[4] In 1937 he joined the Colonial Service and worked in Nigeria on the control of the tsetse fly, that carries sleeping sickness, and then in Sierra Leone as an education officer.
He moved to Ethiopia and worked there from 1942 to 1949, firstly with the Colonial Service although during the last three years he was employed by the British Council on educational projects.
[1] In his obituary in The Times, Buxton is described as “a prolific photographer and a linguist”, a passionate traveller and, “by inclination, a scholar”[1] and this is borne out by the number of publications in his name.
Travelling with his parents and sister, Buxton first went to Russia in 1927 visiting Moscow and other cities and undertaking walking tours of the countryside.
Buxton also wrote on Ethiopia and, during his time in the country, studied its Christian culture bringing attention to its rock-hewn churches through articles in archaeological journals.
[1] His photographs of Russian churches “procured with much difficulty” are acknowledged by Hugh Braun in his book Historical Architecture[8] and photographs taken by Buxton during the family’s visit to Russia in 1927 are included in the book Iron Curtain: From Stage to Cold War[9] written by Patrick Wright, a distant cousin.
[5] Photographs attributed to Buxton are also held in the Conway Library whose archive, of primarily architectural images, is being digitised under the wider Courtauld Connects project.