Page 96 - All About History - Issue 09-14

All About
YOUR HISTORY

O
AMAZING STORIES
O

Richard Severn, Peterborough South African Air Force pilot. It was a tough three had lost, with the head man of the tribe leading the
There were many times over the days with searing temperatures and a search area ceremony. The headdresses they wore were a huge
years that I saw my mother’s around 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). mass of black and white feathers and lion pelt was
uncle. What I did know about Neither pilot nor plane were ever found, the search wrapped around their shoulders. The men danced
Reginald Hallam was that he was called off and they returned to base camp at and chanted and the women wailed into the early
fought in World War II and like Nanyuki. It would seem, according to Reginald, that evening. I remember Reginald saying: “To witness
many he never really spoke about what he did, part of the scouts’ time was spent searching for lost that ceremony was one of the most memorable
but on the occasions he did speak about his soldiers or downed airmen. One incident would events of my time in Africa.”
experiences it made you sit up and listen. On one of have a tragic outcome for the Turkana scouts. Many times Reginald and the scouts had success
those occasions, he told me that he had served as In May 1940 they received a radio message that though, rescuing six pilots and soldiers, which was
Major in the King’s African Rifles, fighting in Kenya a training flight was overdue and was listed as remarkable considering the vast areas they had to
and Abyssinia. He then proceeded to tell me about missing. With the last known position and flight search. He was to see action not only in Kenya but
one of the operations he was involved in. path being given to help the search, Reginald and also in Abyssinia and after 1943 was reassigned
What was called the Locust operation took place the scouts set off. They were two days into the leaving the King’s African Rifles and was to be part
in Kenya. Reginald was to train local Turkana search through the African bush, the scouts had of the 8th Army in North Africa and Italy.
tribesmen to be scouts for the British Army. He moved through heavy scrub and trees into an open I count myself fortunate that over the years
worked and trained with them for nearly six plain that was covered as far as the eye could see Reginald told me some of his experiences from the
months, and the only help he had was a tribesman with grass nearly to head height. There was an war, and that a few years before his passing away,
who spoke a few words of English to translate and ear-piercing scream from one of the lead scouts, he gave me all his annotated photographs of his
a Swahili phrase book. They were to report to the Toto, who had just walked straight into a male lion time with the King’s African Rifles.
main Allied forces on the locations of the Italian and, before the rest of the scouts and Reginald
troop positions. They did this until the Italian could react and drive the lion off, the poor scout
surrender in November 1941 after the Battle of was attacked and killed. There was no time for the
Gonda, as well as carry out rescue operations to scouts to morn their loss, they buried the body
find downed airmen, which they continued to do and continued on with the search. After four days
well into 1943. searching and no sign of pilot or plane they headed
In mid-March 1941 Reginald and ten scouts spent back to camp.
three days in the bush trying to find a downed On arriving back at base camp they were
informed that the pilot had walked into camp a day
earlier from the bush fit and well, though a little
thirsty. The pilot was completely off his flight path,
so Reginald and the scouts had been sent to the
wrong area to search.
It was that afternoon that Reginald witnessed the
Turkana tribe’s burial ceremony for the scout they

Hallam with two
bushmen in Kenya

Hallam served as Major in the King’s African Rifles

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