MY BROTHER HUGH Born 5th October 1920 died 9th May 2006
This story is based on his notes and what he has told me and are a memory to him and are just a few revealing glimpses of his colourful life. Hugh was born into a colonial life in the far distant hills of Ceylon in 1920 to be joined over the next 11 years by a Sister Helen, and younger Brother Michael. Our Mother would always be amazed that she an urbane Doctor’s daughter could have as she would constantly say “Three such wild children who never knew the word for fear”. Hugh was no run-of- the-mill common pen-pusher, or computor ogler. His office was always the wide open spaces of this world, be it England, Scotland, Ceylon, India but above all Africa. His philosophy was always kindness and a desire always to be different, never to be stuck in rut, and to be apart from the common herd. He was highly articulate, scientifically aware and always curious of all the animals, plants trees, peoples and rocks that he came across as he travelled. He had the shrewdest sixth or bush sense of judging a person’s character with the greatest accuracy. He is missed by us all and these notes are but a small tribute to his memory. It must be remembered that most of this account took place in either the colonial era or shortly after Independence. Africa too was a thinly populated continent mostly bush, teeming with wildlife which had yet to meet the fatal collision of burgeoning civilisation and reduction of their habitat.
1.Early Days.
I was brought up on a Tea Estate in the cool Hills of Ceylon where my Father was a very successful Tea Planter and my Mother an extremely well educated literary person, daughter of Dr Henry Chasseaud, a Surgeon, trained at Edinburgh who practised his profession between London and Smyrna (Izmir) in Turkey. Luckyland Tea Estate was situated in Udapussellawa on the North East side of the Island, in Uva Province and was about 5,000ft above sea level with a Mid-day temperature of about 72F in the shade. Rarely on the very coldest nights would the thermometer ever drop below 50F. The rainfall was high at about 120” per year, the worst, cold, dampest period being from November until January when there was a lot of mist interspersed with heavy rain. June to August was very dry with a constant wind desiccating the place. It was an ideal place for the growth of tropical plants, such as orchids, but roses, all the English summer garden flowers and normal vegetables thrived in profusion. In our well stocked garden there grew all the usual tropical fruit trees, oranges, lemons, mandarins pawpaws, cherimoyas, avocados, plums, mangoes, guavas, a coarse tropical pear good for stewing, as well as wonderful arabica coffee to just name but a few. The profusion of fruit has meant that I have always appreciated it, and loved eating all manner of fruits all my life. We had our own cows for milk, a succession of dogs for hunting and companionship, rabbits, chickens, geese etc for the table. Close to the bungalow perched on the side of the mountain were numerous wild jungle reservations in which there was a variety of colourful birds, parakeets, mouse deer, wild boar etc. and which from my earliest days fascinated me, as I would love to walk as a small child through animal tracks listening to all the jungle noises, of the birds, cicadas etc. The whole setting was one of a splendid oasis set in a paradise of lushness and colour that was a constant source of wonderment of the natural world, that has held my attention all my life. For a companion I had an Irish Setter called “Beauty” with whom I was inseparable, but there was also a mynah bird that talked and an enormous horned owl that spent all day on the veranda or in the sitting room on a picture. Our next door neighbours the Paterson brothers were mad on hunting and kept a motley pack of about 20 hounds, beagle based. The labour were mostly
