See 'West with the Night'. Hunted elephants with C.T. Stoneham in the 20's. Racehorse owner with his brother - trained by Gerry Alexander. Affair with Beryl Markham. Beryl Markham's flying instructor.

Markham - MD of Wilson Airways - Tom had fallen heavily for Beryl Markham when they met at Molo after she had defected from the drug scene at Knightwyck [Frank Greswolde-Williams] to work for Gerry Alexander. Tom, and his brother Frank, were soldier settlers like Jock Purves. ...... Tom was attractive in a puckish way, nudging 40 [1930], with blue twinkling eyes - a short man, ex RFC, his father, Mayor of Brighton was nouveau riche. ........... In 1929 Tom was hired by Florrie Wilson, widow of Wilson Airways, to fly her in J.C. Carbery's Focker Universal to London and brought back for her a new aircraft in which Wilson Airways was to carry the mail. ........ pilot for Lord Furness (Duke) when he came to Kenya - an extremely wealthy man, accompanied by a widow, the great beauty Enid Cavendish whose looks were compared to those of Diana Cooper and Violet Trefusis. Enid was to become a great friend of Beryl Markham not long after making Furness her third husband. She was said to have 'fantastic posture' and wore cabochon emeralds or rubies, dressing for evening in diaphanous gowns. When presented to King George and Queen Mary, she was regarded as the most beautiful Australian ever seen at court. ............. 1935 - He fell in love with Florence Desmond, an actress and this hurt Beryl Markham - she lost face and her pride suffered a blow.  

Flying - In 1928 owned a DH 51 aeroplane in Kenya

Davis - During the mid 1920's, …. Settler, who had been farming for several years between Rongai and Eldama Ravine, shared John Carberry's enthusiasm for aviation. He was, within a few years, to become a world famous aviator. His name was Tom Campbell Black. It was at the Nakuru Show in 1925 that he told of his ideas for commercial aviation in Kenya, to Mervyn Hill, later to become editor of the Kenya Weekly News. " … at the time, his ideas and his hopes were little more than pipe-dreams. That afternoon Tom Black had thrilled the crowd with one of the most remarkable if unorthodox exhibitions of show jumping that I have ever seen. He owned a black gelding that jumped like a stag and very fast, but he was as wild as a kite and the devil to hold. More often than not their way round the ring left a devastation of jumps behind them but on this occasion all went well. At a speed more suitable to the finish of a hurdle race, they never touched a jump and Tom retired to the Rift Valley Sports Club with a large cup which held an awful lot of liquor in the course of the evening. It was, indeed, a memorable night." "Farming wasn't going too well so Tom Black set about turning the pipe-dreams into reality, with much of the drive and dash that he displayed in the show-ring. Soon he was flying with a purpose that began to take shape."

Pioneers - In 1929 Mrs Florence Kerr Wilson, 50 years old and recently widowed, flew to England from an airstrip at Langata in a Fokker Universal (owned by John Carberry) with Mr Tom Campbell Black as pilot and Mr Archie Watkins as engineer. In those days there were few airstrips, let alone airfields, and no sophisticated instruments. Refuelling arrangements were extremely sketchy. Pilots relied on simple navigation by compass and map and often came down on roads or in the bush. The African services of Imperial Airways had not yet begun. Tom Campbell Black's ambition was to start a local air transport business, and in Mrs Wilson he found an enthusiastic backer. Wilson Airways was launched on 31 July 1929 with a capital of £50,000 and one Gipsy Moth aircraft. Campbell Black made history by flying a 17½-stone passenger with his baggage to Croydon, England, in this tiny machine, within one week. He flew back in an Avro Five which, with the Gipsy Moth, founded Wilson Airways' fleet. In the first full year's operation the company flew more than 150,000 miles at a cost to passengers of 1/3d. A mile. By 1931 the company had three pilots and a fleet of 2 Avro Fives, 2 DH Puss Moths and 3 Gipsy Moths. Campbell Black made the first non-stop flight from Zanzibar to Nairobi, and was the first to fly from Nairobi to Mombasa and back in a day. Mrs Wilson piloted herself on occasions, and with Captain C.P. Mostert flew 8531 miles from Zanzibar to Croydon, via the Congo, Kano and Dakar, in a Puss Moth, in 80 hours and 40 minutes flying time, averaging 106 miles an hour. At the outbreak of the Second World War pilots and engineers joined the Kenya Auxiliary Air Unit, and later the RAF, and the company ceased to function as an independent airline. It was later merged into East African Airways. Mrs Wilson died in 1966, but the airport at Langata survives. A plaque at Wilson Airport, formerly Nairobi West, commemorates its founder's outstanding services to aviation in Africa.

Aero - Tom Campbell Black had served with No. 216 squadron RAF in France as a pilot of one of the Handley Page aeroplanes of that Squadron which successfully flew from France to Egypt. He was stationed at Kantara in Egypt for over a year prior to leaving the RAF with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. After arriving in Kenya he farmed in the Rongai area. His dream had always been an air-transport service over Africa. Aero - Committee Member, Aero Club of East Africa in 1927 Campling - Australian born but educated in England, Tom Campbell-Black had served in the RNAS and the RFC, after which he had studied law before coming to Kenya in 1920 to farm at Rongai.

Web - Tom was a very keen horse-man ……….. 1925 …

Kenya Weekly News - ' That afternoon Tom Black had thrilled the crowd with one of the most remarkable if unorthodox exhibitions of show-jumping that I have ever seen. He owned a black gelding that jumped like a stag and bvery fast, but he was as wild as a kite and the devil to hold. More often than not their way round the ring left a devastation of jumps behind them but on this occasion all went well. At a speed more suitable to the finish of a hurdle race, they never touched a jump and Tom retired to the Rift Valley Sports Club with a large cup which held an awful lot of liquor in the course of the evening. It was, indeed, a memorable night.

Rift Valley - 26 Feb 1925 - 'Suggested that coupons of clubs reciprocating with the R.V.S. Club, be accepted in payment of amounts due to the club, and that a clearing fee of (say) 10% be charged to the reciprocating club on such coupons & that other clubs be approached with a view to making a similar arrangement as regards coupons issued by this club.' [signed T Campbell Black]

Rift Valley - Member of the Rift Valley Sports Club - Jan 1929 - Elected - 9 Oct 1920 - T.C. Black

Web - Owner of DH51 Moth with G.S. Skinner and A.E. Hughes, 3 Jan 1929 - the first aircraft registered in Kenya

Mills - In 1917 he attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and attained a commission in the Royal Naval Air Service. He served, first as a pilot in the Naval Air Service and later in the RAF rising to the rank of Captain. Under the Soldier Settler Scheme, Campbell Black arrived in Africa in 1922 to farm coffee. In 1925 he established Kenya's first aviation company the 'Kenya Aircraft Company' with G.T. Skinner and A.E. Hughes, and bought an aircraft from another settler, John Carberry's "Miss Kenya". The company was however destined to be short-lived and in 1929Tom Campbell Black teamed up with Florrie Wilson and Archie Watkins, Kenya's first licensed aircraft mechanic, to establish Wilson Airways.