Cyprus to East Africa, By Tracey Vale

Our tour in Cyprus was to take over from that of Frankie Howerd and his group. Frankie Howerd was a British comic actor and comedian in film, television and stage. He was later to be known famously for his most successful film roles in ‘Up Pompeii’ and the ‘Carry On’ movies and was termed a ‘comic genius’. He’d been touring in Cyprus, while we were in Aden, when tragedy struck one of his co-touring soubrettes. Her accidental death occurred while travelling between shows. She was shot and killed by the soldier seated, for their protection, directly behind her in the vehicle, his weapon, armed and ready, firing through the seat. As a result, Frankie had requested a return home and he and his fellow entertainers left Cyprus shortly before our arrival. Our tour was to take over from his and also meant a longer stay on the island.

At the beginning of 1956, Britain had 17000 troops situated in Cyprus. This was to rise to 20000 by December of the same year. A number of U.S. Navy personnel were also there and worked closely with the British to assist with electronic intelligence.

We toured Cyprus, performing on makeshift stages for British troops billeted in Famagusta, on the east coast, in the capital, Nicosia and on the coast in northern Cyprus at Kyrenia Castle. The castle, a huge, high walled structure resembling more of a compound than a castle, had been built by the Venetians in the 16^th century. It was now under British control and remained so for the duration of the EOKA turmoil.

Our next stop was Malta near the end of October, followed by a long trip to East Africa via Aden airways, arriving at Eastleigh Airport in Nairobi in early November. We were to continue our “It’s English” tour, performing primarily for British troops in Kenya. Our first performance in East Africa was on November 5 at Kahawa and we were moving on to Nyeri the following day. We stayed in hotel accommodation at the New Stanley Hotel and the Norfolk Hotel, both in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as the Mawingo Hotel “on the slopes of Mount Kenya”, as its brochure espoused. Our longest stays were in Nairobi, where I consistently fainted, on at least a daily basis, due to the high altitude.