In this delightful book, based on letters home and personal diaries James Lang
Brown gives a detailed account of his time as a Forest Officer in the ten years
leading up to Uganda's independence. It covers his work, leisure activities and
relations with the country and its people. His enjoyment and appreciation of these
are plain to see. It seems to me that his experiences and approach to the country
mirror those of any colonial officer working in the bush in Africa. He worked mainly
in the west of Uganda, in Toro, Ankole and Kigezi with their areas of tropical forests
and also in Karamoja, much drier and even less developed.
His narrative is backed up by an excellent and wide ranging selection of beautiful
colour photographs which illustrate the themes covered in the text. The diary
details his day-to-day activities and the opportunities, challenges and drawbacks
inherent in the work and the country. He does not dwell on the latter but it is
obvious that malaria represented a serious threat to health with other tropical
diseases such as bilharzias lurking in the background. Money was another
problem. No one joined the Colonial Service to make a fortune and times could
be hard with debts presenting a real problem.
Local conditions presented a constant challenge - heavy rains, floods
and swollen rivers, black cotton soil, often a sea of mud and rutted tracks all
hindered communications. Living conditions with poor food, oil lamps and the
ubiquitous long drop could be discouraging but Lang Brown took all this in his
stride and made the best of his job and of the country. Above all he was devoted
to his work developing the forest estate and his accounts of establishing and
regenerating plantations, demarcating forest reserves, introducing new species
and new techniques of management and building access roads to remote areas
are absorbing. Allied to this is the sense the reader gets of shared loyalty at
all levels and by all staff to the work of the Forest Department. The staff are
given their role and expected to take responsibility and get on with the job. The
Department was well to the fore in its programme of training African officers and
handing them greater responsibilities and promotion. In this the Forest school
was a vital resource.
But that was not all. Lang Brown seized the many opportunities which Uganda
offered for enjoyment. He was obviously a keen and experienced climber as is
evident from the spectacular photographs of the Ruwenzori Range, Mount Elgon
and the mountains of Karamoja. Another bush pursuit available in remote parts
of Uganda was game viewing and photography. He was fortunate in working in
and around some of the prime game areas in the west with the Queen Elizabeth
National Park as the jewel in the crown. Karamoja was also good game country,
notably in the north and his account of his visits to the camp at Opotipot built by
the Game Ranger, John Blower, and safaris to the Kidepo Valley reminded this
review of times gone by.
The book reminds us also of more communal enjoyments - regattas and country
shows with stalls of all sorts led by those publicising the work and policies of a
range of government departments. These formed the background to the races,
fruit and vegetable classes and livestock judging. The activities brought people
together to enjoy themselves, to socialise and extend their lives. The canoe races
and swimming at regattas gave great pleasure to the African public, as did the
tugs of war at country shows. Participation by European terms heightened their
enjoyment.
One singular activity which deserves comment and which will, I think, be
regarded by future social historians as quaint is that of the fancy dress party
which was an essential part of the life of the expatriate community, starting on the
passenger liners passing through Port Said and continuing in clubs and parties all
over Uganda. They were an integral part of the community and were enormously
enjoyable as Lang Brown relates.
How will history judge then, if at all? Interestingly the question of race does not
really raise its head. Lang Brown, without dwelling on it, notes the contributions
made by all the races - the African Chiefs, askaris, rangers and foresters, the
Goan clerks, Sikh sawmillers and artisans, the Indian shopkeepers and European
officers - medical, forestry and agriculture - with the odd settler or hotel keeper
thrown in all working without any real friction. He also points out to the lack of any
real need for security even when the Governor comes visiting.
Finally he records the comments and prints the letters of those Africans who
regret the departure of Lang Brown and his ilk. With hindsight and knowledge of
the imminent arrival of Idi Amin on the scene this is sad in the extreme. All in all
this is a book worth reading by anyone with an interest in our Colonial past. It
records, as pointed out in the introduction a story of an emotional tie that is half
love story and half sense of duty.
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