Nairobi Forest Road cemetery - Thirza Hannah Ratcliffe, British, age 64, died 21/3/37

EAS 22 Apr 1937 She married Ratcliffe at the consulate in Mombasa and immediately began to take an active part in the work of the United Methodist Mission at Ribe where her husband had been stationed since 1899. After a visit to England she returned with her children and joined her husband in his mission work at Golbanti on the Tana River. There her assistance was invaluable in winning the confidence of the native women. There were no other white people in the neighbourhood and the mission was in the village round which a stockade was built as a protection against raids by the Masai. On many occasions it was necessary for her to remain there alone while her husband was visiting other parts of the scattered mission field. Later she and her husband were stationed for some years at Meru. Her husband was appointed Secretary of the YMCA in Nairobi in 1925 and here again he found his wife's assistance invaluable. She was a clever linguist and a fluent speaker of Swahili and Arabic. She was thus of great assistance to her husband and his teaching work and in his well-known book on the Swahili language in association with Sir Howard Elphinstone. A few years ago she accompanied her husband to Waa school from the coast where he was acting principal, afterwards being appointed to the coast secondary school at Shimo la Tewa. He is at present schoolmaster at the NITD at Kabete. A serious illness necessitated her going to England in January 1935 where she underwent a severe operation. She returned in February last year. There are three sons.