John Lonsdale-Eccles attended St Mary's School Nairobi from 1955 - 1964

Lived on the  Woodely Estate 1951 - 1955

About 1955, his folks built a house on Apple Cross Rd, in Bernard Estate which was an easy bike ride to St Mary's School.

His father (David Gordon Eccles;  he changed our names nearly 20yrs later to Lonsdale-Eccles) was posted to the army base in Gilgil, Kenya in 1945. his mother and John followed after him and arrived at Mombasa 14 Jan 1946 (his birthday). Gordon (he had always been called by his second name) was there to meet them.  Apparently John had caught the measles, or some other childhood disease, and proceed to infect all the others on the train to Uganda where they were bound. There David demobilized and returned to Nairobi some six months later. To John's knowledge his first job was with the forest dept (in the motor division at the Nairobi headquarters). Some years later David moved over to the local government offices and then finally into the treasury offices where he stayed until 1965. He stayed a couple of years after independence to train a successor — something he was to repeat again a few years later when the Gilbert Islands were getting their independence.

The career of John's mother also involved three changes.  Her first appointment was in the immigration dept checking peoples visas etc.  John believe it was from this dept that she was sacked because a man (read male) wanted her job! It was legal and accepted practice then.  Then she moved to the forest dept and worked with (under?) Johny Ball who ended up in Australia and John Logie who ended up in UK. She was a secretary but not the type that does the typing. That would never have worked; she couldn’t spell — a disability John apparently inherited. John believes she really enjoyed that job as she got to meet lots of interesting people including forest officers and the flower painter “Joy”. Apparently part of her job involved helping to make the National Park in Lake Nakuru.  Her third job was back in immigration but located in a new concrete building.

 

Has anyone a copy of St Mary's School Annual for any year?

We all need help to remember names and the School Annual shows the names under the class photograph.