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Extract from letter of Mervyn Swire Ray dated 5 November 1956 re visit of H.R.H.Princess Margaret to his farm in Kenya. This was passed to Ron Goose by a descendant of Allen Guy Ray who had compiled comprehensive notes on the Ray family in 1959. “…………….. and herewith an account of the Princess’ visit:- When the Royal tour was being arranged , five months before her arrival, H.E. the Governor and Lady Mary asked us if she could spend a Sunday afternoon at our home, quite informal, as a rest from her very arduous official duties. Our home was chosen I presume 1) Because H.E. and Lady Mary had been several times and loved it. 2) Being the eldest inhabitants with a lovely home and beautiful garden. 3) Situated right in the Aberdare Forest, where Mau-Mau had had their headquarters for over three years. Of course we said how pleased we would be, not realising that immediately we were to be inundated with Police, C.I.D., Reporters and Press Photographers, who came daily. That went on for two months and was most exhausting. Then at the very end of September I was knocked down by a cow in the cow-house on too a concrete floor and broke my femur. I was brought down to Nairobi Hospital where I have mended very quickly and expect to go home on crutches next week, just six weeks from coming here. So that left all the organisation for Norah and Billie both of whom are perfectly capable of dealing with a garden tea-party for two hundred people. Billie, whose husband Ted Nightingale, was Governor of Southern Sudan, had had plenty of practice and of course Norah has done it always. Before we had our Church built on the Kinangop, services used to be held at our house and often we had over a hundred people to tea in the garden afterwards. When Ted and Billie and their four children retired from the Sudan, they came to live a mile away from us on a farm which we gave them. To make invitations easier, Norah formed a Committee of a few important people, farmers and their wives and Government Officials, who should make a list of people to be invited, and those who should be presented; these were mostly men and women both European and African, who had been attacked and captured Mau-Mau. This list was sent to Government House from where the invitations were issued, apart from Norah’s other friends from afar whom she asked personally. Of course, amongst those presented were Venn Fey and Gishimu, the old Kikuyu who has been with Norah for fifty years and used to take our Eric and Venn hunting in the forest from their earliest days. Venn Fey is Norah’s brother’s son. Venn and his sister lost both parents when they were tiny and we have brought them up, and so when this Mau-Mau trouble started in the mountainous forest behind our farm, no one knew the forest better than Venn and Gishimu, who spent months and months tracking these murderers down. Venn was awarded the M.C. and Gishimu the O.B.E. The day of the party, Sunday October 21st, was the most beautiful day, which of course added to the success of the party. Two hours before the Princess arrived, she sent a message to say, “everything to be informal”, no hats, no gloves, etc. So all hats and gloves were discarded as guests arrived, and the message said that she wanted Billie to meet her a mile down the road to drive her round the farm before going to tea. This upset the C.I.D. who had got a cordon all round the grounds of about 15 acres, and there was Billie driving the Princess about, miles outside this circle of soldiers. Billie drove her round the farm and then up to their new house, and the Princess kept on getting out and taking photos, and then returning to tea. When they got to the front gate the Princess said “Let’s get out and walk” up the two hundred yards of drive, on both sides of which all the fruit trees were in blossom, and so they suddenly and unexpectedly arrived into the garden where all the guests were assembled. Lady Mary told me afterwards she thought the garden was a dream and in parts breath-taking. Every English tree and shrub and flower in full bloom, and all the bulbs, daffodils, narcissi, primroses all out too, and so a lovely informal party in wonderful surroundings.” NB. A note added by Allen Guy Ray reads: “Billie, referred to above is the daughter of Mervyn Ray, who married Edward Humphrey Nightingale.” Additional note added by Ron Goose,. October 2009: H.E. the Governor mentioned at the beginning of the letter would have been H.E. the Hon. Sir Evelyn Baring, Governor of Kenya 1952 - 1959. |