A Zanzibar Marriage

My parents were married on Friday 18th January, 1940 in Christ Church Cathedral, Zanzibar, by Father Weigall of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, standing right. The others are, from left, Mr Boyd McElderry who, as Chief Secretary, was Helen's boss and gave Helen away; Margaret McElderry, Boyd and Molly's youngest daughter, who was the bridesmaid; John McClellan of Smith MacKenzie, one of the rival ships' agencies, who was Cecil's best man; Helen; Cecil; and Molly McElderry. The man standing between Mrs McElderry and Father Weigall may be Sir John Hall who, as Resident, was in charge of the colonial administration in Zanzibar. *

I love this picture of my parents. Of the first time my mother saw my father, standing on the steps of the English Club four years before, she wrote, "Dad was standing on the step, in his smart shantung suit, with his hand on his back."

The McElderrys held the reception at Mnazi Mmoja House. These wedding pictures weren't taken at the cathedral so I assume they were taken at Mnazi Mmoja, which means 'one coconut'. The wedding cake was made in Dar-es-Salaam by someone Mildred McElderry knew, Cecil provided the champagne, a Mr. Miller, Director of Agriculture, gave Helen some very special pink lilies for her bouquet, and Helen's dress was made by Mrs de Lord, a local seamstress.

In her 'Life' Helen wrote, "I remember having my wedding ring made by Ranti da Silva, and paying for it myself."

They had to spend their wedding night in the Zanzibar house which Cecil's firm had refurbished for them because, as Helen wrote, "Cecil had a Japanese ship arriving on the Saturday." However, when they left their reception they first drove to Fumba beach with a picnic basket and watched the sun set and the moon rise, before driving back to Zanzibar.

* I am grateful to Mark Gimson. Mr McElderry's grandson,  for correcting this part of the entry.

Picture of inside of Zanzibar cathedral taken in 2012.