Description
Object description
British civilian in Malaya, 1928-1931; police officer served with Palestine Police Force in Palestine, 1932-1935; served with Gold Coast Police Force in Gold Coast, 1935-1948; served with Kenya Police in Kenya, 1948-1957
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Sutton, GB, 1909-1928: family; education. Recollections of period as civilian in Malaya, 1928-1931: initial work with tin firm; work selling cigarettes; character of administration; Chinese apprehension of Japanese penetration of country; membership of Federated Malay States Volunteer Force; story of encounter with the General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, Major-General Harry Lionel Pritchard over impregnability of Singapore; reasons for leaving Malaya; opinion of time spent in Malaya. Recollections of period as police officer with Palestine Police Force in Palestine, 1932-1935: background to joining Palestine Police Force in GB, 1932; terms of contract; character of training at Palestine Police Force Mount Scopus Depot, 1932; posting to Criminal Investigation Branch at Ramleh.
REEL 2 Continues: character of Ramleh area; Bedouin raid on village near Ramleh; question of nature of postings to Ramleh; transfer to Jerusalem, 1933; role of Jerusalem Striking Force; occasions when he was on stand-by in Southern District; role attending the arrival of body of King Feisal I of Iraq at Haifa, 9/1933; question of British Government's policy on Jewish immigration, 1933; attending anti-immigration demonstration in Jaffa, 10/1933.
REEL 3 Continues: progress of Jaffa riot and how it was brought to end; beach patrol to intercept Jewish immigrants near Tel Aviv; how older Palestinian police officer let Jewish immigrants proceed into Palestine; prior recollection of hunt for escaped convict Muhammad Doshan from Ramleh, 1932; how he nearly killed Arab during hunt for Muhammad Doshan; reputation of Abu Jildeh.
REEL 4 Continues: operations against Abu Jildeh, 1933; capture and execution of Abu Jildeh; night patrols in Ramleh; dealing with brawl in Arab café in Ramleh; story of background of Ghanaian who lived as Arab in Ramleh; reputation of previous Turkish administration; meeting with the Grand Mufti of Jersusalem, Mohammed Amin al Husseini; meeting with Zionist revisionist Ze'ev Jabotinsky, 1934.
REEL 5 Continues: memories of Ze'ev Jabotinsky; duties dealing with factional fighting between Christian sects at Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem; character of Arab Superintendent Abdin Bey; methods used to hunt burglar 'El Masneh'; his comments on Jewish-Arab relations, 1932-1935; question of pro-Arab bias of British administration; obtaining a transfer to Gold Coast Police Force.
REEL 6 Continues: memories of Inspector General of Police and Prisons Colonel Roy Spicer; character of personnel in Palestine Police Force; attitude in Palestine Police Force towards the Mandate. Recollections of period as police officer with Gold Coast Police Force in Gold Coast, 1935-1948: arrival, 5/1935; memories of Inspector General of Police, Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Bamford; character of police force in contrast to Nigeria and Kenya; officer colleagues; contrast between Gold Coast Police Force and Palestine Police Force; extraneous duties.
REEL 7 Continues: Lieutenant-Colonel Roy Spicer's attitude to extraneous duties in Palestine; importance of learning court procedure; learning Hausa language; discovery of inadequate police investigation; difference between General Police and Escort Police. Recollections of operations as Police Superintendent with Gold Coast Police Force during Accra Riots in Gold Coast, 28/2/1948: effect of soldiering aboard on ex-soldiers of the Gold Coast Regt; effect of news of Indian Independence, 15/8/1947; influence of Andrew Cohen at Colonial Office, 1946-1947; rise of Kwame Nkrumah, 1947; political effect of swollen shoot disease on cocoa plants.
REEL 8 Continues: how agitators seized on government policy to cut out diseased plants; discontent over prices and control of trade; success of boycott of stores, 1948; characters of Gold Coast Governor, Sir Gerald Creasy, First Secretary and Attorney General, 1948; role of Chief Commissioner Thorleif Mangin and Inspector General of Police Captain Richard Ballantyne, 1948; his own role as police superintendent in Accra, 1948; relations with head of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Accra; his worries about reliability of General Police and Inspector General of Police Richard Ballantyne's attitude towards Imray's approach; organisation of procession to deliver petition to administration, 28/2/1948.
REEL 9 Continues: contrast in his own and Inspector General of Police Richard Ballantyne's anticipation of trouble, 28/2/1948; how he asked for Royal West African Frontier Force to be put at readiness for procession, 28/2/1948; state of tear gas supplies and water hoses; role of ex-soldiers, thugs and alcohol on procession; how procession got out of hand and his attempts to halt it; refusal of police to obey order to open fire; his stopping of crowd with six rifle shots; Inspector General of Police Richard Ballantyne's attitude to his performance; orders for him to go to Government House; arrival of Royal West African Frontier Force troops to stabilise situation; looting and arson of European and Lebanese shops in Accra; how he was relieved of his command of police in Accra; operation of Commission of Enquiry and it's results; his reaction to the Escort Police's refusal to fire; organisers of the procession.
REEL 10 Continues: attitude of procession organisers to arrangements for procession, 28/2/1948; size and character of procession, 28/2/1948; reasons why procession was not allowed to approach Government House; question of attitude of ex-soldiers who had served aboard and reasons for there discontent. Recollections of period as police officer with Gold Coast Force in Gold Coast, 1935-1948: opinion of European society; development of his police career; effects of Second World War on Gold Coast; year spent in north of country at Tamale, 1947.
REEL 11 Continues: looking after needs of policemen in Tamale area; arrow attack by Konkombas people; status of Gold Coast as model colony; meeting with Kwame Nkrumah, 1948; lack of pressure from Africans to take over European police jobs; degree of knowledge about Ashanti; character of Ashanti; his recruitment of Ashanti to Escort Police, 1940-1941; reasons why Ashanti failed as Escort Police; question of belief in ju ju on Gold Coast and incident of it's effects on police sergeant.
REEL 12 Continues: Recollections of period as Superintendent of Police with Kenya Police in Nyeri District, Kenya, 1949-1952: posting to Kenya, late 1948; contrast in ranching standards between European and African owned parts of central Kenya; initial job managing traffic in Nairobi; dealing with reckless female driver; character of white settler community; eccentricities of members of Nanyuki Club; taking up position in Nyeri District; dealing with stock theft; racial definition of social structure and it's relevance to African disgruntlement in Nairobi; his handicap through lack of knowledge of Ki-Swahili language; contrast in African attitudes to Europeans on Gold Coast and in Kenya; his friendship with Brigadier Geoffrey Beyts.
REEL 13 Continues: presenting of Imray-Beyts Memorandum to administration about atmosphere in African reserves; character of Governor Philip Mitchell, 1950; pressure on Governor Philip Mitchell from Bishop Leonard Beecher of Mombasa and from Andrew Cohen at the Colonial Office; signs of increasing Kikuyu discontent in Nyeri District, 1950-1951; news of oath taking ceremony taking place in Nyeri reserves; intelligence he obtained from Ian Henderson and Bernard Ruck; importance of recruiting to Kenya Police Reserve on level of European casualties. Recollections of period as Superintendent of Police and Assistant Commissioner, Kenya Police in Coastal District, Kenya, 1952-1957: transfer to Mombasa, winter 1951-1952; news of Operation Jock Scott to round-up Mau Mau leaders, 10/1952; origins of Mau Mau movement.
REEL 14 Continues: denuding of his province of equipment for use in disturbed areas; degree of contact he had with progress of Kenyan Emergency; lack of effects of Mau Mau movement on Coastal District; break out of Mau Mau internees from Manyani Internment Camp, 1955; arrival of Governor Sir Evelyn Baring, 1952; General George Erskine's promotion of villagisation programme; question of Mau Mau influence on Giriyama people; visits by General George Erskine; concern over effect of President Gamel Abdul Nasser of Egypt broadcasts on coastal populations; General George Erskine's sending of Royal Navy flotilla to Mombasa to show the flag; handling of disorder in Mombasa; formation of General Service Unit (GSU) to patrol streets and it's effectiveness.
REEL 15 Continues: role in charge of security arrangements for Princess Margaret's visit to Kenya; memories of Sir Evelyn Baring; his contact with Ian Henderson and Bernard Ruck; question of role of Europeans who had close contact with Kikuyu.