In 1956 they moved to Tukuyu where Dad was District Commissioner. Tukuyu is a highland town in Southern Tanzania not far from Lake Victoria. It was an important town in German East Africa when it was known as Neu Langenburg. It is the centre of Tanzanian tea-growing in the Rungwe hills.
Arrive! Boma is an old German building with turrets and crenellations all around…
…Our house, the DC’s house, is a little way down the hill surrounded by a thick yew hedge and in a lovely garden with roses, lilies, sweet peas, acanthus. Alas it is very much uncared for not from lack of attention but because the DC and his wife don’t know anything about gardening…house itself of whitewashed brick…a huge flagged balcony all round the front of the house with rooms leading on to it, dressing room, spare room and sitting room. A dining room leads off this and adjoins the kitchen. There are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms… Ajax loves it here as he is free all the time. The cat survived…She had a miscarriage…but is none the worse for it and livelier than ever.
Dad describes his new post to his in-laws: ‘Tukuyu is a very pretty, cool place. Full of pines and cedars. We have a nice big house, reasonably decorated and S is very pleased with it. All seems set for a pleasant few months, God willing.’
There are about ten European houses and about twenty Europeans of all ages. Several hundred Indians and most of the Africans live outside. Lake Nyasa is about 45 miles to the south.
Empire Day…
And we have a holiday. No primary school sports as is usual in most districts, but an African dance competition this afternoon...
…after lunch we pushed on to place called Lupata [see above]; we had to drive up a breach in the hills which turns out to be an ancient lava stream from the last ancient volcano, Chejo, which is nearby. When we arrived we found the people whose appeals Tom had come to hear had gone home; there having been some sort of misunderstanding. However we attended a very lively ‘wake’ where there was dancing and drinking and much merriment. I think I shook hands with every old crone in the village – they seldom see Europeans…
Safaris
Straight after Empire day they went on safari:
We returned from safari last night having spent three days in the area of Masoko, which is the area where the Germans had a garrison on the edge of a delightfully pretty crater lake, circular, ringed with trees and surrounded by the inevitable mountains of Tukuyu. The KAR [Kings African Rifles] took over the buildings between the wars…they are still there and tidy and neat. We stayed in the old mess which had a glorious view over the sloping lawns to the lake.
They spent lot of time on safari, by road and on foot. Mum accompanied Dad on quite a few trips. The country was beautiful but roads ‘not at all good…the Africans are very friendly and in out of the way places rather primitive. The women don’t wear very much…’
Safaris were not always fun and could be quite gruelling. ‘Glad to be back from safari – very long hot walk, blistered soles of feet and sunburned neck, thoroughly fed up!’ Ajax got lost and Dad spent the whole day ‘dashing round in the car looking for him…it cost us 20/- in tips to say nothing of petrol. I was quite pleased to be back.’.
On safari in Kyela, ‘it is simply pouring with rained and has been most of the time since we arrived…I hear the road, which is all downhill, is very churned up…hope we can get home on Saturday, chains and all.’
In June 1956 just before they went off on leave they went on ‘the final safari to the Lake where we visited the pot fair…and were taken by canoe to the village where they are all made, I won’t go into it but you will see my colour films later on.’
Their home leave took them Nairobi via Mbeya, then to Iringa and Dodoma, where they kept meeting friends en route. Then to Arusha, and finally to Nairobi, staying in the Norfolk hotel and seeing lots more friends, ‘all from groundnut days…we also visited the girl who bred Ajax. She is thrilled with him and thinks he is perfectly lovely so perhaps he will win a prize…we leave for Cairo tomorrow…
They arrived in Cairo, 13 years to the day ‘we invaded Sicily and I had just left Cairo for Alex’. They visited Saqqara, as well as pyramids and various sites including the museum which was closed during the war. Off to Alex and then to Athens, maybe Istanbul before arriving back in England. Amazingly their whole leave lasted until January 1957
Travels with my mother 