The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Jim’s unique knowledge
“Col Jim Corbett was world renowned for hunting man-eating tigers in India and famed author of The Man-eaters Of Kumaon,” emails Kenneth Miln of Monifieth. “By the time Princess Elizabeth and her husband Philip visited Treetops in Kenya, Jim was the game warden.
“He would have enthralled the royal couple with his unique knowledge of wild animals and jungle lore. Jim also kept guard at night – he sat by the lodge access ladder with his rifle.
“It is very likely that the couple had some previous knowledge of Jim’s adventures and fame in India, where he was born and lived for most of his life.
“I met Jim in India, at which time I was a schoolboy at St Paul’s, Darjeeling. This was shortly before Jim and his sister Maggie’s final departure from India in 1947. He left from Bombay on the British India steamship Aronda. The Miln family also sailed from Bombay on the SS Aronda.
“Jim and Maggie disembarked at Mombasa, Kenya, while the Milns continued down the east African coast to Durban to spend a period of overseas leave with relatives.
“An aficionado of Jim Corbett and the Himalayan environment for many years, I have, at times, felt a virtual presence of old Jim. I, my wife Patricia, daughter Hayley and son Simon spent 10 years in Kenya from 1972-82. We became friends with some of Jim’s relatives with whom we often talked of his adventures in India and Africa.
“While on holiday in Kenya, I used to swim, dive and fish from the fringing reef close to the old Sinbad Hotel, Malindi, at the exact spot old Jim enjoyed much the same activities 20 years before.
“Not long ago, I sent a letter to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh on the subject of his visit to Treetops when he and the Queen met Col Jim Corbett. I received a reply stating
HRH Prince Philip had read and enjoyed being reminded of the visit to Treetops.”