Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun

Beryl Markham, as an older child, was played by Nairobi Academy student Alix Dayken. Her mother Anne - a teacher at Nairobi Academy - served as her stunt double in horseback scenes. Alix grew up to be an educator as well.

Finch-Hatton's note refers to a quick overnight trip to Voi. In fact, he stopped by Voi enroute from Mombasa where, among other things, he had purchased a large sack of oranges. While visiting with the local administrator, he offered to take his wife up for a short flight but she had a bad feeling about it and refused. In the film, Tom expressed doubts about Finch-Hatton's worthiness as a pilot, his careless style of flying and of issues of stalling, as well as his disregard of paperwork. It is presumed that his crash was due to a lack of regard for proper maintenance, causing a mechanical failure. He was not flying at night, as indicated by the film, but during the day while circling the administrator's home a second time. The plane then fell out of the sky and burst into flame when it hit the ground. Among the wreckage they found a number of burned oranges.