White farmers lived in squalor, had to contend with jiggers

By Amos Kareithi

It was the photographs of rolling plains populated by wild animals lurking in the background of spear-wielding cattle herders prominently displayed in a Wembley exhibition that did the trick. The spell cast by the irresistible beauty of a land begging to be conquered was enough to drive the budding scholar out of the prestigious Wellington College into the lawless jungles. With only 100 sterling pounds in the wallet and a shotgun stashed in one of his tin boxes – just in case it was needed in Africa – the young man boarded the SS Matiana, destined for Mombasa. Michael Blundell was barely 19- years old, when he got on board the ship in October 1925.