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Name: GRESWOLDE-WILLIAMS, Francis Wigley Greswolde 'Frank'

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Nee: son of Henry Williams, Malvern Hall, Solihull

Birth Date: 14.11.1873 bapt. 10 Dec Fairford, Glos.

Death Date: 2.7.1931 Broadwas Court, Worcestershire

Nationality: British

First Date: 1907

Profession: He owned one of the finest private big-game hunting areas in the Rift Valley, was an excellent shot and spent much time hunting

Area: Rift Valley, HBEA 1912 - PO Box 91 Nairobi, 1930 'Knightwick', Escarpment

Married: 1. In London 22 Feb 1895 Anna Louise Ross b. 3 May 1863 Cheadle, d. 24 Sep 1923 Nairobi; 2. In London 1926 Pamela Sophia Couper b. 24 Mar 1900 Paddington, d. 18 Nov 1933 (prev. m. to Nils Axel Fjastad 1890-1964)

Children: Francis Humphrey John (1899 Strathmartin, Inverness-shire, killed in action Lindi 1917); Annie Dorothy Christian (1897 Strensham-1927) (m. A.N.G. Summers, then Chetwynd); Frances Ursula Makepeace 'Sally' (Billyard-Leake, then Heath) (1906 Bredenbury, Herefordshire-11 Oct 1973 Mombasa)

Book Reference: Gillett, HBEA, Lytton, Kill, Markham, Empire, Trail, Frampton, Samson, Mischief, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, North, Thurston, Land, Red 22, Racing, Burke, Walford, Nicholls, Peacocks, Leader14, Chandler, Rift Valley, LG, Web, Red 19

War Service: 5th Battn. Worcestershire Regt; Remount Service 1914 in GEA

School: Repton 1890-91

General Information:

His 1st wife lies buried on the edge of his vast farm; she arrived 1903.
He preferred to live in camps rather than in his large and comfortable farm house.
When in England he was an ardent supporter of steeple chasing, and in Worcestershire many local charities had cause to bless him. At one time he owned his own pack of hounds.   
HBEA 1912 - Steward of EA Turf Club  
Kill - Williams had been mauled by a lioness that had charged full at him in a most determined fashion. His gun-bearer killed her as she stood over Williams, and thus saved his life.
Markham - 1924 - Possibly the father of Beryl Markham's child - she had an abortion for which he paid. He had known her since she was a small child. ....Beryl travelled back to Kenya with him in June 1924 and lived with him at Knightwyck, his cattle ranch at the bottom of the escarpment. Frank was overweight, 'a great boozer', with bottomless pockets. He wore a black eye-patch after losing an eye in a shooting accident in his early 50s. Dealt in hard drugs - Happy Valley set - may be regarded as their puppeteer. When he openly produced a bag of cocaine at Muthaiga Beryl Markham left him.
Markham - 1928 - at Muthaiga Club during the visit of the Prince of Wales -Archie Ritchie, a big strong man, had to pick up Frank Greswolde-Williams tuck him under his arm and walk out of the room with him! Derek Erskine said: "Well there's a limit, even in Kenya; when someone offers cocaine to the heir to the throne something has to be done about it".                              
Empire - a successful horse breeder, and owner of racehorses trained by Mulholland.
Frampton - 1931 - drove down to the Kedong Valley to buy horses from Cresswell-Williams [sic] - They were in dressing gowns at midday. They had mentally remained behind in the Happy Valley days.  
Mischief - Chief dealer in cocaine and morphine - he got his supplies from Port Said and he openly plied his trade in Muthaiga Club. - 1928 - dinner party for the Prince of Wales - Frank manhandled out by a white hunter called Archie Ritchie 'There is a limit, even in Kenya, and when someone offers cocaine to the heir to the throne, something has to be done about it, particularly when it is between courses at the dinner table.'    
KAD 1922 - Committee Member, REAAA.
KAD 1922 - Steward, Jockey Club of Kenya
Thurston - CO 533, 450/9 - 1934 - F.W.G. Greswolde-Williams: disposal of estate Land - Leased 9779 acres at Kedong, passed to Mrs Greswolde Williams and later sub-divided
Red 22 - Steward, The Jockey Club of Kenya
Kelly 1930 - Capt. Francis Wigley Greswolde Greswolde-Williams, son of Henry Edward Williams and nephew and heir of J.F. Greswolde-Williams of Malvern Hall, co. Warwick (d. 1892). Born 1873; married 1895 Anna L. 2 dau. (d. 1923) of late Colin Ross, of Gruinards, Ross-shire; assumed by Royal Licence addtl. name of Greswolde 1893 DL JP (1899) Worcestershire (sheriff 1906), lord of the manors of Knightwick etc; temp. capt. in the army, served with the forces in E. Africa 1916; Broadwas Court, Worcester; Knightwick, Escarpment, B.E. Africa
Racing - Owner of 'Argonaut' - 1930
Racing - Owner of 'Cameo' - Winner of the Kenya Derby 1922 - Miss Greswolde-Williams
Racing - Owner of 'Perpency' - Winner of the Kenya Steeplechase Cup in 1920
Walford - JP and DL for Worcestershire (High Sheriff 1906)
Nicholls - Lord Francis Scott, …… thought Greswolde Williams a funy little man, objectionable when drunk, with the rough manners of a stable boy. His daughters were 'rum-uns' who could not read or write. 'To sum up, he is a very kind-hearted little bounder.' He was suspected of flying drugs into the country and his wife became a drug addict. Delamere often found her at Muthaiga Club meandering about 'in a semi-conscious condition helf the time.' As for her husband he was nearly thrown out of Muthaiga Club in March 1930, when Delamere gave him a god dressing down and made him write an abject apolgy, promising never to misbehave again. His misdeed was to have offered drugs to the Prince of Wales during a visit to the club. Williams once admitted in a breach of promise suit that he was drunk most nights and proposed to most of the women he met.
Peacocks - 1930 Lord Howard de Walden's observations on fellow passengers on the ship going to Kenya - "The drunk was easily discerned for the simple reason that he was unconscious and all the bars were closed to him. His name was Greswald Williams [sic] and I discovered later that he was, or rather had been, a butcher in, I think, Birmingham. He had clearly prospered and had a nice property and a house at the foot of the escarpment between Nairobi and Naivasha. Among the amazing assortment of men and women on board, quite a number appeared to be, or said they were, guests of Mr Williams. When this gentleman came round from his monumental hangover, he was very surprised to see this motley gathering, as he had no recollection of inviting them. However he had a curious little secretary who assured him that he had done so and in any case there was no going back halfway through the Mediterranean. ………….. "On the way back to our farm at Chorlim, I had been asked to stay the night with Mr Williams at his house at the bottom of the escarpment. This I did with a certain amount of trepidation and for once I was right in being a little nervous. After the quiet tented life in the Mara River area it was a distinct shock, at my tender age, to be greeted by a very English butler at the door with, 'Good evening, Sir. And who will you be sleeping with tonight?' I have spent the years wondering what a really good answer could have been. Perhaps, 'Please show me the "menu".'
Sportsmen - Known throughout the West of England as an all-round sportsman, Mr Francis Wigley Greswolde-Williams, of Bredenbury Court, Bromyard, Herefordshire, has, since 1908, won golden opinions from all the followers of the North Ledbury Hunt. Mr Greswolde-Williams, who is the eldest son of the late Mr Henry Edward Williams of Malvern Hall, Warwickshire, was born in 1873 and educated at Repton. On completing his studies he settled down to the life of a country gentleman, finding the utmost pleasure in all pastoral pursuits, hunting racing, big game shooting and salmon fishing. That Mr Greswolde-Williams has not neglected the responsibilities of high position in the county is shown by his devotion to local administrative duties, for he was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1906, and is a Deputy Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace, as well as having formerly hald for some time a commission in the Worcestershire Regiment. Mr Greswolde-Williams is not only a lover but a good judge of horses, an invaluable quality in a master of foxhounds, and his acceptance of the mastership of the North Ledbury was a source of the utmost gratification to all interested in the well-being of that historic hunt.. Polo is also a very favourite pastime, and he is a frequent participant in the matches arranged by the county team, playing No. 2, at Ludlow, Worcester, and other fixtures, as well as at Ranelagh. Prior to accepting his present office, Mr Greswolde-Williams had for some 15 years hunted his own pack of foxhounds, thus gaining early the experience that has enabled him to effect material improvement in both stables and kennel. On the race-course his colours have been successful on many occasions, his 2 best performers being Horizon and Tilda. The former, it will be remembered, was trained by T. Cannon and started favourite for the Grand National of 1895. Shooting in England and Scotland, and salmon fishing in the best waters of Ireland and Norway have annually contributed to his pleasure during the non-hunting season. As a big game hunter Mr Greswolde-Williams has found the best of sport in East Africa, the Soudan and the White Nile, and he possesses a very fine collection of trophies. In 1895 he married Louisa, daughter of Mr Colin Ross, of Gruinards, Ross-shire, and grand-daughter of that grand old sportsman, the late Mr Horatio Ross, whose name was a household word to all lovers of the gun, and especially of deerstalking.
Rift Valley - Member of the Rift Valley Sports Club - Jan 1929 - Elected - 15 Jan 1921 - F.W. Greswolde Williams
Red Book 1912 - Committee Member - Masara Hunt Club
London Gazette - 23 Feb 1917 - granted temporary rank for service with the Forces in East Africa - as Lieutenant
Gazette - 3/12/1919 - Register of Voters - Rift Valley Area - F.W.R. Greswolde-Williams - Farmer - Escarpment and Mrs Greswolde-Williams - Escarpment
Red Book 1919 - East Africa Turf Club - Nairobi - Steward
Web - Oxford dnb - Happy Valley - Greswolde-Williams did not figure as a Happy Valley sexual partner (he was too fat and drunken), but as a supplier of cocaine and probably opiates. Sporting a black eye-patch after losing an eye in a shooting accident, he was notoriously coarse-mannered, but kind-hearted to women. He is surmised to have paid for the future aviator Beryl Markham to have a late abortion in 1924, and was subsequently her protector.
Gazette - 14/5/1924 - Probate and Administration - Anna Louisa Greswolde-Williams, late of Escarpment who died on 24 September 1923 at Kenya Nursing Home, Nairobi. Resealing of Letters of Administration with Will annexed
Info from George Streatfeild: In 1946/7 my father Granville Streatfeild bought a cottage and 5000 acres at the base of the Escarpment to make a family farm – Our turning off the main Naivasha road, was opposite the Italian Chapel.  The cottage had been known as Buster’s Cottage because it had originally been part of the huge Greswolde-Williams ranch, and had been occupied by “Buster” one of his daughters/mistress/lover?  I believe Buster’s cottage was re-named Harefield Farm by the Greswolde-Williams prior to the sale.  Anyway we soon extended and refurbished it and it became a wonderful family home. By the time we arrived, the Greswolde-Williams family were long gone and the main house was a ruin.  However there was a Greswolde-Williams grave in the extensive derelict gardens, which were quickly reverting to wild Africa.  The other farm which was closer to the Escarpment and also part of the Greswolde-Williams land, was bought by Cyril and Hazel Mayers, whose children we grew up with.  The Mayers later developed their property into thriving tourist and water bottling business.  I believe the lion’s share of the original Greswolde-Williams land went to Gilbert Colville of Delamere fame.
 

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