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Name: FITTALL, Robert Joseph

Nee: elder bro of Reginald Fittall

Birth Date: 19 Mar 1894 Twickenham

Death Date: 16. Feb 1943 Nairobi, typhoid fever

First Date: 1912

Last Date: 1943

Profession: Accountant. Joined Messrs. Newland, Tarlton & Co.1912-19, a trained journalist he subsequently joined the EA Standard as reporter, editor and then General Manager till his death.

Area: Box 67, Nairobi, 1930 Box 65, Nbi.

Married: In Nairobi 19 July 1915 Georgina Marie 'Zina' Coroneo b. 29 Sep 1901 Cairo, d. 10 July 1979 Pretoria (she was only 14; she arrived EA 1913 with mother and sister)

Children: Arnold Robert de Bussieros (9 May 1916 Nairobi-1984 Auckland, NZ); Esméralda Coralie (26 July 1917 Nairobi-1994); Lancelot Albert Wilfred (18 Dec 1918 Mombasa-12 Feb 1944); Diana (Hanley) (1920); Cecily Norah Aimee (8 Mar 1922 Nairobi) (Cooper); Reginald Lewis (15.7.1925 Nairobi-21.8.2013 Nottingham); Raquel 'Quellie' (6 June 1930 Nairobi) (Bullingham)

Book Reference: Gillett, EAWL, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, Red 22, Gazette, Barnes, Medals, Leader14, Red 19

War Service: British Army Intelligence Corps, EA Protectorate 1914-15 and in WW2 1939-42

School: Blue Coats School, London

General Information:

Invalided out in WW1 due to malaria (blackwater fever). 'My father was born in Twickenham in 1894 and was awarded a scholarship to Blue Coats school in London. Shortly after leaving school he decided to go abroad and wrote off for jobs in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. He chose one in BEA working for the firm of Newland and Tarlton - arriving in Nairobi in 1912. He was called up for military service in Tanganyika during the 1914-18 war but was invalided out in 1916 or 1917 because of chronic malaria. After the war he joined the EA Standard as a reporter and later became editor and then General Manager (a position he filled from late 1920 until his death). He was very overworked during the second world war as he lost many staff to the war effort and had to cope with everyone else's job as well as his own. He also took on a second evening job of translating wireless news broadcasts in foreign languages - mainly German, French and Italian - for the local Intelligence Dept., as he was a keen radio ham and was able to monitor such overseas broadcasts on his shortwave radio. Many years later at an official dinner with my husband in Nairobi to my surprise a speech was made in which my father's great contribution to the radio ham society was mentioned as he was one of the early pioneers of the use of radio in Kenya.
My father died (the diagnosis was typhoid fever but he had been tired and unwell for some time) in February 1942 [1943] aged only 48. There were few horses in Kenya in the early days so the young men tried to tame and ride zebras. He managed once to ride one up the Ngong Hills but it was not a very successful venture as he was thrown off many times and came back bruised and sore and without the zebra! He said the poor zebras did not have the stamina of horses and soon died if they were harnessed, so the experiments in taming them were soon abandoned. He sold land for Newland and Tarlton (pre WW1), for as little as 6 rupees an acre in some cases, in Kabete and other desirable locations, but was unable to buy any for himself as they only dealt in very large acreages and he didn't have sufficient capital. He had quite an influence on the business community in Nairobi in the early days as he had had an accounting and business training before he left the UK and was instrumental in setting up accounting systems for aspiring young entrepreneurs who were more adventurous than knowledgeable (some of whose enterprises later turned into flourishing businesses).
I can remember that during the 1930's a number of Indian businessmen called on him at home for help with their accounting systems and he always gave unstintingly of his time. He was also a keen member of the Nairobi Turf Club and never missed a race meeting if he could help it. I think he might have been one of the founder members. He met and married my mother Zina Coroneo in Nairobi in July 1915. She was barely 14 years of age and he was 21.  My father was always very concerned for friends who had lost their jobs [in the depression] and did what he could to help them through his many contacts. When he died many people that we had never heard of wrote to say how he had rescued them from disaster in those years - either with money (which was not too plentiful in our house with all the children to feed) or with contacts to get them work or accommodation.      Sources: Mrs R. Bullingham and Mrs C.N.A. Cooper
Red 22 - R.J. Fittall, Leader Office, Nairobi
Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Nairobi District - R.J. Fittalle [sic], Newland Tarlton and Co.
Nairobi Forest Road Cemetery - Robert Joseph Fittall, British, age 48, died 16/2/43
Medals - East African Intelligence Department - Clerk
Red Book 1919 - Mombasa Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture - Secretary - R.J. Fittall
Hut has Robert Fittall Editor Kenya Weekly News Nakuru
Gazette - Voters List 1936 - Nairobi South - Robert J Fittall, Business Manager, Box 65, Groganville, Nbi

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