Sally's story

Sally Kendall was a truly remarkable woman. Fiercely intelligent with a wry sense of humour, Sally was admired by all who knew her. She asked me to write her biography for her, as she felt that she had a unique story to tell and did not want it to be forgotten.

Born in Cumbria in 1924, the daughter of a farm labourer and a housewife, Sally was never expected to do more than spend a lifetime in service. Her beginnings were humble: soot was used instead of toothpaste and Sally had one set of good clothes, which were only worn on Sundays. Life was basic yet happy for young Sally, who enjoyed roaming the local area unfettered by overly anxious parents.

True to expectations, Sally left school at 14 and began work as a housemaid. But this was the last time in her life that she would conform to the imprint of her forebears. Despite a lack of formal education, Sally knew that the life of a servant was not for her. She gained her driving licence and became a professional driver instead, working first for the Forestry Commission and then for the Royal Air Force during the war.

With the end of the war came another career change and Sally trained to be a nurse. After a brief spell as a sister at St James's Hospital in Leeds, Sally was hired by the Colonial Service and posted to Tanganyika (now Tanzania) to work there as a nursing sister. Before long she was promoted to the position of matron of Tanganyika. There she was given the freedom to do her job without too much interference from above and was only constrained by a lack of resources. Although shocked by the lack of fresh water and sanitation that the locals endured along with the terrible nature of the diseases that were rife in that part of the world, Sally was determined to enjoy the experience of living in East Africa. When she was not busy treating people for rabies, malaria or malnutrition, she learned to play golf, become an expert rally driver and enjoyed the country's extraordinary wildlife.

On her return to the UK Sally became joint owner of an exclusive nursing home in Bath. It was during this period that she put her sound financial judgement to good use and started investing in property, eventually becoming a multi-millionaire.

Sadly Sally died shortly after her book was written, but she would have been happy to know that her remarkable story had been told and the life that she had led would be revisited by future generations.

Sally's book is called Uhuru: my life of freedom. You can read an extract from it on my website.