Sydney Downey was a British-Kenyan

professional hunter A professional hunter (less frequently referred to as market or commercial hunter and regionally, especially in Britain and Ireland, as professional stalker or gamekeeper) is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional ...

and safari pioneer. Always known as Syd, he learned the trade of guiding

safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...

hunts from an older generation of professional hunters, including his early mentor Philip Percival. He teamed up with

Donald Ker Donald Ker was a famous Kenyan white hunter, safari guide and conservationist of British descent. As a young man he teamed up with Sydney Downey to create Ker and Downey Safaris Ltd., one of the first guide companies to transition from hunti ...

to create Ker and Downey Safaris Ltd., a company that was at the forefront of the move away from hunting and towards photographic safaris.

Early life

Downey was born to a British

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

family ranching cattle in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He spent most of his early childhood in Argentina, leaving the country for England to attend secondary school. Upon graduating school he sailed to

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

, where he found a job working on a coffee plantation outside of

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 ...

Hunting life

Downey became a professional hunter in 1933 when he joined Leslie Tarlton’s

Safariland Safariland, LLC is a United States-based manufacturer of personal, and other equipment focused on the law enforcement, public safety, military, and recreational markets. It was formerly a division of the United Kingdom-based defense and aerospace ...

. In the early days with the company, Downey worked with Philip Percival on several safaris as his "second hunter." Percival quickly became Donwey's mentor. Downey soon met Ronald Ker, another Kenyan hunter with whom he developed a rivalry. During the 1930s Ker and Downey were known for having opened up much of the

Masai Mara Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancest ...

to hunting. However, both hunters took a break from their trade when

World War II 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 ...

broke out in 1939, joining the British effort in East Africa against the Italians.

Ker and Downey Safaris

As the war in Africa was winding down the British successfully ousted the Italians from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, taking back the city of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. It was at this time that Ker and Downey met again, during an "impromptu meeting of the East African Professional Hunters’ Association," in an Addis Ababa bar. During their meeting Ker pitched Downey on the idea of going into business together as soon as the war ended. When the war ended the pair kept their promises and founded Ker and Downey Safaris. Their first paying safari was

The Macomber Affair ''The Macomber Affair'' is a 1947 film directed by Zoltan Korda and distributed by United Artists. Set in British East Africa, its plot concerns a fatal love triangle involving a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who co ...

, starring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

. They hired some of the most well known East African hunters including Harry Selby. In fact the company eventually became Ker, Downey and Selby Safaris, as Selby expanded the operation down in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. However the partnership with Selby did not last in the end. Ker and Downey had both been moving away from hunting safaris and towards photographic trips, since neither of them particularly enjoyed killing animals, instead preferring the chase. Downey eventually became just as well known for his conservationism as his hunting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Sydney Argentine people of British descent Argentine emigrants to England Settlers of Kenya British emigrants to Kenya British hunters White Kenyan people Year of birth missing Year of death missing