For the first half of the 20th Century, Sudan, a country roughly the size of western Europe, was governed by a small cadre of about a hundred British administrators – the Sudan Political Service. Ted Nightingale joined the service straight from university in 1926 and retired (as Governor of Equatoria Province) just before Sudan obtained independence in 1954. On Sudan Government Service; From Devon to Darfur describes a life often lived in the wilder parts of the country. As a District Commissioner he spent most of his time on trek around his district: on foot, on horse or camelback and occasionally by lorry, sometimes accompanied by his pet cheetah, possibly his polo sticks and probably with his Holland & Holland rifle.
