Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale, served as Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1942 to 1944, High Commissioner for Southern Africa from 1944 to 1951, and Governor of Kenya from 1952 to 1959. He graduated from Oxford University with first-class honors in modern history before working in the Indian Civil Service and the British Foreign Office. Baring was the son of Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, known as the “Maker of Modern Egypt” and heir to the Barings Bank fortune. Baring Snr. had also previously served as private secretary to the Viceroy of India.
Baring is widely recognised for his tenure as Governor of Kenya and his harsh tactics against the local insurgency, yet he is less noted for his moments of bravery and selflessness. Nevertheless, at the conclusion of his term in 1959, he decided to visit Casuarina Point in Malindi on the Indian Ocean. While relaxing there, a young girl came running to him, crying for assistance for her two friends who were nearly drowning due to a riptide.
One would have expected his aides to intervene and prevent the girl from reaching him, but they did not. As Governor of Kenya, Baring was the head of government and the representative of the Queen. He possessed the full powers and protection of a president. Yet it did not seem to him that his life was more important than that of these two little girls he did not know. His security detail was also unable to restrain him from what he was about to do, and he did not believe he needed their help or advice.
He leapt to his feet, ran toward the surf, and swam out nearly one hundred yards to where the girls fought for their lives. However, the strain of the swim proved too much for him, and he, in turn, had to be rescued from drowning by one of the girls. Unfortunately, one of the girls drowned.
Baring experienced lung inflammation and strained heart muscles from his efforts, necessitating hospitalisation. Just days later, he officiated at an event in Mombasa, over 100 kilometres away. He could barely dress himself and had to officiate in his pyjamas, dressing gown, and slippers. As Governor of Kenya, Baring spearheaded the government’s anti-insurgency campaign, which resulted in thousands of casualties. Nevertheless, he was willing to risk his own life to save a stranger. If she is still alive, that girl will forever remember that day.
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