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Name: MURRELL, Henry Francis MBE (Capt.)

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Nee: son of Charles Murrell

Birth Date: 20 Sep 1889 West Ham, London

Death Date: 15 Jan 1948 Eldoret, heart attack

First Date: 1922

Profession: Ngombe transport man between Eldoret and Londiani. Later Manager of Motor Mart, Eldoret.

Area: Box 8, Eldoret

Married: 1. In Walthamstow 24 Nov 1921 Gertrude Cecilia Crabb b. 1888 Bow, London, d. Eldoret 4 Mar 1944; 2. In Eldoret Hazel Agnes Phyllis Burrow b. 23.6.1919, d. 19.12.1999 Southampton

Children: 1. Peter (24 Aug 1928 Eldoret, d. Hobart, Tasmania); Audrey (Pryor) 2. Richard (10.27.1946 Eldoret)

Book Reference: Eldoret, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, EAMR, Red 22, Gazette, LG, Macmillan

War Service: WW1 with EAMR - C Sqdn. 7/8/14 - RQMS 10/8/14; RSM 21/10/15; to EASC

General Information:

Source son Peter: Left school at 13 when parents died. Joined army aged 16, served in India and S. Africa. Visited Kenya on a hunting trip and liked the country. Had horses - Murrell's Stable on Ngong Rd, Nairobi, 1919 set up transport business in Eldoret. The transport business may have started in a small way but he eventually had many wagons and about 400 trotting oxen and did all the transport between Eldoret and the rail head at Londiani, a distance of 64 miles. Eldoret was always known as “64” (pronounced “sikisti for” by the Africans) and all knew it as that name. In the early days there he had interests in the Pioneer Hotel - the principle watering hole for the whole area - known as the Uasin Guishu (?) Plateau:  vast plains stretching to Mt Elgon, the Cherangani Hills and the Mau escarpment. His part with the Hotel was running the bar, the butchery and transport -I think the later was initially his own business. He eventually gave up his interests in the bar and butchery to run the transport business. The transport business must have been a big undertaking. Not only goods but virtually all new settlers traveled on his wagons. He used to boast that in dry weather the wagons would go through in 24 hours - but could take up to 6 weeks during the rains. The route used to pass over Timboroa (?), over 9000 ft in altitude before descending down to the plateau which lay at about 7000 ft. Eldoret was in a valley at 6877 ft. Much of the eventual road to Eldoret followed the old route of the wagon trains and my father used to point out to me many of the (places) where it deviated and where they used to have problems. He had a series of camps along the route with fresh oxen. There were 16 oxen to the span and they generally changed spans every 10 miles. Each wagon had two Africans - the driver who wielded the whip and the voorlooper - a youngster who led the oxen when needed. The driver was not meant to whip the oxen but to crack the whip over their backs. They knew each ox by name and there was continual shouting as he called out the animals names, encouraging them to greater effort. (In later years, after I was born and up until I was about 8 years old, my father still had oxen. The railway had reached Eldoret by this time but oxen were still used for general transport on the Plateau)
Barnes Eldoret cem. Gertrude Cecilia d. 4 Mar 1944; and Henry Francis Murrell d. 15 Jan 1948, Eldoret, aged 58
Eldoret - was the chief ngombe transport man early on. The wagons took anything up to six weeks to arrive from Londiani. He took the mail, packages and passengers to and from Londiani, until the Railway came, with his ten trotting ngombes and buggy, changing the oxen every ten miles, and could do the journey in a day in good weather.
All the petrol to supply "64" came in 4 gallon drums, two in a case, and very often there was no petrol at all in wet weather. Private cars would go as far as Mile 30 in order to collect cases of petrol to bring them back to "64", Mile 30 being the big outspan between Londiani and Eldoret. The saying goes that there are still two or three wagons sunk there.
Many tracks could be seen on the way where the wagons took the best route before there were reasonable roads. Mr Murrell later became Manager of Motor Mart, Eldoret.
EAMR - Steward at Military Sports - Christmas 1915
Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Nairobi District - H.F. Murrell, Lamberts Ltd.
London Gazette - 18 Nov 1918 - MBE for distinguished service in connection with military operations in East Africa - Captain Henry Francis Murrell, EA Carrier Corps
Macmillan 1930 - The Pioneer Hotel was the first hotel to be started at Eldoret and in conjunction with it there was operated a separate business entitled the Pioneer Hotel Garage and Auctioneering which transacted all the local transport. At that time the Kenya-Uganda railway had only reached Londiani, 64 miles distant from Eldoret and the only means of communication between the two places in wet weather was by ox wagon. For that purpose the Pioneer Hotel Garage employed 200 oxen. By utilising them in fresh relays at every ten miles the distance was usually covered in about 24 hours when the state of the roads permitted.
In 1921 the Pioneer Hotel Garage was sold to the Plateau Hotels Co. Ltd. But soon afterwards the animal transport was acquired by Mr H. Murrell by whom it has since been conducted under the style of Murrell and Co. The business has since greatly developed and is much appreciated and taken advantage of throughout the Eldoret district especially by farmers for the conveyance of their products to the railway and mills. By means of his fleet of motor tractors and lorries Mr Murrell is in a position to undertake transport of any description and does a good deal of work for the Government. ……………
Mr Murrell has had a varied and interesting career. He was for 8 years with the 1st Royal Dragoon Guards in India and South Africa. When the Great War broke out he was engaged in various enterprises at Nairobi. Joining the EAMR he went through the campaign in East Africa and was given a commission. After the Armistice he returned to Eldoret. Besides his business already mentioned he has about 16 miles from the town a farm where he grows vegetables fruit and cereals.
Gazette - 30/7/1929 - Dissolution of Partnership between Henry Francis Murrell and Georgiana Humphries carrying on business under the style or firm of Murrell & Co.. Business to be carried on by Henry Francis Murrell
Hut has 1920 Pioneer Hotel, Ox Transport, Motor Mart.
EAMR - Photo - Sergeants' Mess
Gazette 6 Dec 1938 Uasin Gishu Voters Roll with Gertrude Cecilia
Richard Murrell: Hazel Murrell worked as a teacher at Nyeri Primary, St George's Primary in Nairobi, then went to UK and worked as a matron at High Wycombe Girls' School; then looked after a pharmaceutical co's convalescent home in Southampton before reitrement.
Gazette 19 Aug 1947 1st wife's probate

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