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During the next two months at Command HQ in Nairobi, life became quiescent. The DDOS and his wife had his rather attractive ward staying with them. Alison, the ward, was around 22 and very good company. She had gone out there during the early days of the war because it was thought that she would be safer in Kenya than in the UK. So we did a bit of socialising at the Mathaga Club where the atmosphere was a bit like what Poona was supposed to have been way back. I did some early morning horse riding which always seemed to be a bit too early for Alison. I also played a bit of cricket and golf. By this time the Command had collected one or two drafts of ATSs so life became quite amusing.

Around about this time there had been much chatter about the formation of a new Corps in the British Army, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). It was to be formed from the whole of the engineering side of the RAOC, the vehicle workshop and maintenance side of the RASC, parts of the Royal Corps of Signals and of the Royal Engineers. We OMEs were delighted because it meant that we would no longer be subservient to the senior side of the RAOC that was responsible for the provision of ammunition and clothes to the Army. The RASC, the RCS and the REs were not very amused and took a dim view that any of their people would be commanded by ex Ordnance wallahs. So on 1st October 1942 I was transferred to REME in my rank of Major.

On the 27th October I was sitting loosely on my light motorbike slowly 鈥榩utt-putt-putting鈥� down a dirt road in the market place of Nairobi. I was idly wondering which of the lovelies would like to be taken out to dinner that evening. Suddenly a stupid bugger of an African on a bicycle shot out of a hidden passageway. He grabbed his brakes. I grabbed my brakes and I went clean over the handlebars. He merely put one foot each side on the ground astride his bike. I did a classic clown's somersault but regrettably landed on the side of my head instead of my bottom. The net result was the arrival of the blood wagon and me into No.2 General Hospital.

They found that I had a fractured left malar generally known as a cheek bone. Apparently it had been rammed down into the vicinity of my lower jaw bone. Two days later I was wheeled into the operating theatre where they put it right. Why it was two days later I know not, unless the surgeon had a golf match arranged. He was quite enthusiastic afterwards about his achievement. He told me that he had tried to leave me with minimal face scars by 鈥榞oing in鈥� above the hair line and pulling everything back into place with a series of 鈥渂utton hooks鈥�. Well, it takes all sorts I suppose.

That little lot took two weeks and when I got myself discharged from hospital I took myself off to Nyeri for a couple of weeks sick leave. There I met a number of most hospitable planters and a few 鈥榳hite hunters鈥� who took me around. On one occasion I remember going up Mount Kenya as far as one could get by truck, which is not very far below the final high bit. Up there were a number of plants one finds in Kent cottage gardens, growing to enormous heights. There were for example Red Hot Pokers at least 15 feet high with the flower over 2 feet long. Half way down from this trip a magnificent greater kudu broke out of the bush in front of us and cantered alongside for several hundred yards before it could get back in again. It was a wonderful sight, the white hunter I was with told me that it was the first one he had ever seen, they were then so rare. He had been in Kenya for thirty odd years.

When I got back from leave I found that I had been appointed Deputy Assistant Director Mechanical Engineers (DADME) of Central Area, East Africa Command with effect from 1st December. My office was to be in Mombassa.

Central Area stretched from Mogadishu in the North down to Dar-es-Salaam in the South. It was the best part of 1000 miles as the crow flies but nearly twice that to go by truck. Inland it went 400/500 miles to Nairobi. It was quite a big chunk of East Africa and my job was to look after all the administration of REME or rather EAEME personnel and equipment in this Area. Although quite demanding it was not quite such an onerous task as it sounds, because most of our people had, by then, been drawn back to the Nairobi and Mombassa regions for re-equipping and much needed leave. In addition I had a good staff, which helped a lot.

It was about this time that the Japs had 鈥榙one鈥� Pear Harbour and were moving down on Singapore. This resulted in the 鈥楶owers that Be鈥� getting all jittery about the security of Mombassa harbour. Beyond a few field guns strategically placed around the hills pointing out to sea, there was little or no coastal defense. Someone managed to get the Navy to give us 2 six inch naval guns and the REs rapidly built two concrete emplacements in the cliff looking out to sea. Being the senior REME gun man in EA Command, I was given the job of supervising the installation and testing of them. They were enormous beasts when compared to field guns and the noise in the enclosed concrete emplacements when testing was deafening. There were no ear muffs in those days! It was a very interesting job although a bit out of the ordinary.

The staff job lasted five and a half months. During this time I got around quite a bit and managed to have quite a good time in Mombassa. We had been hearing quite a lot of rumors about forthcoming East African participation in other theatres of war and we knew that the 11th East African Division was being completely re-equipped. One sunny afternoon early in May, Col. Coy my boss, now DDME East Africa, turned up unexpectedly from Nairobi. He sat himself down in my office and demanded tea before I had time to offer him anything. In a most casual manner he asked how things were going and, as I started to outline various problems and action being taken, he smiled and said 鈥� In spite of all that I hear that you are managing to have a reasonably good time鈥�. Then he abruptly changed the subject and started telling me about the activities of 11th EA Division and his plans for the formation of the REME units to be fitted into it. All of course to be designated EAEME.

Then, equally casually, he said 鈥淚 have appointed the new Commander EAEME to the Division, he is an Imperial officer, you may know him鈥�. Thinking that it might be someone from Egypt or possibly coming out from home I said 鈥淥h yes and who is it to be?鈥� 鈥淲ell鈥� he said 鈥淲hether you like it or not, it is to be you鈥�. The proverbial feather would have been more than adequate to have knocked me down. I had no more thought of getting a job like that than falling off a log. Several days later he told me that he had not referred to my file before making the appointment. He said that had he done so and found that I was only 27, he might have hesitated. A bald head has its uses!
He quickly got down to brass tacks, he gave me the War Establishment for a British Divisional REME which consisted of a Divisional HQ Unit, 12 LADs, 3 Infantry Brigade Workshops and 1 L of C Workshop. From memory the total REME strength in a British Division was about 21/25 Officers and 400/450 WOs, NCOs and Other Ranks.

My immediate job then was to write the War Establishment for an East African equivalent and to fly up to 14th Army HQ in New Delhi, get it approved, fly back and put everything together. He gave me two weeks.

Writing the Establishment was a hair raising problem. For example, if a British Infantry Brigade Workshop had say twelve vehicle mechanics on strength, using African fitters probably 20 or 30 would be required to do the same amount of work. This meant more vehicles needed to transport them, which meant more drivers with probably more cooks and latrine orderlies, etc., etc.. This syndrome applied equally to all the different types of trades and jobs in all the units. At that time, in terms of ability and skill, 2 or 3 Africans were needed for the same work load carried out by one European. The net result of sleepless nights and wet towels was that I finished up with a Divisional EAEME strength of 1200 Officers and men versus under 500 in a British Division.

The next step was to arrange a flight up to 14th Army HQ in Delhi. This was fixed up with East African Airways that flew up there once a week. We took off in a clapped out Dakota carrying lots of cargo and a few passengers. We had to sit in metal bucket seats that had no cushions! As far as I remember the flight took the best part of three days in all, most of it over a very brown and uninteresting India. Was my rear end tired when we got there. Army HQ was so relaxed to be absolutely maddening. Everything was being done as if it was peace time. I finally got an interview with a red hatted brigadier complete with Sam Brown and cigar. "We were told that you were coming up with a revised war establishment for a Divisional REME for your chaps down there" he said. "Why on earth can鈥檛 you use the British establishment"?

It took me three days to convince a whole bunch of very senior officers that I needed 1200 bodies to do what they could do with 500 in a British Division. It got down to hammering the table and getting myself near to an adverse report to go back with. They just refused to approve or even suggest amendments to the establishment. Finally they said you had better just go back to East Africa. It was at that point that it got tense. I said my orders are from East Africa Command and until I receive orders from Nairobi to return, I stay here to achieve what I came to do. In the end they approved the establishment, probably to get rid of me.

I flew back to Nairobi by Air India, again by Daycota on tin seats. At that time, for no particular reason, I had always assumed that passenger planes were always driven by Europeans and I was a bit apprehensive when in through the back door and up the aisle came a turbaned Sikh crew. Our first stop was Cochin on the west coast. We refueled and the ground staff loaded an enormous amount of cargo in boxes. Just before we left they brought into the cabin a number of long iron pipes that were laid loosely between the two rows of seats. I suspect that we were grossly overloaded with maximum fuel, the cargo and the passengers. We started the take off from the extreme back end of the runway and when we finally left the ground I could distinctly see the barbs on the barbed wire perimeter fence we just cleared. But that was not all, climbing steeply to avoid the buildings sent all the pipes slithering back down the cabin. It was not a comfortable trip and took just as long as the outward flight.

When I reported back everyone seemed delighted and perhaps a little surprised that the war establishment had been approved without alteration. Immediate signals were sent back to the War Office with requisitions for officers, men and equipment. The essential bodies came quite quickly, but we were a long time getting the equipment.

I moved out to Moshi on 16 May 1943. Moshi is just inside Tanganyika at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Just over 19,000 ft and over 2,000 ft. higher than Mt. Kenya that has snow at the peak, Kilimanjaro has none. Today that bit of East Africa that now includes Zanzibar is Tanzania.

I had been promoted Lieut. Col. and went to Moshi as Commander EAEME (CEAEME) to join the 11th East African Division HQ under Major General 鈥楩luffy鈥� Ffolkes.

I shall always remember my first meeting with him. He called a meeting of all his heads of Arms and Services in the mess that was a large EPIP tent (European Personnel Indian Pattern). There were about 8 of us, all Lieut. Colonels except the doctor who was a Colonel. There was the G1 and the AQ heads of strategy and administration respectively; then the CRE and CRS for bridges and communications; ADOS and CEASC for supplying equipment, ammunition and food; the Padre to keep the peace and the tail end Charlie鈥檚; the ADMS to keep the human parts working; then this previously unknown type the CEAME to keep all the guns, instruments, armoured and other (known as 鈥楤鈥�) vehicles in working order whatever the conditions.
鈥楩luffy鈥� came into the tent and without any preamble said 鈥淲ell gentlemen, we haven鈥檛 met before, I didn鈥檛 ask to have you on my staff and you will only remain so as long as I think fit鈥�. Although he had a reputation for being a good tactician and an enthusiastic 鈥楢frofile鈥� he was brusque, often bad tempered and had little time for most Europeans. He told us that we had just 4 weeks to get the Division into shape, that we were going overseas for jungle training and that he wanted everything ready. Bivouacked as we were at the foot of a mountain, miles from anywhere, it was not too easy to get things done. I managed to get some of my officers out from home by air together with many of the most essential WOs, NCOs and tradesmen. Equipment was very slow in turning up and they constantly told me that it 鈥榳ould follow鈥�. This did not satisfy 鈥楩luffy鈥� or me, particularly 鈥楩luffy鈥� who seemed to think it was my fault.

One day while we were there, two of us managed to borrow a couple of fly rods from a planter and went half way up Kilimanjaro to fish for brown trout. We found several pools very overhung with trees and bush that made casting a bit tricky. However by mid afternoon we had caught enough trout to feed the mess, each one just under one pound. As we were packing up, two naked and very small Africans round about 6 years old came out of the bush each with a stick with a string tied to the end. Very coyly they asked permission to fish "Please Bwana". We said "OK go ahead" and went on packing up our gear. Believe it or not, before we left they had caught two fish three times the size of our largest one.

鈥楩luffy鈥� had told us at our first meeting with him that we had 4 weeks to get organised and that is just what we had and no more. On the 14th of June having packed up we moved off for the first time as a complete Division. In convoy we covered some 300 miles of Kenya to Mombassa and embarked on two ships, the names of which I have forgotten. Our destination was Ceylon. The sole purpose of this exercise was the opportunity for jungle training. Also we had to await a large balance of personnel and equipment from the UK to make up our numbers, to enable us to go to war again, this time in Burma.

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