Ainsworth - (Fort Smith) - 1890 - 'George Wilson was left in charge and had with him a number of porters and askaris. Lugard and the remainder of the safari proceeded to Uganda where they arrived during Dec. 1890. Wilson built his station and endeavoured to make friends with the neighbouring Wakikuyu. In a few instances young men and women made the acquaintance of some of the station askari and porters. Amongst these was a youth by name Kinanjui. In the neighbourhood there resided a local Chief named Wyaki who unfortunately took up a hostile attitude to the station. His men in several instances molested the station men and 5 of these were killed. Wyaki also resented any Wakikuyu being friendly to the white man and such "friendlies" were at intervals assaulted.

Matters appear to have become serious and Wilson appealed to Mr Leigh at Machakos, about 40 miles distant, for help. For some reason Leigh failed to respond, with the result that Wilson decided, early in 1891, to evacuate the station and retire to the coast. .......….   

An enquiry regarding the loss of the station was held at the Coast. All that could be done, however, was to accept Wilson's explanation. (He was dismissed from the Company, as Lugard records with indignation). Leigh's conduct was difficult to understand, for had he gone to Wilson's assistance things might have been very different.'

Pioneers - Machakos & Ulu - The first European in charge of the post [Machakos], George Leigh, seems to have been an unfortunate choice and there was some friction with the Kamba, even an attack on the fort. In January 1892 John Ainsworth took over …..

Matson - G.C. Leith engaged in some questionable operations from Sakwa's in the early part of 1893, in the course of which he became embroiled with the Kitosh and Ugenya…

North - Customs House Director Jan 1890; Taking loads to Machakos for the Capt. F. Lugard caravan to Uganda Sept. 1890; Tsavo 31/10/1890; replaced as Dist Officer Machakos Feb 1892 following many complaints about his treatment of natives. Claimed paid off by Company 6/8/1892 but taken on again to look after the Bishop A.E. Tucker caravan to Uganda on death of C.S.L. Bateman, arr. Kampala Dec 1892; Dep. Kampala for coast with ivory 13/2/1893. He was tried on his return to Mombasa for ill treating a porter who had died when tied to a tree on his orders but was acquitted for lack of evidence. Dismissed by Company & due to depart Mombasa for England on s.s.Kola 17/5/1893

IBEA Co. - Nominal List of British Born Subjects resident in IBEA Territories outside the Sultan's Domain, 30 April 1891 - G.C. Leith, Scotland, Asst. IBEA Co.

Kiewiet - 1892 - Caravan No 78 for Machakos under Mr George Leith. ……… Before 1892 the Superintendent (Machakos), George Leith, was in constant state of war with the Kamba and had finally to be dismissed on account of his "continued collisions with the natives without sufficient cause resulting in bloodshed, the destruction of villages, and the confiscation of native property." - [Note 2, Mackinnon Papers, 27 Jan 92, Adm. To Co.]

Uganda Journal - Vol 23, p.146 - Captain Smith's Expedition to Lake Victoria - January 1891 - " …. Subsequent experience confirms what I wrote you on my way up; that Machako's is in the wrong place and scandalously badly managed. Leith has gone there now, and Bateman, who in my opinion is in every way entirely unreliable, goes to Taveta to cope with Dr. Peters

Uganda Journal - Vol 23, p.146 - Captain Smith's Expedition to Lake Victoria - 1889-93 with IBEA Company; June 1891 in charge of Machakos station; February 1892 relieved of charge of Machakos station by John Ainsworth; 1892 caravan leader for Bishop Tucker's party to Uganda.

Uganda Journal - Vol 23, p.173 - George Wilson and Dagoretti Fort by H.B. Thomas - Ernest Gedge's diary on his journey to the Coast - " ….. 14th April 1891 - Continued on road to Tsavo river. On the way met Leith going up to Machakos with camels and gear. Had a chat with him and went on. He will not die from overwork and enthusiasm. He has already had a month getting so far. Reached the Tsavo river at 10 am. Went into station. ……… [later in article] Leith who was met by Gedge near Tsavo on 14 April can hardly have reached Machakos before the end of the month when he seemingly took over charge from A.T. Brown.

Ainsworth (pp. 18-19) clearly designates Leith (he speaks in error of "Mr Leigh") as the non-co-operating officer in charge of Machakos who denied ammunition to Wilson. Nevertheless Wilson must have scraped together enough men and supplies to enable him to re-occupy Dagoretti - perhaps with Sudi in company; and here on 13 June Eric Smith found him with 29 men doing his best to re-build the devastated station. Smith counselled Wilson once more to abandon Dagoretti, and together they reached Mombasa on 16 July 1891 - whereupon the Company terminated Wilson's employment. A private letter from Jackson among Gedge's papers dated Lamu 28 August 1891 suggests that his dismissal followed aspersions made "through spite" by Bateman and Leith. It seems clear that it was not in disapproval of Wilson's conduct in the abandonment of Dagoretti.

Nicholls - [Dagoretti fort] Wilson was visited in January 1891 by Captain Eric Smith, of the 1st Life Guards, a man sent inland by IBEAC to explore a route for a possible railway. It may have been the behaviour of some of the men in Smith's caravan which poisoned relations with the local Kikuyu, for on 30 March Wilson felt it prudent to retire from Dagoretti fort, a wise move as the Kikuyu then overrran and burnt it. When new supplies arrived with a caravan led by George Leith, who took over Machakos from Bateman, Wilson reoccupied Dagoretti but soon left it and joined Smith on the way back to the coast. There he was dismissed from the Company - according to Ernest Gedge, for 'seduction, and flogging a man to death' on the evil report of the blackguards Leith and Bateman.

Nicholls - Machakos - George C. Leith, Latrobe Bateman's replacement, was as much of a drunkard as his predecessor, and the Kamba hated him, not least because he took supplies from them by force and without payment. He also cut down an ithembo tree, where the Kamba made offerings to the spirits, to use it as a flagpole. Leith scattered the men who came to protest with rifle fire and burned several Kamba huts. Ainsworth took over from leith in 1892.

Hobley - 1890 - I was directed to accompany G.C. Leith on an expedition to cut a road across the Taru desert, about 60 miles inland. Nov. 1892 - D.O. Machakos.

EAHB 1905 - IBEA Co. General Africa Staff - appointed 22nd October 1889

1901 England Census (Hammersmith) his occup. is Gold Mine Manager

Uganda Journal - The Wilsons of Early Uganda - .….….……

'Another European assistant' who reached Kampala with Capt. Eric Smith and James Martin on 6 December 1892 is thus not J.P. Wilson, who was already in the country; and he may with some certainty be identified as one Thompson or Thomson. Of him little is known, for though he was an employee of the Company he does not appear in the staff list printed by McDermott (British East Africa, 2nd ed. 1895) But there are a few unpublished references to him.

Towards the end of August 1892 Lugard, who was hurrying down to the coast, mentions in his diary meeting Martin's caravan. With Martin was his clerk Thompson as well as the German journalist Wolf. Ernest Gedge (diary) when he arrived at Kampala on 31 January 1893 mentions that he 'had tiffin with Grant, Wilson and Thompson, who has got over his dysentery'; and a letter dated Kampala, 18 February 1893, from Captain W.H. Williams which is now in the Zanzibar Archives, states that he was sending Thomson, invalided out of the service, down to the Coast under the escort of Mr G.C. Leith. The latter, also a Company man, had reached Kampala as caravan leader of Bishop Tucker's party at the end of December. On the return journey to the Coast Leith's caravan must have passed Sir Gerald Portal's mission on its way up country. It is on record that this caravan acted high-handedly at Wakoli's and at Sakwa's (Kavirondo); and this was apparently the end of Leith's employment with the Company.

Marriage cert. he was a mining engineer