Skip to content ↓

View entry

Back to search results

Name: CROMPTON, Frances Eileen 'Jill', Mrs

Nee: Richardson

Birth Date: 12 Sep 1902 Sculcoates, Yorks.

Death Date: 1996 Surrey

First Date: 1930

Last Date: 1966

Profession: Various secretarial positions in Torquay and Dartmouth. She and her husband owned a Coffee Estate (Shamba) on Mt. Elgon, near Kitale

Area: Mt. Elgon

Married: In Mombasa Cathedral 1930 Harry Crompton (1896-1973)

Children: Sheila Margaret (1937) (Maelstrom); Heather Caton (1962)

Book Reference: EAWL

War Service: Ran a small pre-prep school of 15 to 20 children whose mothers wanted to do war work

School: Bridlington High School for Girls, St. Georges School, Harpenden

General Information:

Mr Crompton 1930-40 worked as manager to Col. Frank le Breton on his very large coffee farm near Hoey's Bridge, on the Nzoia River - I think Col. le Breton was given the land on the soldier-settler scheme after WW1. When WW2 was declared we were on holiday in a rented house at Nyali and were given about 3 hours to pack up and leave Mombasa by the daily 4 p.m. train, otherwise we would be unable to leave until the end of the war! My husband had survived through all the 1st War fighting on the Somme, and was considered more use running a group of farms in the Trans Nzoia to release younger men to join the forces. A younger friend, Roddy Mylor offered my husband a half share on his undeveloped coffee farm on Elgon, so that he could be free to join the war effort in England - Harry was to develop the farm and he ran a group of 6 other farms from there with an educated African headman on each one. He started a Social Centre & small African school at Sabati and we sent an educated African girl to be trained as a Social Worker for a year. Then I started Women's Clubs (Mandeleo ya Wanawake) on all the surrounding farms, also an Adult Literacy Club on our farm, for which we built a large hall on our farm. By the time of Uhuru life was becoming pretty difficult. The police discovered our 2 Kikuyu gardeners had sharpened pangas to do us in and take over the property, and later gangs of youths were roaming about intimidating our house boys and farm workers, encouraging them to go on strike and then take over. Finally we sold the farm to a cooperative of 3 Africans for about £5000 (including the furnished house) and left in Spring 1966, with very little money to live on in England and no pension until we were 80!  

Back to search results