Gilgil,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, is a town in

Nakuru County Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. It is County number 32 out of the 47 Kenyan Counties. Nakuru County is a host to Kenya's Forth City – Nakuru City. On 1 December 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded a City Charter status to Nakuru, ranki ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The town is located between Naivasha and

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

and along the

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

- Nakuru highway. It is to the west of the

Gilgil River The Gilgil River drains part of the floor of the Great Rift Valley, Kenya and the plateau to the east of the valley, flowing from the north into Lake Naivasha. The river runs to the east of the town of Gilgil, which is on the height of land between ...

, which flows south to feed

Lake Naivasha Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies north west of Nairobi. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''Nai'posha'', meaning "rough wate ...

. Gilgil has a population of 18,805 according to the 1999 census. Gilgil is the centre of the Gilgil

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

in Nakuru County.

History

During the 1920s - 1940s, some members of the

Happy Valley set The Happy Valley set was a group of hedonistic, largely British and Anglo-Irish aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in colonial Kenya and Uganda between ...

lived in Gilgil. From 1944 to 1948, it also contained a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

internment camp for Irgun and Lehi members. The first soldiers that arrived in the town were advance parties of the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

preparing for the arrival of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade, which was training in the area by mid-1940. Gilgil was made the brigade headquarters. In July 1958 Gilgil G1 Camp was occupied by the 1st Battalion, the

King's Own Royal Regiment The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

, first to take up accommodation at the camp since the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In July 1959 2nd Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

replaced them. Works services costing £75,000 were begun in two phases, £50,000 in December, 1958, and £25,000 in August, 1959. These charges were borne by the UK (British) Army vote. As of December 1959, the battalion at Gilgil was to move to

Kahawa Kahawa is a suburb settlement spanning the Kiambu County and Nairobi County borders along Thika Road. It is administratively divided into four wards across the two counties: Kahawa and Kahawa West wards in Nairobi county and Kahawa Wendani and Kah ...

when the new buildings there were ready. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gilgil was used as a base for the rotation of British infantry units who, typically, would progress from the United Kingdom to

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

(BAOR) in Germany, to Kenya (with detachments left en route in the nascent Gulf states) and then on to Hong Kong. 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery was located at Alanbrooke Barracks, Gilgil, from September 1961-September 1964. After the handover to Kenya the barracks was rechristened Kenyatta Barracks.

Economy

Agriculture is the main local industry. While Gilgil Telecommunications Industries was a notable employer, it is now closed down as it was sold by the government. There are a few industries within the outskirts of the town, namely the Gilgil Diatomite Industries which is located further to the west along the Gilgil-Nakuru main road. The industry mines

diatomite Diatomaceous earth (), diatomite (), or kieselgur/kieselguhr is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that can be crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from more than 3 μm to le ...

which is used for various industrial purposes. The other industry is the Ndume Farm Machineries, which manufactures

farm equipment Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that the ...

, especially maize milling machines and ploughs. The towns population has grown considerably since 2007 as many of the

internally displaced people An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. A ...

fleeing post-election violence after the

2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

opted to settle in GilGil and Naivasha. These populations have significantly expanded the farming activities in the towns outskirts. The community also hosts two large Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) barracks, the headquarters of Kenya Police Service's

Anti-Stock Theft Unit ) , formedyear = 1958 , formedmonthday = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 30,000 , volunteers = , budget = , country = Kenya , countryabbr ...

(4 kilometres northwest of the town centre) and the National Youth Service training college (to the west of the town). The larger numbers of personnel employed by these organizations contribute a lot to the town's economy. Much of the town's real estate has expanded thanks to military personnel who are routinely engaged in overseas peace-keeping missions, with the resulting monetary benefits being invested in property, both residential and commercial. The National Youth Service (NYS) is run as a military-style operation and provides a 3-6 month basic training for the youth who must undergo a two-year national service before they are provided with a tuition-free training in most engineering technical fields. The Anti-Stock-Theft unit (ASTU), a paramilitary outfit, is a rapid response police unit to track down cattle rustlers mainly among the pastoral communities.

Tourism

Tourism is also a small-scale contributor to the town's economy. Nearby destinations include

Lake Elementaita Lake Elmenteita is a soda lake, in the Great Rift Valley, about 120 km northwest of Nairobi, Kenya. Geography Elmenteita is derived from the Maasai word , meaning "dust place", a reference to the dryness and dustiness of the area, es ...

, northwest along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, which serves as a bird sanctuary and has a number of hotels and lodges. The Kariandusi Prehistoric Site lies next to the Kariandusi Diatomite Plant. The site is operated by the

National Museums of Kenya The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) is a state corporation that manages museums, sites and monuments in Kenya. It carries out heritage research, and has expertise in subjects ranging from palaeontology, archeology, ethnography and biodiversit ...

, and an important

Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears in ...

site. There is enough geological evidence to show that in the past, large lakes, sometimes reaching levels hundreds of meters higher than the present Lake Nakuru and Elementaita, occupied this basin. Dating back between 700,000 and one million years old, Kariandusi is possibly the first Acheulian site to have been found in Situ in East Africa. Dr Leakey, a

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, believed that this was a factory site of the Acheulian period. He made this conclusion after numerous collections of specimens were found lying in the Kariandusi riverbed. This living site of the hand-axe man, was discovered in 1928. A rise in the Lake level drove prehistoric men from their lakeside home and buried all the tools and weapons which they left behind in a hurry. The Acheulian stage of the great hand-axe culture, to which this site belongs, is found over a very widespread area from England, France, and southwest Europe generally to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Military

The main employer in the town remains the Ministry of Defense as the town hosts two major barracks, the Gilgil barracks (located about 1 km from the Gilgil town center on the old Gilgil - Nakuru road) and the Kenyatta Barracks (located about 2 km along the main Gilgil-Nyahururu road). The latter barracks is also known as Westcom or Western Command. The Gilgil barracks is home to the 5th Kenya Rifles (

Kenya Army Infantry The units of the Kenya Army Infantry are the principal fighting arms of the Kenya Army. The primary mission of the Infantry formations is to fight and win land battles within area of operational responsibilities in the defence of the nation again ...

) also known as "the fighting five", while the Kenyatta Barracks is home to Kenya's only airborne battalion, the 20th Battalion and also home to the 66 Artillery brigade, the 76 Armoured Recce Battalion and the 1st Mortar Battalion. Most of the townsfolk thus largely rely on the military community in economic terms. In the recent past, members of the military both active and retired personnel have invested significantly in the town's property market and also in retail business.

Statistics

* Elevation = 1,981 metres (6,497 ft approx.) above average sea level - measurement at Gilgil Train Station. * Population = 21,081

References