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Name: DELAP, William Francis (Capt.)
Nee: son of James Onslow Kingsmill Delap
Birth Date: 7 July 1910 Dorking
Death Date: 20 Aug 1982 Nairobi
First Date: 1930
Area: Kayata Kipauni, Thika
Married: 1. In Kenya Wilfrida Rosemary June Courthorpe-Munroe (div. 1944) b. 1916 London, d. 13 June 1946 Marylebone (later m. Rodney Archibald Douglas-Pennant 1913-1993); 2. 1946 Maureen 'Bubbles'
Children: Jonathan Sinclair (1 July 1941 Nairobi-2009); Patrick Francis (30 Aug 1943 Nairobi-2017)
Book Reference: Red 31, Hut, Travel, Burke, Temptress
School: Wellington College
General Information:
Travel - September 2002 - Happy Valley article by Juliet Barnes - search for 'Slains' Joss Erroll's house - .. We found the old Delap home: cedar with a shingle roof covered in a red rambling rose …….. Back in Nairobi I met the late Bill Delap's second wife, Maureen or 'Bubbles'. This charming lady, still retaining a glamorous beauty, entertained me with many memorable stories of her days in "Happy Valley", during which she mentioned an Italian neighbour: "She was called La Duska, made Gorgonzola cheese, threw marvellous parties and lived in a lovely old mud house full of beautiful furniture." And in reply to my excited question: "Yes, it was called Slains!"
Travel - November 2002 - Happy Valley article by Juliet Barnes - …..Bill Delap's farm, its former name 'Rayetta Estate' still remembered in the name of a local school! Bill's second wife, 'Bubbles', arrived over 20 years later, marrying Bill in 1946. Bill wrote a column 'The Shamba Man' and won prizes for photography. They grew fruit and vegetables and bred Jersey cattle and pigs, but at least half of the 600 acre farm was under pyrethrum. …….. Bubbles, who was a great dancer, remembered many wild parties at different houses: " - and rather a lot of people fancied Bill," she laughed, adding, "So many people tried to restart Happy Valley. They just hadn't got what it takes. It's a sort of glamour which goes with money and title."
Temptress - Bill and Bubbles Delap - Owners of 'Rayetta' farm in the Wanjohi Valley and neighbours of Alice and Frederic (de Janze)
Gazette 6 Dec 1938 Ukamba Voters List has William Frederick