Motor Sport - Feb 1957 - Article - "Cars I Have Owned" - "Arrived in Kenya, I surveyed the landscape from the back of  a horse for about 6 months and then bought a box-body Buick Master Six which had been used pretty hard as a safari car for the previous 2 years ………..  

Just before Christmas 1927 I imported my first sports car to Kenya, and I think I can claim to have imported more sports cars to that country than any other private individual! Before the war sports cars simply did not exist in this country; none of the motor agents would have dreamed of importing such things; nobody knew or wanted to know anything about them, and the only 'enthusiasts' were those who claimed to have owned Type 35 Bugattis  in England but who seemed perfectly content to travel in Kenya on Model T Fords (a car, incidentally, which, in spite of its reputation I found quite useless owing to sheer lack of power).

Actually the roads were pretty bad, a high ground clearance was essential if one were to get around without a great deal of anxiety for one's underneath, and owing to getting stuck in the mud fairly frequently a spacious body in which one could sleep with some degree of comfort was desirable. I think I am right in saying that in 1927 the only cars in Kenya with any claim to sporting characteristics were 2 or 3 six and a half litre Hispano-Suizas, a Lancia Lambda or two, and one 30/98 Vauxhall. …………….

In the autumn of 1930 I went to England for 2 months and returned to Kenya with 2 E-type 30/98 Vauxhalls. One which I kept for myself was a 1922 car (No. E474) fitted with a pointed tail 2-seater body by Gross of Northampton. The other was E263 (I think( and was fitted with the ordinary Velox body. This car cost £60 and was handed over to my partner. The 2-seater cost £75. ………………

I did not keep my car very long because in the middle of 1931 a man arrived at the garage with one of the last OE 30/98 to be built (No OE 296), a car which had originally belonged to Humphery Cook and which had only done about 20,000 miles. The owner said he was taking the car back to England with him, but I could not bear to have the best car in Kenya leave the country again, so I bought it for £180. ……….  Shortly after I bought OE 296 Kenya was hit by the world slump and locusts, and garage business became very slack, so I took a job looking after the machinery on a largish farm. The Vauxhall had to act as field tender for various tractors etc. but she never turned a hair. Though it is nothing to do with cars, the reason why that job came to an end may be of interest. We had about 300 acres of maize planted when one day at about 11 am a swarm of locusts appeared. By lunchtime the whole 300 acres had been eaten by the locusts. After that I went gold-mining; or, rather, looking for gold - but failed to find it. For a month or so, until I had found an area which I hoped would produce something, the Vauxhall was my home as well as my transport. ………………..

In 1933 I received a legacy. When I inquired of my mining friends what I should do with it they all, with one accord, said "Spend it". So I sold the Vauxhall to my garage partner for £60 and went to England for 18 months. ………. {Lots more about the author's many cars and experiences racing and hill climbing in Kenya up to 1957 (date of article)

Gazette 19 Dec 1961 probate

Campling - 1930s Wattle Company, Kikuyu - " … watch out for old Moreland, the foreman, who had a vile temper and would swear and curse at anyone and even kick a backside if he had the chance. ……… Moreland came in to do a job on the lathe and shouted at Keith [Campling], referring to him as "hey you" and ordering him to "come here". But Keith ignored him; after all Moreland knew his name. This made Moreland angry, and he called Keith a "little bastard" and enquired as to whether he was deaf. Keith asked Moreland if he was talking to him but, after having been asked what the bloody hell he thought he was doing, he decided it best to go to the stores, as asked, to fetch a half-inch tap, so he went there and returned with a water tap (as the factory was steam-operated it could as well have been a water tap that was wanted). When he handed the tap to Moreland he received a stream of abuse and invective for his pains, so he returned to the store and fetched the correct tap. At midday, after he had finished his shift he went to Mr Moreland's office, walked up to his desk and told him that he did not like being spoken to in that manner. Too late Keith realised his mistake; with one swift movement Moreland, a large strong man and an ex-Cornish miner in his prime, rose from his chair and made a swing at him and, caught unawares, Keith was swung round and hit the wall. Moreland was on to him immediately and fisted him in his kidneys so Keith, facing the wall, took a step backwards, spread his feet and, leaning down, grabbed Moreland by the ankles and lifted them, pulling his legs up between his own. Moreland had no alternative but to let go and he fell heavily back on to the concrete floor, hitting his head hard as he did so. Keith quit the office and staggered outside, then Moreland, somewhat dazed, was up and after him. By this time a crowd of African workers had gathered; they too had had a taste of Moreland's temper and so they cheered madly, urging him with cries of "Piga, Bwana, piga". The fight began again, but Mrs Moreland, attracted by the noise, appeared and screamed at Keith, telling him to stop before he killed her husband. Fortunately for Keith this ended the fight, as he was not at all confident that he could have won it. Moreland then told him that he was fired, which suited him, ……..