I remember Goswell playing rugby on a pitch somewhere away from the school and being something of the star - mainly because he was the only adult! As for the Rushbrookes - a living nightmare, both of them

Sad to hear of the death of Bert Shankland, 26 January, a great hero to all of us especially on East African Safari Rally days when the duck-egg blue 404 was the iconic car to have alongside Joginder's Volvo ... ah, happy days!

I was in Njombe 1963 but don't recall any of these persons

Andrew Ashdown

Very interesting, and completely at odds with my own experience. My recollection of going from an English primary school (St Margarets in Rottingdean) in 1963 to Arusha was like going to a POW camp - daily beatings by sadistic, sexual devients (as I now see them) which scarred us literally, of course, but perhaps emotionally too ... it's time someone spoke up about this. It cont'd at Nairobi School until basically the colonials were all sent packing back where they belonged.

There was a large adventitous tree over beyond the Girls Block, do you mean that? Thanks to the curved walkway you mention, we used to roller skate all the way from the detached classroom block (over on the river side), through Senior and across to either the Staff Room or Girls Blk.

One term, the whole area down towards the cricket nets (the sloping ground under the trees) was excavated by enthusiastic EA Safari enthusiasts into a vast automotive circuit; it then had to be restored, for safety reasons no doubt.

All looks a bit bare and run down - also much less sgreen than I recall. Driving up from Njombe to the school that first time in '64, I remember being struck at just how English it all looked: mown lawns, clipped hedges and white railings.

Nice to see the name boards in the dining room - there was one for the Victor Ludorum among them. Do you remember the huge wide canvas over the servery showing the mountains round about, similar to the one in the New Arusha Hotel?

Oh dear! I remember the annual galas, usually won by Mike Rothbletz and Mr Corbett nearly breaking the springboard in the school vs parents + teachers event. Also, the stark warning from Mr Wigmore that someone had killed themselves slipping off it when larking about. Nor would the concrete high-dive pass health + safety now. I'm afraid we used to spy through holes in the wood of the girls' changing room!

great photos Mike - I have similar from my box brownie still in good cond - need tech help from my son to put them up, hence not got round to it yet

The tortoise was there '64 to '67 when I was at Arusha - we used to polish our shoes on the back of the shell for which I got the usual stinging smacks on the calf from Miss Parry. Ouch!!

Stayed with a family called the Hubbards in Arusha and got bored to tears as they were not half stuck up, thought they were doing us a favour driving us to 'within sight' of Manyara (!) Much more fun when we stayed with friend Stan Fourie and had a go with his 2.2. at just about anything that moved!

I only recall the end of year (or exam?) prizes i.e. for being 1st, 2nd etc in class - which were books. I have now misplaced them but I got a book of dinosaurs, the Dunlop Book of Facts and Tales of the Norse Gods & Heroes - perhaps others - they had the school badge on a label stuck inside.

In terms of the taki - this was on the bare behind in Junior House, with no limit on the number of blows, all of which was appalling; after that, Snr House shoe on trousers was almost a laugh except when (a) Mrs Kikides felt (probably rightly) it wasn't effective and in frustration got us to pull down trousers, leaving just the underpants in place to protect our modesty (b) when my brother got caned with a bamboo by a certain Mrs Rushbrooke, in front of the whole senior school, something I will never forgive or forget.

I think its me in the photo but very unsure. What year is it? I remember: Robert Rugimbana (polio leg) Edward Halwengi + younger brother, Paul Dingwall (polio leg) + brother Craig (?), Matthew Sesoa, Charles Kahama, ? Lusindi, Roberto Sossi, Hasham, Stanley Fourie, Robert Gray-Magiani, Takis Scordulis, Philip Dawtrey, Timothy McCartney-Snape, Mike 'Butch' + Andrew Williamson, Dimitri Papadimitriou, Zohorali Nengsi, Al-nasir Megji, Alnoor Jetha, Blom-Jorner, Rodney Pretorious, ? Van Rooyen, Michael Rothbletz, Susan Corbett, Helen Fernandez (?),  - and many more - they're all in my book, in progress ...

I remember watching the film either in town or in the hall. I also recall us seeing Hardy Kruger in town and the vehicle used at Dr Von Nagy's at Momella. But I don't recall the elephants at school - must've been before my time. I now have the DVD - v long and tedious - back then it was all terribly exciting. I note that John Wayne didn't even bother to change into a safri outfit, just wore the usual western outfit. They filmed at the New Safari of course which is where we went for Roberto Sossi's birthday party. (n.b. I may have all this twisted and hopelssly muddled).

Yes I do. As you say we made camp - with those vast, heavy canvas sheets tied to wooden poles - in the middle of the forest at Lake Duluti (I think). With the rain and general lack of know-how the whole thing turned into an orgy of mud, baked beans, and something worse. Breakfast of tinned condensed milk poured onto cornflakes eaten standing up knee deep in the mud. Inevitable sing song round the camp fire. I took my son to something like it in Gillwell Park, trying to rekindle these memories, but it was all rather tame and meaningless by comparison. I think the whole Cub and Scout thing was part of the zeitgeist of the time, so to speak.

Mike I do remember lying on beds after lunch - and there were our rationed sweets from the tuck room, just before ie.e. straight after lunch. It's all in my book (in progress). But on the subject of punsihment/s (this has obviously affected me for life!) my brother got about 20 strokes of the bamboo cane from Mrs Rushbrooke in front of the whole senior school, for calling her a bastard. He should have said bitch, of course. If I met some of these people today, I would not be answerable for my actions but no doubt they're all six feet under by now. I had similar experiences later at Nairobi School (Prince of Wales) - much to say on that too.