Farmer Roger Ruck, his wife Esme and six-year-old son Michael, along with one of their African servants, were killed by Mau Mau,[1] one of whom allegedly worked for the family.

[2] The killing shocked the European community in Kenya and was widely reported in the Kenyan and British press,[3] with many including graphic photographs of the dead child.

[4] The incident was significant in radicalising the settler population.

[5] Within 48 hours of the killings, 1,500 European settlers marched on Government House, demanding action from then Governor of Kenya Evelyn Baring.

[6][7][8] The massacre was fictionalised in the novel Something of Value by Robert Ruark, and in the 1957 film version.