The forgotten pioneer : a true family story set in East Africa

Anthea Ramsay's grandfather was one of the first white men to set foot in Nairobi when it was a newly discovered, barren and dangerous place, devoid of human life but teeming with wild animals. He lived in a tent and had many close encounters with lions and aggressive African tribes with poisoned arrows who had wandered into the area. Her stoical grandmother joined him in 1905 and they started a family - four generations later that family still lives in Kenya. The Forgotten Pioneer traces the lives of the author's family through three generations, starting with her grandfather who left his home in Kent in 1899 at the age of 22 to work as an accountant for the newly started Uganda railway. Neither he, his family or his fiance ever imagined that he would fall under the spell of Africa and stay there for the rest of his life! The author describes her parents' decadent lives on the edge of the Happy Valley set and the murder of Lord Erroll, followed by her childhood living through the horrors of the Mau Mau rebellion. "My grandfather was one of the first white men to set foot in Kenya when it was a newly discovered, barren and dangerous place. Neither he or his family ever imagined that he would fall under the spell of Africa and remain there for the rest of his life" Anthea Ramsay was inspired to write her grandparents' story after being left their diaries, photographs and letters which described the terrible dangers and hardships they endured in East Africa in the early 1900s. The Forgotten Pioneer records their experiences as early pioneers, followed by the lives of their children, Anthea's parents, and the life of the author herself. There is never a dull moment in Anthea's family history, from one generation to the next. She describes the difficulty of her grandparents' experiences through a time when there were no hospitals or medicines and illnesses such as black water fever and typhoid were rife, her parents' decadent lives on the edge of the Happy Valley set and their connections with the murder of Lord Erroll, and finally her own experiences growing up in Africa and living in the shadow of the Mau Mau rebellion. The Forgotten Pioneer takes the reader on an enchanting journey, tracing the family through four generations. From her grandfather leaving his home in Kent to live in a tent and face many close encounters with man-eating lions and hostile African tribes with poisoned arrows, to her eldest daughter returning to Kenya to live and farm with her family, it seems each generation has been equally captivated by this magical place. A unique timeline of one familys history in East Africa, The Forgotten Pioneer makes a captivating read for anyone who has experienced or is interested in Africa. Anthea Ramsay was inspired to write her grandparents' story after being left their diaries, photographs and letters describing the what they endured in East Africa in the early 1900s. Her book records their experiences as early pioneers, followed by the lives of Anthea's parents, and the life of the author herself