as they wanted to watch. With much barking from Jix and shouting from the shamba boy and house boy, who had come out to help, the snake was pulled down from the tree and killed.
It was common practice for all children to run around bare-foot. The greatest menace to this habit, was the 'jigger' flea, which burrowed under the skin of a toenail to lay its eggs. The first sign would be an itchy toe and slightly painful to touch. The African servants were experts in removing the maggoty eggs, using a pin and it was usually quite painless.
Hats were worn during the day - the children always had double felt hats - and it wasn't until the family moved to Nairobi, where it was cooler and situated at a higher altitude was in considered 'safe' not to wear a hat.
Marjorie was now old enough to go to boarding school at the Government School in Nakuru. Nakuru is world famous for its soda lake which is the natural habitat of the pink flamingo. The school was situated two miles out of Nakuru on the slopes of Menengai, a volcanic crater. The Africans believed that should the lake ever dry up, the volcano would erupt. One year of severe drought the lake did dry up, but the volcano remained dormant!
For her first term at boarding school, Frank and Winnie drove Marjorie and June Adlam, the daughter of the Salvation Army Missioner, to school, a journey of 117 miles over dusty, corrugated roads. The girls were anxious to show that they were quite independent and Frank and Winnie were not encouraged to stay. This show of bravado was not to last, as future trips to the school were to be miserable departures for Marjorie. Not only did she experience the harsh discipline of boarding school but also the bullying of Anglo Saxon children from a particular group of girls, the South African Dutch. All mail out of school was subject to censorship - to check the spelling? Letters to Winnie gave little news, only requests for sweets! The good thing about Nakuru School was that once you survived it, you could survive anything.
Hyena were frequently seen around school and their night calls - a frightening laugh - had many a child quaking in her bed!
On his last leave to England, Frank was concerned for his parents, who were still living in the Canal Cottage, which was falling into disrepair and he purchased a large stone terraced house for them - 1 Park Avenue, Salterforth, on which he had monthly payments taken from his salary. When Kenneth started at Nakuru, things became very difficult financially, because the boarding fees were an expensive item. Frank therefore applied for a transfer to Nairobi where he knew he could find free education for the children. Although he was reluctant to leave his work and the happy life in Kisumu, he knew he was doing the right thing for his family.
Kenya was beginning to feel the threat of war and preparations were made. Blackout was instituted and friends were volunteering for the army, The Kings African Rifle. The nearest enemy was the Italians in Somalia and although the chances of an invasion were slender, it was better to be prepared. Shelters were also built and the one in the Kisumu garden built from an old water tank was never finished or used, which was just as well, as the occupants would have suffocated in the heat! The gas masks issued in England were brought out, but the rubber had already perished, making them useless. Blackout in Kisumu was never carried out. All male Europeans of German descendant were interned and in Kisumu, the Railway Club was used as the "camp". It was all very casual and security was not rigid.
