Even in the post war years, the atmosphere of Kenya seemed to live up to the wild and romantic expectations left over from the colonial era.  It was an exotic posting in a dangerous land – whether actively fighting an opposing force or not, the wildlife alone posed ample threat to anyone venturing outside of Nairobi or other smaller settlements.  By the early 1950s, the threat of the Mau Mau uprising had taken hold on the country and once again the British sent their best soldiers to crush the tribal rebellion.  Like many of the conflicts of the period, the expectation was that the technologically superior British would have no problem crushing their opposition who were forced to violence as a means of gaining independence.

The Northumberland Fusiliers prepared to move to Kenya in August 1953, not long after their return from Korea, and officer postings accelerated as those fit for service in Africa were rushed into the battalion.  The main body departed in September, but it was not until February 1954 when Lieutenant Browne finally joined X Company from Eaton Hall.  Anti-Mau Mau operations were their focus, with X Company performing cordon and search operations alongside the police.  For those who had been in country for the months prior, it was a welcome change from working in the forests.  

Browne arrived just as their methodical clean-up Operation Anvil was beginning.  Rather than ducking under fire to reach a primitive combat camp, he found the situation to be rather civilized especially with since the officers were planning to throw a party.  That in itself became a bit of a symbol of the lawlessness of Africa.  Such parties were typically funded from the officers’ pockets and concluded in a timely fashion with a reasonable consumption of alcohol – their first celebration in Kenya, however, strayed wildly when it was not over before 10:30.  Their guests were still raging and the Fusiliers’ were concerned that the volume of drinking would consume their salaries.  After the band played ‘God Save the Queen’ for a fourth time expecting the festivities to die down, the settlers began to drink even more and by midnight the Regimental Sergeant Major burst in with the Commanding Officer to scatter the locals.  Their use of blanks and Very lights made for a very convincing ‘Mau Mau attack’ that concluded the party appropriately.

Though Anvil officially launched on April 24th, the beginning of the month started with major operations within Nairobi, the base for X Company.  For many months, the city acted as a base for food, arms, equipment and money for the forest gangs.  In parts of the city, law and order were non-existent.  With other units of 39 and 49 Brigades, the Fusiliers swept through Nariobi during Operation Anvil to capture 20,000 suspected members of the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru tribes.  Once the tribal threats were eradicated, they continued working with the local police to regain control of the city.

With the ‘long rains’ lingering, the battalion prepared for weeks of saturation.  According to local accounts, they were predicted to arrive in a few weeks and were as ‘heavy as they are long.’  When patrols took platoons or the company outside of the city, they followed fresh tracks into the green darkness under watch of baboons.  Signs of plucked chickens were often the only remnants of a gang whose senses were legendary and as sharp as a jungle predator.  The Fusiliers spent more time negotiating jungle terrain, bamboo thickets, and evading rhinoceroses and buffalo.  At night, high ground was the only escape from the roving creatures and gave a spectacular view of flares floating in the distance.  

From June to November, they carried out operations on the Ngara road, Langata Forest, and the extinct Longonot volcano as part of Operation Broom.  Clashes occurred in the swamp and sisal area east of the city.  Though they wrangled far less than in Anvil, the Mau Mau characters captured were of extremely high value:  Treasurers, executioners, judges and a chairman of one of the district committees.  While the main body of the battalion was on the western outskirts of Nairobi at the old polo grounds at Muthaiga, X Company was on the fringes of the eastern part of the city in Langata.  To their south was the Langata Forest and much further north, the crater of the volcano.

By November, the battalion had been in Kenya for a year and it was becoming clear that the Mau Mau were more deeply rooted than they imagined.  Much of the battalion’s time was spent searching for ghosts, waiting, and passing time dully.  It became a joke to write home of wild escapades of fighting jungle creatures and Mau Mau alike – when such events did actually happen, soldiers doubted their families would believe the truth.  It was a far different situation than the Malayan emergency which, under drastically different government, seemed to have been resolved rather quickly in six years.  While gang activity increased around the fringes of Nairobi in the sisal estate and swamp country to the east, X Company was posted to the opposite side on the edge of the Reserve.  Browne’s National Service commitment ended during the month and he left the battalion for home.  Though his stay was brief, he had gained most valuable experience that took far longer for even well-educated Sandhurst officers who had much to catch up on in the field after their lengthy schooling.