First wife is buried in Forest Road cemetery, Nairobi: Kathleen Dorothy / Cleland / died on the 21st December 1930 / in her 38th year / requiesat in pace

Capt. Cleland did all he could to keep the golf course in some sort of repair but there was no money and not enough money to warrant it being maintained for only a few members.

Patterson Family book - Lyl and Jimmy are well remembered by many as hoteliers, notably at 'The Queen's' in Nairobi where they were assisted by Lyl's sisters Isa, Jess and Nan who ran a hair-dressing salon in the hotel. Lyl and Jimmy went on to run the lovely Brackenhurst Hotel at Limuru. Managing Director of Brackenhurst Jimmy was well known as Secretary of Muthaiga Club in the 1920s and 1930s; and Rift Valley Sports Club. Lyl returned to live in Sunderland after Kenya and was tall and erect even in old age.

Letter from Ian W. Joiner - ' …… a most charming man by all accounts and known by the servants and hotel personnel as "Bwana Tumbo", no doubt because of his girth.'

Red 22 - Secretary, Muthaiga Club

Kenya Weekly News - 31st August 1956 - 'Jimmy Cleland' by Sheila Dixon - Today is the last official day of Jimmy Cleland's three year Secretaryship at the Rift Valley Sports Club. Since for two of those three years I sat opposite him working with him in the early morning frost, in the mid-day sun and in the calm of the evening, it has seemed to me that this might be a suitable time to sketch a profile of the man I came to know so well during these two years. In putting down these personal reminiscences and impressions, I crave the indulgence of any reader who might consider them to be in any way violations of Club convention. This is intended to be a brief portrait of Jimmy Cleland the man, not an exposition of the secrets of a Club Secretary. Our period of collaboration was a happy and, I believe, a successful one, the important thing about it, to me, being the friends we made. It is to those friends and to all those others throughout the Colony who hold Jimmy Cleland in affection and regard, that I dedicate this article. "What's today, Boy?" "Today, Sir, why, today's Christmas Day". These words from Dickens' Christmas Carol uttered with great dramatic effect in the Bransby Williams manner, signified that, although it might not necessarily be Christmas Day, it would be a morning of plain sailing. I do not think even Jimmy would deny that the morning is not his best time. The form is that you keep quiet and speak only when spoken to, until gradually the mood becomes mellower and mellower as the day goes on. The general reaction to this (a characteristic by no means confined to Jimmy) was neatly summed up years ago by a small nephew of Mrs Cleland's. On arrival at their house at any hour before noon, his first enquiry would be, "Good morning Auntie. How's Uncle Jimmy today? Shall I say 'Good morning' or shall I scoot?" On Christmas Day mornings however, we enjoyed a break for our cup of coffee during which I was treated to a flow of reminiscence about 'the old days', of which I never tired. From this and from talks with Mrs Cleland's family, emerged the following facts about Jimmy's early life and career up to the time when I first met him. A Scotsman born and bred, he left home at a very early age (as he gave the Army a false one, I think even he has now forgotten how old he was, but he was certainly not more than 16) to join the Cameron Highlanders, and saw service in China and in India, where his only child, "young Jimmy" was born. During the 1914-18 war he served gallantly in France, where he was awarded the Military Cross and was commissioned in the field. In 1916 he was seconded to the King's African Rifles, and thus began his long association with Kenya. On completion of his period of service with the Army shortly before the end of the war, an informal lunch with one of the directors of the Morrison Estates resulted in his being offered the job of secretary of Muthaiga Country Club. His activities during his time at Muthaiga, where he remained until 1936, are too well known to require much elaboration here, but I think mention should be made of the fact that he was one of the prime movers in the formation of the Muthaiga Golf Club, which started as an offshoot of the Country Club, his inauguration of the now traditional New Year's Eve bonfire, and his appearance for 21 years in red gown and whiskers as Father Christmas at the yearly children's party. During this time there occurred an event of great and happy importance: in 1932 he met, and in 1934 he married the present Mrs Cleland, whose companionship has meant so much to him and in whose large family "Uncle Jimmy" quickly became absorbed. Life in Kenya in those days must have been great fun, and no-one got more enjoyment out of it than Jimmy. Those were the days when the popular Prince of Wales visited Kenya and on each occasion was seen at Muthaiga Club, around which revolved the gay life of the Colony. Of the many stories Jimmy has told me of his own amusing escapades possibly the most spectacular and well-known is that of his masquerade as the Great Pasha from the East. This idea, born at Port Said during a journey home, was hilariously carried out by Jimmy and an entourage of friends, including, if I am not mistaken, the famous Kenya character Jock Purves, whose name was always cropping up in these stories. With his imposing and corpulent figure (he must at that time have weighed some 16 stones) Jimmy found that the addition of a fez and a pretence of not being able to speak a word of English were all that were needed to convince officials at the various ports of call that he was in fact an Eastern potentate of great importance. Red carpets and deep bows greeted them on all sides and officials were beside themselves in a frenzy to make the journey smooth and ceremonial, until they eventually arrived at their destination, a British post. Officialdom here took one look at the be-fezzed Jimmy and his sycophants. "Come 'orf it" was the greeting they got, "Oo do you think you're trying to kid?" The game was over. Sadly the Great Pasha and his followers removed their fezes and quietly dropped them overboard. Leaving Muthaiga in 1936 the Clelands leased and successfully ran the Queen's Hotel in Nairobi, until the outbreak of the second world war saw Jimmy back in the Army again, this time in the Ordnance Corps, serving in East Africa, with occasional trips to Abyssinia and other places. Shortly before the end of the war, retiring with the rank of Lieut.-Col., Jimmy and several associates, among them Captain Sherbrooke Walker and Bob Valentine, bought Brackenhurst Hotel at Limuru, which Jimmy managed for a few years until he decided that the time had come for him to retire altogether. The Clelands built themselves a house in Nairobi where Jimmy twiddled his thumbs until the day when he saw the Rift Valley Sports Club's advertisement for a Secretary. He replied, came originally for 6 months, and stayed 3 years. During the time I worked with him, the two qualities which particularly struck and affected me were those of generosity and humanism. A great giver and a wonderful host, counting the cost has never been one of his occupations. It is, I believe, a fact that Mrs Cleland once produced the money for her fare to England by the expedient of collecting up the change which her husband removed from his pockets and left on the dressing table each night, and prudently paying it into a savings account. I personally benefited from his custom of sending flowers and stockings to all his female relations on birthdays, although a certain amount of prompting from Mrs Cleland aided what would otherwise have been rather spasmodic remembrance of these occasions. As to the humanism, this was perhaps best demonstrated on an occasion when we had had a slight rift, due to a difference of opinion over which I was most firmly convinced that I was in the right. In the early morning partly seething, partly apprehensive, but determined to do battle, I sat at my desk, when in walked Jimmy. He placed beside me two Penguin green-backed detective novels (we had a sort of mutual lending library system) with the words "You may be interested in these. One is about a Club Secretary who couldn't make up his mind - there's a murder in it by the way." In retrospect it was wildly funny; at the time I felt near to tears. I think I can say that never after that did we have any serious disagreement. Then there was the Night of the Lilies. Mrs Cleland doesn't care for lilies, and on the night of her birthday party there happened to be a vase of them occupying the middle of the buffet table in the dining room. It was a good dinner and we had all drunk of the champagne traditionally supplied by Jimmy on these occasions. Coffee and liqueurs over we were suddenly surprised to see our host galvanised into activity, dancing like a not particularly startled faun up and down the verandah, cradling to his bosom a long-stemmed Madonna lily. The culmination of this attractive dance was the depositing of the offending bloom on the bonnet of an imposing motor car standing at the front door. It was no time at all before we had all snatched up the remaining flowers and before every car in the park was similarly decorated; the few lilies left over dripped protestingly from the lintels of the rondavels in the Club compound. We had a good laugh and went to bed. Soon after dawn early-rising Members were surprised to see a dressing-gown figure methodically carrying out an inspection of the car park and gathering up an armful of lilies. A Club Secretary has, after all, an example to set. I can scarcely close on a happier note, as far as my own personal recollections of Jimmy Cleland are concerned. His many friends in Nairobi look forward to having him back and a party is already being organised. I will but add my personal word of welcome - "I looks towards you; and I likewise bows".

Mills - In July 1919, James Cleland was appointed as Club Secretary and stayed with Muthaiga Country Club until 1927 when he went across to manage the Muthaiga Golf Club.

Red 25 - J. Cleland MC - Secretary, Muthaiga Country Club

Gazette - Voters List 1936 - James Cleland, Manager, Queen's Hotel, Nbi

Gazette 6 Mar 1962 probate

Langata cemetery, Nairobi: James Cleland / 9.12.1883 - 15.2.1962