The Zanzibar Riot, 1936

The life which Helen was beginning to enjoy in Zanzibar, which included learning to ride, was brought to a sudden and very sad end by the riot which occurred on Friday 7th February, 1936. The rioters were the Manga Arabs, fierce, proud and aggressive men most of whom came down from the Gulf by dhow to spend a year or so in Zanzibar making some money before returning home. A number of things upset them. One was the introduction of the East African currency of shillings and cents in place of rupees, annas and pice. Although the Government had taken some trouble to prepare the population for the change, the Manga Arabs disliked it.

A second difficulty was that the Agricultural Department was trying to improve the quality of copra so that it would attract a better price for the producers. Copra is the inner white lining of the coconut after it is dried in the sun. The department thought that it had made it clear that any copra brought to market which was not up to the new standard would be rejected, and this had happened to the crops which some of the Manga Arabs had tried to trade. Finally, it was the height of the hot season when tempers frayed and Zanzibar town was muggy and airless.

On that Friday the Arabs had come into town to attend the mosque services but instead made their way to the office of the Produce Inspector where he was was attacked. One blow from a sword lifted his scalp from the forehead backwards. Fortunately, he managed escape next door to the Clove Growers Association office.

Other European officials who went to parley with the Arabs were also attacked and injured but were rescued. However, Ian Rolleston, the Assistant District Commissioner, was killed. The police contingent, which was based out of the town, finally arrived and, in a confrontation with the rioters, killed several of them with the loss of one of their NCOs.

By this time all other Europeans in the town had gathered at the Beit al Ajaib and were being guarded by police but the expected attack never materialised, the Manga Arabs dispersing of their own accord. Helen was busy encoding cables, including one to Dar-es-Salaam which brought police reinforcements that evening.

By Saturday morning the town was returning to its normal routines but Helen continued to work, amongst other things encoding a long cable to the Secretary of State at the Colonial Office detailing what had happened. Subsequently, a Board of Enquiry was set up under a Judge Fretz with Helen present at its meetings to take the minutes and type up the report - note the kind words about Helen's work in the final paragraph of the report, below.

The events of that day and the days that followed were particularly hard for Helen. As she wrote, years later, "I celebrated my birthday on the 28th February having dinner with Bunch, and I remember weeping and being comforted by her, for I had been rather fond of Ian Rolleston."