Gazette 6 Dec 1938 Aberdare Voters List , settler, Lamuria

Curtis - p. 60 - 'Lamuria' by St. John Shaw - 'Early in 1920 Gladys, Brian, Blair and Ridley Shaw, together with Walter Matthias, arrived in Kenya to start farming under the Soldier Settlement scheme. Their land was 25 miles north north-west of Nyeri. In describing the land which Shaw Bros. and Matthias (SBM) were taking over as 'farm land' the authorities had been somewhat misleading. In fact it turned out to be only 'empty' land of approx. 4000 acres ....... the partners were often low in the water financially. .....…..

Two of the younger partners, aided by a Kavirondo driver and his mate, made their way to Nyeri, a 100 miles to the north, and then on to the farm the further 25 miles. Gladys and Walter Matthias had meanwhile married and came on by car at the end of their honeymoon, taking 2 days to do the trip. ....... A few hundred Merino ewes were also bought from a local farmer, as well as several pedigree Merino rams from Australia. (Walter was particularly anxious to build up a first rate flock of these sheep, as they were the sort he had known in Queensland). By the end of 3 years Lamuria had become well established and was slowly beginning to show a profit.

In 1923 St. John, the youngest member of the family, joined the partnership, bringing some more capital for the farm ....... [production of butter for Nairobi - depression] ..... For SBM however, it was not all gloom. During a short holiday Gladys Matthias had spent a week at Reading University Dairy School learning something of the craft of making processed cheese. Back at Lamuria she rigged up a Heath Robinson type of apparatus which actually produced a very acceptable article. It was this machine that was in use turning out many thousand of packets of Lamuria Crustless Cheese. SBM survived the depression and thanks to Gladys's enterprise managed to repay their many outstanding commitments. In 1935 Walter Matthias died and was buried on the farm. He had been unwell and in great pain for many months. During WW2 Ridley Shaw carried on by himself and also looked after a number of other farms in the district. In 1947 Lamuria was sold and the partners received back their original cpital several times over.

Curtis - p. 97 - 'Kipkebe' by Agnes Shaw. Mrs Agnes Shaw, who later became an elected Member of the Legislative Council. Her husband, Brian, came to Kenya in 1920 with two of his brothers to farm not far from Nyeri. Lacking sufficient capital, he found a job as manager for a wealthy eccentric, Lord Egerton of Tatton. They lived at Karen in retirement, and Agnes Shaw died in 1978. - 'It was during his period of farm management that Brian and I were married. Among the bachelors who came most frequently to our house was Hugh Coltart, who ran Lord Egerton's home farm for many years and became Bwana Lordy's right-hand man. Out of gratitude Lord Egerton when he died left him all his Kenya estate, which I believe consisted of a large parcel of land, and equally large overdraft and a castle which he had built for himself, but seldom occupied, at Njoro. For all his ventures and many foreign investments Lord Egerton used to say that the only one which really paid was a small shop in Vancouver run by a Chinese. Perhaps this was because Lord Egerton, himself a bachelor, was more of a philanthropist than a businessman, his especial interest being the training and welfare of young men, as Egerton Agricultural College bears witness.

In January 1929 our carefree six months at Njoro came to an end and Brian, having packed our goods and chattels, went off to the farm he had bought in Sotik. He was to come back and fetch me 3 weeks later. My husband's youngest brother had gone up to Sotik the previous September to begin the development of the land, and by January he had built several huts and done a lot of bush clearing and even some ploughing. My husband first visited Sotik in 1927 to look for a farm with the intention of going in for coffee ....... After a second visit, my husband found a piece of land he liked at the southern end of a 5000 acre farm, for which the owner wanted £5 per acre. Brian only had £3000 with which to purchase land, and he spent the whole morning sitting on the top of Kipkebe Hill, mapping out the acreage he wished to buy ........... Kipkebe was occupied by our family, after it was built in 1929, for 36 years. ..... [ much more including a description of Brian's appendicitis and the saga of getting a surgeon to the farm in the mud to operate]

Red 22 - Honorary Permit Issuer - B.V.K. Shaw, Farm No. 1034, Nyeri

Soldier Settlement Scheme after WW1 - Class B - Lieut. B.V.H. Shaw, St. Giles, Wadebridge, Cornwall - Farm 1035

Rift Valley - Member of the Rift Valley Sports Club - Jan 1929 - Elected - 25 May 1926 - B.V.H. Shaw

Gazette - 26/9/1923 - Voters Register - Kenya Province - Brian Van Dyke Havergal Shaw, Settler PO Nyeri

Well known golfer at Njoro in 30's.

Gazette 27 Oct 1978 probate for both