Harold E. Lambert

Harold E. Lambert OBE (1893–1967) was a British linguist and anthropologist in Kenya.

Born in Pield Heath, raised in Bournemouth, and educated at Queens' College, Cambridge (1912–1915), Lambert served as a platoon commander in the Gloucestershire Regiment during World War I, and was wounded at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. A year later, the young Lieutenant joined the King's African Rifles in Nyassaland in the East African Campaign against the German army in Tanganyika.

After his demobilization in 1919, Lambert remained in East Africa and was appointed assistant District Commissioner on the southern coast of Kenya. During this period, he studied Swahili history and culture, becoming fluent in the language. Gaining indigenous respect and recognition, he became known as "Sheikh Lambert." His subsequent postings were as District Commissioner in Kiambu, Lamu, Embu, Kenya, Voi, and other places, where he gained an "outstanding" reputation as an administrator known for his "profound" knowledge of indigenous law and culture (especially Kikuyu). In 1939, the British Governor of Kenya nominated Lambert be appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and promoted him to Senior District Commissioner.

Controversially, Lambert advocated early initiation for young women in Meru District, involving female genital mutilation (FGM). This was driven by concerns of population growth, and what he saw as an alarming rate of abortions (driven possibly by other material factors) and the idea of using culture to maintain “the well-being and cultural equilibrium of the tribe.” This was opposed by the Attorney General in Nairobi. When Lambert left Meru in 1937, he informed his successor that “propaganda” encouraging early initiation had been entirely successful”.[1]

Lambert was married to Grace Firr, a trained nurse and daughter of Tom Firr,[2] a famous Huntsman of the Quorn Hunt. After his retirement in 1950, the couple settled in Nairobi. He remained very active as a Swahili language scholar until his death in Nairobi, 1967. Many Africanists, anthropologists and linguists greatly benefited from H.E. Lambert's expert knowledge and generous assistance in the field and in their subsequent research. Among those he mentored were A. H. J. Prins, who did ethnographic research on the Taita and, subsequently, the coastal Swahili,[3] and Philip Gulliver[4] who researched the Turkana.