Journals sent by Oldham to his Secretary, Betty Gibson, while he was in Africa, with instructions to have several copies made and distributed to Lugard, the Archbishop [of Canterbury] and others.

At first, he wrote approximately every five days, with longer gaps towards the end of his tour. The letters plot his journey from Cape Town to Lovedale, the Transkei, Durban, Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi, and record the people he met, the conversations he had with them, his observations on the Colour Bar Bill in South Africa, a speech by Smuts, the work done by missionaries, especially in education, with schools he visited, his visit to Witwatersrand Native Labour Association Compound, and his ultimate conclusions on the kind of education needed in Africa.