Sidney Herbert Fazan, a colonial civil servant in Kenya, born in London in 1888, was educated at Epsom College and Christ Church, Oxford. He initially served as a cadet in the East African Protectorate Administration, serving in Nyanza Province (1912-1915), Turkana (1916), Coast (1917-1923), Machakos (1924-1928) and Kikuyu (1928-1932), all areas mostly deemed ‘native reserves’. After a stint as the Secretary of the Kenya Land Commission (1932-1933), chaired by Judge Morris Carter, he was appointed Provincial Commission of Nyanza (1936-1942). He served in the East African Campaign during the First World War, and as a political liaison officer between the East African governments and East African forces serving overseas during the Second World War. He continued the role of liaison officer in Germany (1946-48), before returning to Kenya in 1949, serving as Defence Secretary (1949-1951) and Executive Officer and Member of Mau Mau Detainee Appeal Tribunal (1952-1955). He married firstly Sylvia Hook in 1924 (divorced 1946) and secondly Phyllis Patricia Jeffrey in 1949 (1912-2004). The Fazan family returned to Britain in 1964. Sidney Fazan died in Bexhill, Surrey, in 1979. His memoir, ‘Colonial Kenya observed’ was completed in 1969, but only published posthumously in 2015 (edited by John Lonsdale). Source: Europeans in East Africa database; ‘Colonial Kenya observed’ (2015).
Gillian Fazan is the daughter of Sidney Fazan and his second wife, Pat Fazan (nee Jeffrey).