North-Lewis

G'day David!

Congratulations on your website - it is a fascinating and a great browse!

My names is Miriam Watters nee Pope. I now live in Brisbane, Australia but I lived East Africa from 1953 until 1961. - spending 3 years in Arusha from 1959 to 1961 (aged 8 to 11). Your website was a trip down memory lane especially with the photo of staff and students in front of Arusha School. I wonder if my face is amongst the students - I was there about the time it was taken!

Mr. Hamshere was a wonderful headmaster and I remember my favourite teacher was Janet Jewell and of course who could forget "BL Jones!

In my autograph book I also have the names of other teachers - H. Tofte, Margaret Crow and V. Gormley. Rev. Bryn Jones was a good friend to my parents Jean and Frank Pope.

Dad was Mechanical Supervisor for PWD. We have happy memories of "Hatari" being made and the excitement of John Wayne and his fellow stars coming to town. I actually met John Wayne, Valentine DeVargis, Red Buttons and Howard Hawks in the Safari Hotel where they were enjoying a beer!

Dad went on safari with our neighbour Hugh Lamprey to catch the rhino for the film and Mum was an extra, chosen through her involvement with the Little Theatre. She acted in many fine plays along with Paddy Purchase .

I read with interest, Michele Calorio's letter on your website. I would love to contact her as I have a photo taken at a children's birthday party held by Mrs Calorio and from memory it was for her daughter Luisa Calorio.

I would be happy for you to include my name on your website and pass my email on to Michele.

Our neighbours in Springvale Road were Dr. and Mrs Carloni and children Nicoletta and Roger. I keep in contact with David "Titch" North-Lewis (now in UK), Melody, Rosemary (both UK) and Nigel Purchase (Kenya) and Joy Thomson (New Zealand).

Joy's father was Rev. Thomson from the Anglican Church. Other names I remember from my class are: Susan Totman, Yvonne Zikarkis, Jane Atlee, Peter Owen-Pawson and Peter French. My younger sister Vanessa was best friends with Elizabeth Cashin. My brother Alan was in the junior school. I also went to Sunday school at the Anglican Church - which has been beautifully kept and looks as good as when we attended church there.

I returned to Arusha in 2002 with my special friend Janet McGavin (who now lives in the UK) who also attended Arusha School. We first met as toddlers in Tabora and we have been close friends since then. One of the current teachers at Arusha School, Shaibu Pelle, showed us around the school. It was a very emotional visit - especially seeing the old tortoise again!

Before moving to Arusha my family lived in Dar-es-salaam where I went to St. Joseph's School for 6 months (in 1956) then we moved to Lindi until 1958. We left Tanzania just after Uhuru, in November 1961, and migrated to Australia in 1962.

By sheer chance I met Colin Swynnerton here in Brisbane - we realised we must have been in the same class as he was also a student at Arusha School and remembered the same class mates names.

I'll get in touch again if my memory comes up with any other names!

Kind regards,

Miriam Watters (Pope)

My name is Eric Six, Geoff Jones gave me your website, and it was fascinating to read about folks about whom I had not thought in years, surprisingly I was more familiar with the adult names than fellow students. I attended Arusha 1955 to 1958, then went on to Iringa, where I stayed till it closed in1963. There were only a handful that saw the entire life of StM & StG. I completed High School at Prince of Wales in Nairobi.

For those that knew me in school it comes as a surprise that I eventually became a Neurosurgeon, as I have to confess being a fairly lousy student, being more familiar with the tacky, and cane or cricket bat (if you crossed HA Jones); than with prizes in the school magazine. I too was brought up in the bush, in Kiru Valley about 100 miles from Arusha on the way to Babati.( David you were familiar with North Lewis, they lived about 25 miles from us off the Singida road.) Hunting was a way of life on the farm, but after doing that much hunting as a youth, I shoot only with a camera now.

David, I noticed that Elizabeth Palfry also lives in Texas---- I would appreciate you giving her my web address if she would like to write. I am familiar with her Dad, through my parents of course. Funnily enough I also knew Pete Hugo, and a number of the farmers from the Olmolog area.

I was sitting here trying to recall the names of classmates from 50 years ago with little success.

Geoff Jones (BLs son),

Corky Morgan {Father's namesake the old man liked to pull on your ears.},

Gerald Hunwick, {TFA}

John Cashin {PWD},

Clara De Liva,

Paul Marsh,

David Ulyate {farm},

Leslie Hague {The Beehive Restaurant}

Bizarrely I cannot recall but the one girl!

(Fritz Jacobs, Erik Larsen.Klaus Gaitja, Alex Zikakis, Hannes Matasen, Ivo Santi Barry Jones Louis van Royen Kevin Legrange were on either side of us) I am told that George Angelides still lives in Arusha and has a great reputation as a hunter guide.

Do you remember that little dog of Hamshire's, the miserable devil loved to chase us, I happened to be amongst those she caught and got bitten by, I still have the scar..

Sorry about all the parentheses but saves a whole lot of explaining.

After independence my Dad built a number of hotels in Tanzania ,amongst them Lobo lodge, Ngorongoro crater lodge ( the hotel on the rim just before getting to the original rondavels) and rebuilt the hotel on manyara escarpment, those all happened in the late 60's. They also managed Hotels in Zanzibar, and Dar-- the New Africa and Kilimanjaro being better known.

Enough from me. Please remember to pass my address to Elizabeth.

Straight run down to the North-Lewis' near Babati (95 miles).