Early Beginnings

The Twenties & Thirties

The War Years and Aftermath

Independence and Onwards

The War Years and Aftermath

The war years 1939-45 were, contrary to expectation, boom years for the Club. War reached Mombasa in June 1940 when Mussolini sided with Hitter and declared war on the Allies. This meant that the Italian colonies of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia were officially at war with Kenya, a British colony. Soldiers from Ghana and South Africa were quickly shipped to Mombasa to reinforce the Kenyan regiments and defend the borders. To begin with the Italians had the best of it, capturing Moyale and overrunning British Somaliland and its port of Berbera. The situation changed after November 1940 when the main Abyssinian Campaign began with a coordinated attack through Sudan and Kenya. Fortunately the Italians put up little resistance and by May 1941 the main fighting was over and Mombasa became a camp for Italian prisoners of war, several hundred of who were interned at Port Reitz.

Pip Barnes, a former president of the Club, was first posted to Mombasa in September 1941 as a junior officer with the artillery regiment that manned the anti-aircraft guns and was responsible for the defence of Mombasa. He remembers that to begin with Mombasa was strategically unimportant with just a small number of naval flying boats stationed at Kipevu but that after the capture of Singapore by the Japanese in 1942 the entire Far East fleet moved to Mombasa which became a vital supply link for the Far East war zone. During the Burma Campaign Allied troops were assembled and shipped from Mombasa to camps in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where they were trained to fight the Japanese. Mombasa was filled with military personnel and soldiers waiting to go on active service. They brought increased business to all the clubs and caused the town to hum with social activity. Nyali Barracks was built at this period as a troop transit camp and the Manor Hotel was taken over as Naval Headquarters. 

All commissioned officers stationed in Mombasa could become service members of both the Mombasa Sports Club and the Mombasa Club at much reduced rates. There was plenty of time for sports and many opportunities for friendly matches against visiting naval vessels and army regiments providing welcome recreation in trying times. On one tragic occasion a troopship, the SS Khedive Ismail, only a few days out of Mombasa was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine with the loss of over 1,000 lives. Among those lost were many women; nurses and technical staff from the Women's Territorial Service a reminder that the war effort was by no means an exclusively male affair.

The Sports Club's main concern during the war years was to ensure the supply of alcohol kept up with the greatly expanded demand. Beer was restricted and whisky was rationed but the Sports Club managed to keep up their flow of vital liquids' and by the end of the war it's financial position was very healthy indeed.

Mombasa grew rapidly in the immediate post-war years and by 1958 the population had more than tripled in 25 years and stood at 145,000: 4,000 Europeans, 14,000 Arabs, 26,000 Asians and 89,000 Africans. Large industrial concerns such as Bamburi Portland Cement and the oil refinery were built, tourism began to take off as a commercial enterprise, and Mombasa outstripped its neighbors to become the major port of entry for the entire East African region.

In 1949 nearly half the rugby team was made up of Smith Mackenzie junior staff and the rest from other major shipping lines and banks. Shipping was big business in Mombasa as everything and everybody was moved by sea and there was fierce competition between the various shipping companies, all which employed large numbers of Europeans. The young unmarried expatriate staff used to live in 'bachelor's messes', shared accommodation which was often situated above the office. Smith Mackenzie staff had particularly grand and commodious quarters above their office premises just outside the port gates and after rugby matches the whole team would often adjourn there where the party continued unabated. Pip Barnes, a member of the '49 rugby team, remembers that a favourite party trick at this time was to throw empty beer bottles across the road onto the roof of the Union Castle (a rival shipping line) building, often breaking the tiles and causing the manager no end of annoyance when he arrived on Monday morning to find the place leaking.

Rugby was a very popular game at the Club during this period and there are many ex-players still living in Mombasa who have fond memories of tough games played and after match exploits both away and at home. Some of the facilities offered, especially in the Tanzanian venues, were very basic and the pitches often unturfed, but nevertheless it is all remembered as being great fun. Two rugby highlights of the time occurred in 1949 and 1955 when visiting teams from South African universities came on tour and played at Mombasa Sports Club. As the South African sides included several rugby internationals the competition was very challenging indeed and drew large and appreciative audiences.

<back to top>

For a complete history you can download it here >>    Print this page.