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Name: SYKES, Louis (Capt.)

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Birth Date: 2 July 1881 Leeds, Yorkshire

Death Date: 21 Aug 1964 Nakuru

First Date: 1903 - after service in the Boer War

Last Date: 1964

Profession: Took up a soldier settler farm at 'Tumaini', Thomson's Falls. In 1920. The farm was purchased for African Settlement in 1964.

Area: 'Taumaini', Thomson's Falls. HBEA 1912 - Nairobi, 1925 'Tumaini', Ol Bolossat, Thomson's Falls

Married: In Tynemouth 18 Dec 1916 Ella Alder Taylor b. 5 Dec 1892 Tynemouth, d. 15 May 1951 Thomson's Falls

Children: Louis (21.8.1917 Tynemouth-1973); Margaret Alder 'Peggy' (25.9.1920 Nairobi-13 May 1944 Ceylon, on active service); Sheila Ella (9.41922 Kenya-1988) (Green); Philip Alder (1931)

Book Reference: Gillett, HBEA, KFA, Joelson, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, North, Phil Sykes, SS, Barnes

War Service: Regular Army - Duke of Wellingtons Regt. - Green Howards; served India, S. Africa 1902, West Africa, Abyssinia, France

General Information:

KFA - Among the earliest of the settlers in the Thomson's Falls area.
Letter from Phil Sykes - 'Father was allocated a farm in Western Kenya - but discovered it was in a mountainous area from a friend and he had a game leg. To cut a long story short, he ended up with the farm at Thomson's Falls. Doing work (ploughing etc.) for an absentee landlord on aneighbouring farm he ended up owning the farm, finally purchasing a third block of land; he ended up with over 4000 acres of grassland between Ol Joro Orok and Thomson's Falls. As far as I know the only other settler in the area was Major Raynor and his wife on Maji Chemka farm - Ol Joro Orok (1919)
Louis was independent - 'cussed' known by quite a few neighbours as a 'prickly old sod'. His political views (which he had on everything) were quite often different from those of other people in the district. Even though he'd fought against them many of the Afrikaans looked up to him - they had a friend in 'old Capt. Sykes' because of his often very anti-colonial or anti-British views. I think that often the farm suffered - because of his work in Councils - committees etc. he was always trying to improve the lot of his fellow settlers, be it club house - roads hospital or what ever. For instance in the early days he wanted to get an air strip for Thomson's Falls, with the idea of something like the flying doctor service. Getting no support locally for the idea, he built a landing strip on the farm, wind sock and all, and it was used by the likes of General Lewin and Sir Piers Mostyn in the 1930s - till in the '50s the 'airsprays' Noon and Pierce, used it.
Barnes - Thomson's Falls Cemetery - Ella Alder Sykes, died 15 May 1961 aged 69, the wife of Louis Sykes of Tumaini, Thomson's Falls, and of Margaret Alder Sykes, FANY, who died on service in Ceylon - SEAC on 13 May 1944
Barnes - Thomson's Falls Cemetery - Louis Sykes, died 21 Aug 1964 aged 84
Soldier Settlement Scheme after WW1 - Class B - Capt. L. Sykes, Bush Camp, Pembroke Dock - Farm 248
HBEA has H.L. Sikes, Nairobi. Pioneer cereal grower in T. Falls area
Gazette 19 Sep 1961 wife's probate
Gazette 4 May 1965 probate

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