Ancestry24

The History of Grahamstown is so inseparably bound up with that of English colonization in South Africa, that a correct record of the one, if elaborated upon as it could and should be, would comprise the true story of the other. From the day of its establishment to the present time, it has occupied a most prominent position in every movement which had for its object the political, commercial, religious, or social advancement of the Cape Colony. Every step that has marked its growth may aptly be described as the evidence of the growth in South Africa of English influence and English colonization. As the primitive buildings which formed the military post out of which it has grown disappeared to give place to more substantial buildings and residences, and the semblance of a town sprung up in the valley so wisely selected as the site of the future “City of the Settlers,” so a like advance was made in other parts of the Colony.

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Settlement Of Grahamstown

Gareth Cliff's great grandfather The Rev. William Kidwell Cliff was in born 1848 in Audlem, Cheshire, England; died 21 June 1922 in Pietermaritzburg.

There is a plaque on the wall of the Cathedral in Pietermaritzburg where he and his wife are buried. Evidently the congregation held him in some esteem. William Cliff was instrumental in establishing the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in Natal. He was very much involved in the founding of the Cathedral in Pietermaritzburg and seems to have migrated there from England via Grahamstown.

He was the son of Thomas Cliff (1825-1872) and Elizabeth Hall (abt 1820) in Cheshire, England; Elizabeth Hall's father was Thomas Hall (1784-1809) and her mother Elizabeth Dooler (1820-?). Both their families resident in Cheshire, England. Thomas Hall's father, William Hall (1765-1816) was a solicitor. His mother was Ann Johnson. Elizabeth Dooler's parents were Thomas Dooler (1766-1791) and Mary Shuker (1768-1845). Mary Shuker came from a very long line of Shukers stretching back to John Shuker in 1672 in Nantwich, Cheshire, England.

Thomas in turn the son of Joseph Cliff (1786-1873) and Mary unknown (abt 1797). They seem to have been humble people, but owned land which indicates that they were probably cleaner than most of the English at the time.

Joseph was the son of Joseph William Cliff (1754-1834) and Sarah Besford (abt 1750). Sarah's father was a certain Edward Besford (born 1720 in Edgmond, Shropshire, England, son of Thomas Besford, born 1695). J. W. Cliff was a smart landowner so we must assume because of Thomas Cliff's reduced circumstances that their finances deteriorated over the early 1800s or under Joseph Jr.

Joseph William Cliff was the eldest son of William Cliff (1710-1802) and Frances Briggs (1732-1784), but was the first to move to Cheshire. His parents were resident in Flintham, Nottinghamshire.

William's father was John Cliff (1686, Cheshire England) and his mother Mary Barrows (1686-1713). John Cliff is about as far as we can track Cliff accurately. He may or may not have been the original landowner in Cheshire (perhaps his son left to Nottinghamshire temporarily, as his children seem to have reverted to Cheshire).

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Phoebe Kidwell
Edward Harrison
Emily Upton
George Mosley
Emily Hannaford
Sir Henry Somerset
Robert Preller
Stephanie Schoeman
Henning Pretorius

After World War I, many female pilots flew the Europe to Cape air route. This led to increasing numbers of South African women joining flying clubs, even though the government’s pupil pilot scheme was reserved for men.World War II saw the SAAF grow from 10 officers, 35 officer cadets, 1,600 men of other ranks and 100 aircraft in 1939 to a force of 31,204 servicemen, including nearly 1,000 pilots and at least 1,700 aircraft, in 1941. In 1944 the South African Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (SAWAAF) consisted of 6,500 members. By 1945, the SAAF had more than 45,000 personnel. More than 10,000 women served in the SAWAAF during the war.

Jackie Sorour

During World War II, Jackie Sorour ferried surplus RAF aircraft to countries in the Middle and Far East. She was a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and flew 63 aircraft types, delivering 1,500 aircraft.

Jackie was born Dolores Teresa Sorour in South Africa on 1st March 1922, where she was flying solo by the age of 16. It took some time for her to overcome her fear of the air sufficiently to pilot an aircraft without assistance. After five hours of solo flying she obtained her A licence. In a further effort to conquer her fear, she undertook a parachute jump in Pretoria on 30th January 1938, breaking her ankle during landing.

In 1939 she went to England to obtain her B licence. At her first attempt to join the newly formed ATA, she was turned down. Jackie was a radar operator during the Battle of Britain. Eventually the ban on women as pilots was relaxed and she was able to transfer to the ATA.

In 1945 she married Lieut. Colonel Reginald Moggridge. In the 1950s she joined the Women’s Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve to convert to Meteor and Vampire jets. In 1957 she joined Channel Airways as an airline pilot. Jackie left the airline after the birth of her second daughter in 1961. She died in January 2004 at her home in Somerset, England.

Diana Barnato Walker

Another woman who made her mark in aviation and has ties to South Africa was Diana Barnato Walker. She is 88 and was one of Britain’s top female pilots. The grand-daughter of Barney Barnet (Barnet Isaacs) and his South African wife Fanny lives in Surrey, England, on a sheep farm. Her grandfather was from east London and made his fortune on the South African mines. He died in 1897 when he fell off the SS Christiana en route back to England. Diana also had a wealthy American grandmother on her mother’s side. Her father, Woolf, was into motor racing.

She was born in January 1918, the younger of two girls and lived with her parents in Hampstead, North London. When she was four years old her parents split up. Her mother later married the war-time pilot Richard Butler Wainwright, who had won the Distinguished Flying Cross. Diana was a debutante in 1936.

She learnt to fly in a Tiger Moth in 1937 at Brooklands racing track when an hour’s lesson used to cost £3. After six hours flying, she flew solo for the first time. Barney Barnato’s nephew Jack flew at Gallipoli for the Royal Naval Air Service. She spent World War II as a member of the ATA ferrying planes across England, having joined them with only 10 hours flying experience. She married Derek Walker in May 1944.

At the beginning of the war women were not officially allowed to ferry outside the UK. In late September 1944 Diana flew a Spitfire to Brussels, following her husband Derek, a Wing Commander in the RAF, in another Spitfire. She was on short leave from the ATA. Shortly after her flight, ATA women pilots were officially cleared to fly to Europe. In the final days of the war some made it to Berlin. Also during this time a few women were given the opportunity to ferry Meteor jets.

Diana lost a fiancé during the war and her fighter-pilot husband in another accident in November 1945. After his death, she earned her B licence. She has flown more than 120 aircraft types. In 1963 she became the first British woman to break the sound barrier in a Lightning jet.

Marjorie Egerton-Bird

Marjorie Egerton-Bird

Marjorie Helen Egerton-Bird was born in Weymouth, Dorsetshire. She came out to South Africa with her parents and brother George in 1902. Marjorie was two years old. James Sydney Egerton-Bird arrived in the Transvaal to build a prison in Pretoria. He had been a governor of the Portland Prison near Wentworth in England. The family lived in Johannesburg for five years until they moved to Pretoria for 15 years. Her father was governor of Central Prison from 1907-1917.
Marjorie attended the Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria until her father’s death in 1917 at the age of 48. Marjorie and her mother returned to England, settling in Dover. George was already there attending Naval college. After Marjorie’s mother died in 1926, she returned to South Africa and started working at the South African Reserve Bank in Johannesburg.

In 1936 one of Marjorie’s friends took her to Rand Airfield for a flight. The young pilot showed off by looping the loop. Upon landing, Marjorie declared that she never wanted to fly again. The chief instructor had seen this and half an hour later, he took her up and gave her a smoother flight. Soon afterwards, Marjorie received a small inheritance from an aunt and she used it to take flying lessons which cost £3 per hour through Rand Flying Club. In March 1937, three hours after her first solo flight, she obtained her A licence and an hour later, was competing with 22 men in the Aero Club Round the Reef Flying Race, in which she finished in fourth place. Her licence was endorsed for several different types of aircraft on which she was trained by Doreen Hooper. She could also carry passengers. In 1937 Marjorie was one of the 10 women in South Africa to possess an A licence.

Soon after obtaining her licence, she set about trying to make flying more available to women. Together with Joan Blake, she set up a petition to the government. The petition was signed by 150 women interested in flying but Oswald Pirow, then Minister of Defence, replied, “perhaps after the first thousand men pupil pilots were trained then something might be done for women.” This would take about two years. Marjorie approached Doreen Hooper, who promised to help. Six women met with Doreen at her flat – Joan, Elaine Percival-Hart, Sylvia Starfield, Toy Celliers and Marjorie. They approached Mrs Deneys Reitz, who was the Member of Parliament for Parktown, to chair a meeting at the Wanderers’ Club. An advert was put in the newspaper and on the evening of 5th December 1939, 110 women attended. They called themselves the South African Women’s Aviation Association (SAWAA). Later on they were referred to as the Women’s Civil Air Guard.

Mr. Haswell, secretary of the Rand Flying Club, offered to train eight women every weekend at the Rand Flying Club. Soon other clubs followed suit, and within six months, the 110 members were working during weekends learning all about flying. A year after its formation, the SAWAA had branches throughout South Africa, and numbered between 3 000 and 4 000 members. In December 1938, the SAWAA had eight branches, 67 pilots of which 18 had A licences and two were instructors. In February 1939, the East Rand branch had 100 women joining up – all from Benoni. Each branch collected money to give bursaries to members who showed an aptitude for flying. By 1939, 300 women had joined the SAWAA. In 1939, there were only 600 licensed civilian pilots in South Africa. After raising its own funds, the SAWAA purchased a Taylorcraft 65 De Luxe monoplane for £650. They were not able to use it much as all civilian flying ceased in 1940 and all private aircraft were taken over by the government and distributed to air schools.

In February 1940, six SAWAA members flew over Johannesburg in formation flight. Marjorie was one of the pilots, and this was the first time that women pilots had flown in formation flight in the world.

By the late 1930s, South African women had started asking about joining the Defence Force. In May 1939, the Director-General of the Reserve Force, Brigadier J.J. Collyer, met with Lieutenant-Colonel H.C. Daniel (Director of Technical Services) to investigate the utilisation of women. Lt.-Col. Daniel was not keen but Col. J. Holthouse (Director of Air Services) proposed that women be used as typists, clerks, store assistants, canteen and mess personnel, telecommunication operators, drivers, ground personnel and instructors.

As war loomed, SAWAA members started receiving instruction in first aid, fire-fighting, alarms, clerical and administrative work. Military drill was also taught. When war broke out on 3rd September 1939, the SAWAA sent General Smuts a telegram offering their services. On 10th June 1940, a notice appeared in the Government Gazette establishing a Women’s Auxiliary Air Force which would be associated with and act in co-operation with the South African Air Force.

On 1st June 1940, Doreen Hooper was the first woman in South Africa to be called upon to volunteer for full-time war service. She was 22 years old and was given the rank of Major, in command of the SAWAAF. Marjorie was the second woman to be called up 10 days later, and then Elaine Percival-Hart, both with the rank of Captain. Marjorie was second-in-command of the SAWAAF. On 28 June 1940, the first group of 120 women were taken into full-time service. Five months later there were 800 SAWAAFs proudly wearing the orange flash, signifying they had volunteered for overseas service.

All SAWAAFs did a three week basic training course at Valhalla under the command of the SAWAAF Sergeant Major (Mrs) Edwards. The SAWAAF technical personnel did their advanced training of a year at the Pretoria Technical College, while other training was done at 73 Air School at Wonderboom. The first female Physical Training Instructors graduated from the Military College in August 1941. Women who were appointed as non-commissioned officers (NCOs) did their NCO course at 100 Air School in Voortrekkerhoogte. By June 1942 there were 34 SAWAAF camps in South Africa. SAWAAF pilots flew communication and ferry flights and served as duty pilots and second pilots in the SAAF shuttle service. Special legislation enabled SAWAAFs to be employed on combatant duty, serving at ack-ack sites on instruments to direct the guns and as searchlight operators.

The SAWAAFs came from all walks of life. Helen Beatrice May Fennell was born in Sussex, England, in 1905. She graduated from King’s College, University of London, in 1927, and taught for three years in India. She came to South Africa in 1931, where she met and married Billie Joseph. During World War II, Helen was an information and welfare officer in the SAWAAF. Helen became a social worker after the war and was well-known for her role in the anti-apartheid movement. She passed away in 1992.

In December 1940 the first detachment of SAWAAFs were sent up North with Muriel Horrell in charge. They went to Mombassa in a troopship and from there by train to Nairobi, where a camp was established in a grey stone building. Soon this became too small and they moved to another camp of wooden huts. In September 1940 the SAWAAFs were sent to the Middle East, where their housed in a hotel in Cairo.

During the war, the women performed in some 75 different types of work. These included metal workers, welders, wood workers, fitters and turners, inspectors, armament instructors, stores, clerical, cooks, despatch riders, signals, Link Trainer instructors, lorry drivers, meteorological assistants and observers, developing and printing photos, parachute packers, P.T. instructors, shorthand typists, and wireless operators. By 1941, there were 36 A licence pilots in the SAWAAF.

In 1942 a major re-organization occurred within the SAWAAF. Their administrative functions were amalgamated with those of the SAAF. The SAWAAF directorate remained, but with only a few senior officers serving, their function being to direct the policy of the SAWAAF and to maintain the general welfare and well-being of all the SAWAAFs on full-time service.

After the war, Maj. Egerton-Bird was placed in charge of the Women’s Dispersal Section of the Directorate of Demobilization. By the end of December 1945 1, 955 women had been demobilized. In January 1946 alone, 626 women had been through the dispersal camps. The last SAWAAF camp closed on 1st April 1947.

Assistance was provided to enable women to cope with the transition from war to peace. This consisted of grants for educational and vocational training, vocational guidance officers assisting women to choose training suitable to their capabilities, the provision of courses both full-time and part-time (two of the most popular were shorthand-typing and nursing), and assistance for those who wished to establish businesses. All the discharge benefits available to men were also provided for those women with equivalent service. Women who had been artisans during the war found it difficult as there weren’t sufficient factories in the country to absorb them.

While the majority of women returned to civilian life, a number of the women went into the Women’s Auxiliary Defence Corps and were used in the SAAF. An amendment to the Defence Act was made in 1947, allowing women to serve in the military on a voluntary basis, but only in non-combatant roles, with effect from 3rd June 1947. The Women’s Defence Corps (WDC) was then established on 28th November 1947.

In 1948, with a new government in power, the Minister of Defence, F.C. Erasmus, asked for a report on women serving in the Permanent Force. According to the statistics provided in the report, the SAAF had four officers and 30 other ranks in the WDC. In April 1949, women were no longer able to drive military vehicles. The following month, the Minister decided that recruiting women for the WDC Permanent Force was to cease. Only female military nursing personnel and medical officers were retained.

Women were kept out of the Forces until October 1972 when the Minister of Defence granted permission for the appointment of women in the Permanent Force again. The first three women to join the SAAF in 1974 as Permanent Force members were trained at the Civil Defence College in George. On 19th January 1974, 33 women began their basic training at the Air Defence School in Waterkloof. On 21st February 1995, an all-women’s parade was held at the SAAF Gymnasium in Valhalla to celebrate 21 years of women’s service in the Permanent Force.

In 1996, the SAAF recruited the first six women for pilot training. By October 2004, 15 women had received their wings and 13 were still pilots in the SAAF.

Marjorie Egerton-Bird, who did so much to lay the foundation for women in the Air Force, passed away on 4th January 1982, aged 82 years.

Phyllis Doreen Dunning

Phyllis Doreen HOOPER was born in Johannesburg and attended Boksburg Convent School before completing her education under private tuition. She became interested in flying when, aged nine years old, her parents took her to see a “flying machine” in Barberton owned by Alan Cobham. People could write their names on the plane’s fabric, and Doreen wrote hers.

On the 3rd July 1935, soon after her 18th birthday, she started flying lessons with the Johannesburg Light Plane Club, in Baragwanath. She learnt to fly in a Gipsy Moth (ZS-ADW) and her instructor was Captain Stan Halse who was a RFC pilot in WWI. After two weeks and 9 hours of flying, she earned her A licence and decided to make aviation her career.

In 1936 she took second place in the Vereeniging-Durban-Vereeniging air race, flying a Gipsy II Moth. On the 30th October 1936 she obtained her B licence, becoming the first female commercial pilot in South Africa. This was followed by employment with African Flying Services at Rand Airport. In February 1937 she went to England from where she took part in the Oases Race in Egypt. She flew with Captain V. Budge in a miles Hawk and finished 23rd in a field of 40.

In 1938, with Mr. Calderbank as co-pilot, and flying a Leopard Moth, she placed 8th in the Governor-General’s air race. The same year, she placed 2nd in the Round the Reef air race, again in a Gipsy II Moth.

By July 1937 she was studying for her Instructor’s rating and working for the Johannesburg Light Plane Club. She obtained her Instructor’s rating on 20th January 1938, becoming the first female instructor in South Africa. A few months later she re-joined African Flying Services, now based at Grand Central. Her wire-haired terrier, Starkey, was a common sight at Grand Central and had about 70 flying hours to his credit!

At the outbreak of WWII, she had more than 2 000 flying hours. At the age of 24 she was the youngest officer in the British Commonwealth to attain the rank she held. In October 1943 Lt.-Col. Doreen Dunning resigned on a point of principle affecting her work. Maj. Muriel Horrell took over her duties. After Lt.-Col. Dunning had telegraphed news of her resignation to Maj. Egerton-Bird, then stationed in Port Elizabeth, the Major flew to Pretoria to speak to Gen. Smuts. A short while later, Gen. Smuts made a public apology to Lt.-Col. Dunning in the Press.

She was chairwoman of the SAWAAA. She married Edwin Keith Dunning, who was born in Nigel. He died in Natal in 1968. Doreen lives in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal.

Elaine Percival Hart

Elaine Percival Hart was born in Newport, Monmouthshire. She was educated in England and graduated from Bedford Physical Training College. Elaine came to South Africa in January 1914 and joined the staff of Diocesan School for girls in Grahamstown. In 1917 she joined the Military Nursing Service of South Africa, as a masseuse. Elaine was involved in women’s hockey from 1923 to 1937, managing Springbok tours to the UK, Ireland and the USA.

She took her first flying lessons in 1928 from Dick BENTLEY who flew out from England in a Moth. Elaine obtained her A licence in 1936. She had a passenger endorsement with Doreen Hooper as instructor. During WWII she was Assistant Deputy Director of the SAWAAF and a unit commander. Elaine was a member of the Rand Flying Club and the Grand Central Flying Club. She was an executive member of the SAWAA and chairwoman of the Northern Transvaal WAA. In 1934 she was granted an inventor’s British patent for an “Improved Wind Indicator” for night flying and another one in 1939 for a “Wind Speed Indicator”. Elaine died in the Transvaal in 1955, unmarried.

Muriel Horrell

Muriel Horrell was born in Pretoria in 1910 and educated at Pretoria High School. She graduated with a B.Sc. from Wits University. She earned her A licence at Grand Central where she was a pupil of Doreen Hooper. Muriel was a senior member of the SAWAAF.

Sybil Starfield

Sybil Florence Starfield was one of the founder members of the SAWAAF. She was a qualified pilot and was a leading figure in women’s aviation. Sybil played an important role in SAWAAF recruiting campaigns, travelling all over South Africa. In September 1944, Captain Starfield was missing at sea presumed drowned, as a result of a torpedo action against her ship whilst she was en route to England. She had sailed from South Africa in June 1944, having been seconded to the ATA.

Rhenia Slabbert

Frances Rhenia Slabbert was born in Kroonstad and finished her schooling at Girls’ High School in Johannesburg. She was the daughter of J.H. Slabbert, director of Slabbert, Verster and Malherbe, of Johannesburg. Her interest in flying started in childhood and during a visit in Europe, she flew from London to Paris as a passenger. Back in South Africa, she joined the Rand Flying Club and took flying lessons from Captain Gray. She earned her A licence in February 1937, in Durban, becoming the first woman to obtain her pilot’s licence in that city. She often acted as piloted for her father on business trips. During WWII she was attached to the Communication Squadron of the SAWAAF.

Rosamund King Everard-Steenkamp

Rosamund King Everard was born near Carolina, South Africa in 1907 to British parents, Charles Joseph Everard (a trader and farmer) and Amy Bertha King (an artist). The women in her family became well-known artists, known as the Women of Bonnefoi or the Everard Group.

Rosamund was not only an accomplished artist, but also one of South Africa’s female aviation pioneers. Her career was cut short by her death in a Spitfire demonstration accident in England. She was the first woman to pilot a Spitfire. In August 1945 she became the first woman in the world to pilot a jet aircraft in Britain’s Air Transport Auxiliary Service (whilst still holding the rank of Captain in the SAWAAF). She flew a Meteor III jet.

Rosamund attended Eunice School in Bloemfontein. She started painting in the mid-1920s when she was a music student in London and Paris. Rosamund returned to the family farms in the eastern Transvaal in 1926, where she became a successful farmer. She became the first woman to qualify as a cattle judge in South Africa. Rosamund spoke French and isiSwazi.
In 1935 she started flying, earning her A licence (no. 453) on 23rd January 1936. Together with her brother, Sebastian King Everard, also a pilot, she operated a Moth (ZS-AFF). She undertook her first flight across Africa to Britain in 1937. Rosamund went to England and earned her B licence (no. 14171) on 16th March 1938. She earned a 2nd Class navigator’s licence (no. 729) on 28th September 1938 and the Guild of Air Pilots & Navigators Instructors Endorsement on the 29th October 1938. After her B licence she took part in the Empire Air Display at Hendon, London. While in England she also flew in Europe and Scotland. Rosamund won the race for the Wright Trophy at the Njoro Air Rally and Derby in Kenya.

Rosamund returned to South Africa and on 21st April 1939, she earned her South African B licence and Instructor’s Endorsement. She then joined the staff of the Witwatersrand Technical College as a flying instructor stationed in Ermelo and Carolina. She trained many pupil pilots who later distinguished themselves in the SAAF.

When WWII broke out, she was commissioned with the rank of Captain and posted to 61 Squadron where she gave instruction and did flying duties. By 1942 she and Rhenia Slabbert were flying Lodestars between South Africa and Cairo. In 1944 she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary, ferrying many types of aircraft to the operational bases. By then she had more than 3 500 flying hours on active service.

She was killed in a flying accident at Littlewick Green, 5 km west of Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. There was low cloud at the time, and the Spitfire that she was piloting crashed into a hill. She had over 4 000 flying hours. During the war she was attached to the Communications Squadron of the SAWAAF, which ferried important officials to various military centres. Membership of this unit was one of the most envied and coveted jobs in the SAWAAF.

She was a member of the Johannesburg Light Plane Club, the Royal Aero Club in London, the London Aeroplane Club, the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators of Great Britain, an honourable member of the Leicester Aero Club and an associate of the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

She met and married Hermanus Nicolaas Fourie Steenkamp in 1940, whom she had taught to fly. He was a Lieutenant in the SAAF when he died on 01 December 1942. He was buried on the family farm Welgelegen, in Ermelo.

Amongst Rosamund’s other interests were shooting, swimming, tennis, squash, music, dancing and painting. In November 2000, her painting The Blue Furrow was sold for R55 000 at an auction by Stephan Welz (Sotheby’s).

Enid Marjorie Russell

Enid Marjorie Russell was born in Perth, Australia, and educated at the Perth Modern School. She obtained a law degree in Australia before moving to South Africa. Enid was secretary of the Aero Club of South Africa which was founded in Kimberley. This work involved the running of the Governor-General’s Cup air race. She was also the organiser of the South African Model Aeroplane Championship in 1938-9. Enid was a member of the Rand Flying Club.

Ursula Smith

Ursula “Duffy” Smith was born in Port Elizabeth in 1921 and educated at Holy Rosary Convent. She first flew in the 1920s when Allister Miller took her on a flight. She took up gliding at the age of 14 and obtained a gliding licence. In 1938 she took up powered flight and had to wait until August 1938, on her 17th birthday to go solo, becoming one of the youngest qualified pilots in the British Empire and Commonwealth. Ursula was in university when WWII broke out, so she joined the SAWAAF and trained pilots in a Link simulator. She was also a navigation instructor. She was a member of the Port Elizabeth Aero Club.

Mollie Noreen Goldsmith

Mollie Noreen Goldsmith was born in Benoni and educated at St Andrew’s School in Johannesburg and UCT. She became a member of the Rand Flying Club and took flying lessons from Captain Gray. After almost 12 hours of dual instruction, she went solo, the first woman to do so at Benoni Aerodrome. She was strong apposed to the discriminatory policies that prevented more women from flying.

Muriel Shires

Muriel Shires was born in Johannesburg in 1922 and educated at Kingsmead College. In 1941 she was a pupil pilot at Grand Central where she trained to ultimately become an instructor. Muriel was a member of the SAWAA.

Claire Elizabeth Seawright

Claire Elizabeth Seawright was born in Johannesburg. She was a pupil pilot at the Johannesburg Light Plane Club, where she earned her A licence. In 1935 she won the Star Aviation Competition. Claire graduated with a B.Comm. from Wits University.

Susanne du Plessis

Susanne du Plessis was born in Philipstown, Cape, in January 1890. She was educated at Middelburg and Rondebosch. In June 1937 she earned her A licence at Air Taxi Company in Cape Town. This was renewed in 1938 and 1939 at Pretoria Flying School and rand Central respectively. Susanne was a member of the Transvaal Women’s Civil Aviation Association.

Ethel Louisa Phillips

Ethel Louisa Phillips was born in Sussex, England, in October 1893. In November 1938 she imported a Miles Monarch from England and used it to compete in the Governor-General’s air race from Durban. Ethel was Adjutant of the SAWAAF in Cape Town and presented a bursary for the best all-round cadet. She was a founding member of the Cape Peninsula Flying Club and a member of the Port Elizabeth Aero Club. Ethel was killed when her aircraft went into a spin and crashed at Brooklyn Aerodrome in Cape Town on 19th February 1940. Her A licence had lapsed on the 5th February and had not been renewed at the date of the accident. It was reported that age was understated by at least 12 years on her licence.

Edith D. Watson

Edith D. Watson (maiden name Nicol) was a member of the SAWAAF and an aircraft fitter at AFB Ysterplaat during WWII. She often made her own tools when supplies were short. The tools are on display at the Air Force Museum at Ysterplaat.

Marjorie Juta

Constance Marjorie Juta was born in Cape Town in 1901. Amongst her many accomplishments – horse riding, golfing, big game shooting, author, playwright – she was also a pilot. In 1928 she was riding a horse towards Youngsfield when she saw an aeroplane being unpacked. It belonged to Colonel Henderson, who was starting a flying school. Amongst the people watching this were Sir John and Lady Heath. Marjorie asked him how much it would cost to learn to fly and he replied, “About £60″. A few days later, he agreed to teach Marjorie for the price of the fuel. She spent 10 days with him, often being air sick. After weeks of gales, she finally made her first solo flight in an Avro-Renault. She went on to earn her A licence. At the same time as Marjorie was learning to fly, so were two of her school friends, unbeknown to her,

Marjorie Douglas and Dulcie Evans.

Marjorie, along with Lt. Miss Penny E. Otto, was awarded the Croix de Guerre (avec palmes) for courage as ambulance drivers when they were members of the Mechanized Transport Corps serving in the Battle of France in May 1940. The presentation was done in 1941 in Mombassa, Kenya. When South African women marched to the Union Buildings in 1954, Marjorie was responsible for organising them into ranks of six abreast.

Marjorie Douglas

Marjorie Douglas was one of the first two women to qualify for an A licence in South Africa. She was born in Sea Point, Cape Town, the daughter of Thomas Douglas and Catherina Eleanor Cousins (daughter of Rev. George Cousins). Her brother, Rod, was managing director of De Havilland Aircraft Company in South Africa. She attended St Andrew’s School in Johannesburg and trained as a physiotherapist. Marjorie was a member of the Johannesburg Light Plane Club.

Dulcie Evans

Dulcie Evans was one of the first two women to obtain an A licence in South Africa. Both were trained by Graham Bellin at the Johannesburg Light Plane Club at Baragwanath in 1928. By 1931 the club had nine female pilots besides Marjorie and Dulcie. The nine included Mrs. Haggie and her daughter Diana, Nancy Ferguson, and Mrs. Humble.

Helen Marcelle Harrison

Helen Marcelle Harrison was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1909. Whilst still a child she was sent to St Mary’s School in Calne, Wiltshire, England. During her residence in Eastbourne, she went on her first flight and decided to become a pilot. She secretly took flying lessons until she received her A licence in 1935. While visiting Singapore, she qualified for her seaplane rating. She obtained her B licence at the London Aeroplane Club in April 1936 and in October qualified for her instructor’s rating. Soon afterwards, she moved to South Africa and settled in Somerset West.
In February 1937, Helen was employed by the Air Taxi Company at Wingfield, Cape Town. She became the first female instructor in South Africa and was the first female pilot to instruct pupil pilots under the government’s training scheme. She left Wingfield in May 1937 and joined the staff of the Pretoria Flying School. Helen attended an Instructor’s refresher course at Roberts Heights, becoming the first female pilot to fly military aircraft in South Africa. She was also employed by African Flying Services and worked from Grand Central Aerodrome. Her next employer was Haller Aviation Company in Grahamstown.

Towards the end of the war Helen flew with the Air Transport Auxiliary in Britain. After logging 500 hours she was discharged with the rank of First Officer (class V). Helen returned to Canada after the war, having acquired commercial instructor’s, multi-engine and instrument licences from four countries. Despite her qualifications, she found it very difficult to find a job in aviation. At one point she drove a taxi at Dorval Airport in Montreal. From 1961 until her retirement in 1969, she taught floatplane flying on the Canadian west coast. When she passed away in April 1995, she had logged over 15,000 flying hours.

Helen had a number of surnames. According to her divorce record in South Africa, her maiden name was Testemale. This was a divorce from Louis Botha de Waal in 1939. Various sources give her maiden name as Harrison. In April 1935, according to a legal notice published in The Times, London, she was living at 33 Heathurst Road, Sanderstead, Surrey, when she renounced the surname Barnes and stated that she was to be known as Helen Marcelle Harrison. Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame lists her as Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol

Winifred Beatrice Beardmore

Winifred Beatrice Beardmore was born in Cape Town in 1914. She attended Wynberg Girls’ High. Winifred started flying in 1938 and obtained her A licence. She was a secretary at Cape Town Airport for a number of years. She served as the secretary of the Cape Peninsula Flying Club, of which she was a founding member. She was also treasurer of the Women’s Aviation Association. Winifred worked for Air Taxi Company when she joined the SAWAAF where she held the rank of Major.

She married Ritchie Tennant, son of Sidney and Daisy. He was a Major with 24 Squadron, SAAF, and died in March 1942.

Betty Rowell Beatty

Betty Rowell grew up in Southern Rhodesia. She was educated in Gwelo and Weybridge, Surrey. In 1938 she settled in South Africa. During WWII Betty joined the SAWAAF in South Africa where she was a Flight Sergeant. She worked in the meteorological office at Youngsfield, as an observer taking weather observations from a psychrometer strapped to the wing struts of a Wapiti biplane and later a Harvard. During one of these flights, Betty noticed a cloud effect downwind of Table Mountain. This cloud creates a specific effect for gliders and became known as Betty’s Wave.
In June 1946 Betty flew solo at Youngsfield after 2 hours 15 minutes dual instruction from Captain P. de Wet, a former SAAF pilot. She broke the record of Joy Cairns of Port Elizabeth, who had gone solo after 3 hours 25 minutes instruction.

After the war, Betty worked for the civil Met office. In November 1954, with 94 flying hours to her credit, Betty bought a new Auster Aiglet and flew it to Ndola, together with a newly qualified private pilot, Dorothy Alton, who was a missionary. Betty sold the aircraft in Ndola and took the train to her parents who lived in Hermanus. She married Pat Beatty who designed and built gliders. Their daughter is Sue Beatty, the helicopter pilot.
Just for the Love of Flying was written by Betty and is the story of her 1954 flight from England to Ndola and other aviation experiences.

Una Eileen Betts

Una Eileen Ross was born in Natal. She was a private pilot and became honorary secretary of the Port Elizabeth Aero Club in 1936. In 1939 she was secretary to the Port Elizabeth Air Rally. The Port Elizabeth branch of SAWAA was founded in May 1939, with Una as a founding member. She married Captain G.C. Betts who served in the RAF during WWI. Una had two brothers in the RAF, one of whom was awarded the Croix de Guerre posthumously.

Born in Culmstock, Devonshire, England on 25th April 1808 and died in Southfield, Plumstead in the Cape on 22nd July 1901. Cape civil servant and politician was the second of the four sons of George Southey (born 1777) and his wife Joan Baker (born 1782). He was educated at a grammar-school in Devon, and in 1820 he left Gravesend for the Cape Colony in the Hennersley Castle, one of a party of forty-nine British Settlers from Somersetshire headed by his father.

Having landed at Algoa Bay in May 1820, the family settled on a farm near Round Hill on a branch of the Kowie River between Bathurst and Grahamstown. In 1824 Richard went to Grahamstown as a clerk to the merchants Heugh and Fleming but, tiring of this dull life, he determined to seek adventure in the interior. First, in 1828, he volunteered with others to man the military outposts on the frontier while the regular troops were on special service in Kaffraria, and was stationed at Fort Beaufort. The next year he was off on a hunting expedition into Pondoland and Bomvanaland but, finding this less profitable than he had envisaged, decided to settle as a farmer in the eastern districts. This he did at first on the family farm near Trompetter’s Drift, and then, after a short spell of speculating in stock with Grahamstown as his base, on the farm Kap River, which he and his brothers had bought and where he stayed until the outbreak of the Sixth Frontier War in December 1834.

He immediately organized a volunteer force of farmers, and took a very active part in the war. First he was a lieutenant of the Albany mounted sharp-shooters; then, early in 1835, he became commander of Colonel Harry Smith’s guide corps. It was while this corps was guarding the Xhosa paramount chief, Hintsa, that Hintsa was shot on 12th May 1835 by one of Richard’s younger brothers, George Southey (born 1810, died 7th November 1867), a lieutenant in the corps. At the end of the war Richard was appointed resident agent and justice of the peace to the amaNdlambe at Mount Coke, serving in this capacity until the reversal of Sir Benjamin D’Urban’s frontier settlement and the abolition of this office in 1836.

Having lost a great deal in livestock and other property, the Southeys decided to move from the frontier to the inland division of Graaff-Reinet. Here, for ten years, Southey concentrated on his private affairs. In 1843 he went into partnership with William Shaw, and stocked the farms Klipgat, Modderfontein and Knoffelhoek with horses, cattle and sheep. While Shaw acted as manager of the business, Richard was left free to practise as a law agent in Graaff-Reinet.

When Sir Harry Smith returned to the Cape as Governor and High Commisioner in 1847, he remembered Sothey’s earlier service and, appreciating his knowledge of frontier affairs, offered Richard the post of private secretary, an office which he held till 1849. Thus he accompanied Smith on his reconnaissance of the interior early in 1848, met the Boer deputation led by A. W. J. Pretorius, was present when Smith proclaimed British sovereignty over the Transorangia in February 1848, and was present at the battle of Boomplaats in August.

Richard did not leave the Sovereignty with Smith, for he had been appointed president of the war-tribute commission, which investigated cases of men who had been engaged in the recent rebellion. The extremely difficult task of investigating and levying fines throughout the Sovereignty Southey performed with tact and conciliatory success. He remained in Bloemfontein until Major H. D. Warden had been re-installed as British resident and continued as commissioner until his duties were transferred to the Governor’s private secretary in 1849. Apart from his active role in dealing with Moshweshwe and the affairs of the Basuto border, Southey played a vigorous part in the latter months of 1848, countering by all means possible a recrudescence of the influence and activity of Pretorius and his supporters south of the Vaal River. Southey also took the opportunity of meeting A. H. Potgieter, Pretorius’s political rival in the territory beyond the Vaal, at Potchefstroom, and found Potgieter ready to discredit Pretorius, and willing to allow British authority to be re-asserted in the Sovereignty. Very deftly Southey succeeded in persuading the leaders of the Over-Vaal, who were still officially regarded in Cape Town and London as British subjects, to accept assurances of non-intervention in the affairs of the Over-Vaal in return for abstention from attempts to exert political pressure within the Sovereignty.

He returned to the Cape Colony in January 1849. At the end of 1849 he was appointed civil commissioner and resident magistrate of Swellendam. But the Eighth Frontier War broke out and he was called upon to perform many special duties, including the enrolment of Natives to serve in the war, and acting for the commissariat department. In April 1852 he was asked to act as secretary to the government during the leave of absence of John Montagu, and, apart from a brief interruption, he held this post until May 1854. It was in January 1853 that the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Charles Darling, suspended Southey from office on the grounds that he had connived at the irregular dispatch of executive minutes. The Auditor-General, William Hope, succeeded Southey. It was typical of Southey’s character that he did not let the matter rest there. He sailed for England, where he appealed to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Duke of Newcastle, who ordered his reinstatement. Meanwhile, in November 1853, Montagu had died, and the now permanent vacancy was filled by Rawson W. Rawson, formerly Treasurer and Paymaster-General of Mauritius.

After again serving a short term as civil commissioner and resident magistrate of Swellendam from May 1854 to February 1855, Southey was appointed secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor in Grahamstown (March 1855). When the Auditor-General, Hope, died in 1858, Southey was appointed by Sir George Grey, and acted in this capacity between January and April 1859. However, a quarrel between the Governor and the Colonial Secretary, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, on the question of official patronage, resulted in the appointment of E. M. Cole to the auditor-general-ship, and Southey returned to his post as secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor. By this time his wide and varied experience of colonial affairs, the public regard for him, and his ability and efficiency had clearly destined him for permanent office in the central administration. When, in August 1860, Rawson went on leave, Southey again acted as Colonial Secretary and made clear his opposition to the quick introduction of responsible government. His first budget speech, in 1861, showed financial acumen. Thus, when the Treasurer-General, Harry Rivers, died in 1861, Southey was recommended to succeed him and was appointed to this office in January 1862. As a member of the executive government he was so efficient that, on the retirement of Rawson in July 1864, Southey was appointed Colonial Secretary, an office which he held until December 1872, when the Cape was given responsible government.

The period during which Southey was secretary to the government was one of the most momentous in the history of the Colony. It coincided with the governorship of Sir Philip Wodehouse and questions such as responsible government, alternate parliaments, the annexation of British Kaffraria, new advances in Native policy, and the difficult management of colonial finances. Southey’s voluminous correspondence with frontiersmen, administrators, missionaries, farmers and speculators, and particularly the frank semi-official letters preserved in the Southey Collection in the Cape Archives, clearly illustrate his views and the prominent part he played in advancing the colonial frontier. He was still a determined expansionist who believed firmly that imperial control over the natives of the whole sub-continent offered the only assurance of a unified, peaceful and progressive Native policy.

Southey considered imperial control of Basutoland the focal point of his expansionist programme. In the crucial years 1865-68 his attitude and correspondence emphasize this single aim, and, once the annexation had been accomplished, he was equally determined in his support for Wodehouse and the contention that Basutoland should not be transferred either to the Cape or to Natal. Similarly, he supported both Grey and Wodehouse in their policy of White colonization: Grey’s policy in the Ciskei and Wodehouse’s policy in the areas beyond the Kei. When the Cape Legislature and the British government withdrew their support, Southey still opposed a Bantu Transkei and awaited with anxiety Britain ’s decision about British Kaffraria. Like Wodehouse, he advocated its annexation to the Cape, partly as a base for a British advance up the coast and partly as support for his schemes for White settlement further north. His Native policy, if it can be called this, gained for him and his immediate superior severe censure from the Cape Parliament , and misgivings in Whitehall, but he persevered in the belief that opposition would give way before the need for long-term security.

Southey regarded the diamond discoveries of and after 1867 as another opportunity for the extension of British authority, and a possible means of ending the depression in the Cape Colony. He had much in common with David Arnot, whose motives were perhaps less altruistic than those of Southey Persuaded by Arnot that the extension of British rule was essential, Southey made direct representations to the British Colonial Office, particularly after the Transvaal proclamation of 1868.

But he found his hands tied by the unwillingness of both High Commissioner and Whitehall to intervene unless approached by both parties in the dispute. Only after Wodehouse had left in May, 1870, did the Southey-Arnot negotiations proceed more rapidly. Southey pressed Arnot to persuade the Griquas, like the Basuto, to request British suzerainty, for he well knew the imperial government’s aversion to accepting responsibility without authority. He collected evidence on boundaries and Griqua rights, assiduously preparing the way for British annexation while at the same time steering commercial interests at the Cape into an attitude favourable to annexation. When this annexation came in 1871 it was due largely to the preparatory work which Southey had done at his key post in Cape Town.

Throughout his period as Colonial Secretary Southey was a firm opponent of responsible government, alienating not only a large section of Parliament but even members of the Executive Council such as William Porter. Like Wodehouse, Southey believed that the Cape Parliament’s obstructionist attitude was irreconcilable with its demand for responsible government, and so he backed the Governor in all his schemes for financial reform and, in later years, in the alternate schemes for constitutional reform. His opposition to responsible government came to a head when Sir Henry Barkly took over from Wodehouse. Barkly was committed by imperial resolution to the adoption of responsible government, a fact which did not prevent Southey, backed to a large degree by the eastern districts, from opposing the measure. When the change was made at the end of 1872, Southey retired from the colonial service. He was created a C.M.G. and presented by the colonists with silver plate.

His retirement was brief; in December 1872 he was asked by Barkly to accept the lieutenant-governorship of the crown colony of Griqualand West, and this post he held from January 1873 until August 1875. This involved the difficult task of negotiating boundaries disputed by the O.F.S. and working out the details of administration for a territory whose future was uncertain and whose restless digger population at Kimberley even staged an abortive miners’ revolt in 1875. At this time his expansionist views forced on him the belief that the occupation of Bechuanaland would round off British influence to the north. But this was an aim achieved only a decade after Southey had left Griqualand.

After his turbulent and harassing administration Southey returned to the eastern districts, only to enter politics in September 1876 as the Member of Parliament for Grahamstown after the death of George Carver Clough. He joined the opposition to the ministry of John Charles Molteno. When Parliament was prorogued in August 1878 Southey’s public career ended, and he finally went into retirement near Wynberg. He maintained, however, for many years more his interest in public affairs, serving as president of the Edinburgh Exhibition Committee in 1884, and being elected a colonel of the Cape Town voluntary artillery. In 1891 he was made a K.C.M.G. in recognition of his services to his country.

Southey was an ardent Freemason; he was initiated at the Lodge De Goede Hoop, Cape Town, in 1848, and had, by 1862, become provincial Grand Master of South Africa, later holding other high offices as well in Freemasonry. Southey was buried in St. John’s Cemetery, Wynberg. He was twice married. In 1830, he married Isabella Shaw (†1869), the youngest daughter of John Shaw, by whom he had five sons: Charles William Southey (1832-1924), founder of the Culmstock horse stud and M.L.C. for the eastern districts, 1858-1859; John Henry Oliver Southey (1836-1876), government land surveyor and farmer in the Queenstown district; William Robert James Southey (1839-1909); Richard George Southey; and Juan Smith Southey, a Cape civil servant. In 1872 Southey married Susanna Maria Hendrika Krynauw (†1890), daughter of a descendant of the French Huguenots, Anthony David (David Anthonie) Krynauw, of Krynauw’s Hof, Grabouw, and his wife Helena Geertruida Gie. Susanna was a younger sister of Daniel Krynauw, an authority on Cape heraldry, and a sister of Helena Gertruida Johanna Krynauw, who married Charles Davidson Bell in 1859. After the second marriage there were two children, Helena Georgina Southey (unmarried) and Cecil Henry Southey, a farmer of East Griqualand.

A photograph portrait of SOUTHEY by Frederick York appears in the Cape Monthly Magazine, VIII (Jul.-Dec. 1860), ‘Our portrait gallery, no. 21′; and there are other portraits in the collection of the S.A. Library, Cape Town. There is a portrait of SOUTHEY in the McGregor Memorial Museum, Kimberley; and a bust (1969) for the 1820 Settler Memorial at Grahamstown by I. Mitford-Barberton. Portraits of SOUTHEY also appear in A. F. Williams, Some dreams come true (Cape Town, 1948); R. W. Murray, South African reminiscences (Cape Town, 1894); and Wilmot (infra).

Family Tree of Richard Southey

George Southey born 5th December 1777 baptised Culmstock, Devon, England 12 January 1778, left Bristol 19 December 1819 on board Kennersley Castle arrived in Algoa Bay 2 May 1820 where land 30 miles from Grahamstown was allocated to them died Grahamstown, July 1831 son of John Southey and Elizabeth Potter married Culmstock, Devon 10 September 1800 Joan BAKER born circa 1782, † Grahamstown 16 October 1835.

b1John born 23.11.1801 in Culmstock 13.12.1801 † Culmstock 19.11.1818

b2 Sophia born 9.8.1804 Culmstock 6.1.1805 † 4.9.1880, divorced Peddie, Eastern Cape married Grahamstown 28.9.1826 Joseph STIRK born Headingley, Yorkshire 13.12.1801 died Grahamstown 22.7.1881 Wesleyan Cemetery, Peddie son of John Stirk and Mary Prockter

b3 William born 6.9.1806 Culmstock, Devon 19.10.1806 died “De Puts” (now Lansdown), district Middelburg, CP 14.11.1882 buried “De Puts” married Graaff-Reinet 10.10.1839 Henrietta Geddes BAIN born 2.2.1823 Graaff-Reinet 11.5.1823 † “Quagga’s Valley”, district Graaff-Reinet 24.10.1842 daughter if Andrew Geddes Bain and Maria Elizabeth von Backstrom

c1 Henrietta born 26.9.1840 † 7.5.1854

c2 William Geddes born 13.3.1842 “Bloemhof’, dist. Graaff-Reinet 31.1.1843 † 7.5.1854

b4 Richard (Sir) born 25.4.1808 Culmstock, Devon 12.6.1808 t Southfield, Plumstead, Cape Town 22.7.1901 buried St. John’s, Wynberg, Cape Town married circa 1830 Isabella SHAW born England circa 1810, † Cape Town 21.6.1869 (John-dg) married second time Nov. 1872 Susanna Maria Hendrika KRYNAUW born circa 1842 † Southfield 14.2.1890 daughter if Anthonie David Krynauw and Helena Gertruida Wilhelmina Gie

c1 Charles William born Grahamstown 18.7.1832, Senator died “Culmstock”, Schoombee 30.7.1924 buried Middelburg, CP married St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Cradock circa 1864 Georgina Sarah Maria GREAVES born district Cradock 6.12.1848 died “Culmstock”, Schoombee 7.8.1923 † Middelburg, CP daughter if George Duly Greaves and Elizabeth Mary Gilfillan

To find out more buy the book SA Genealogies Volume 12 from GISA

Source: Dictionary of South African Biography

Image Source: National Library

(Sir Harry) Soldier and governor. Whittlesey (England)
(28.6.1787 – London 12.10.1860)His father was John Smith, a surgeon, and his mother Eleanor, daughter of the Rev. George Moore, of Whittlesey.

Educated by the Rev. George Burgess at Whittlesey, Harry (as he was known all his life) was commissioned as ensign in the Rifle Brigade (at that time the 95th Foot) on 17 May 1805. He saw service in South America in 1807, fighting at the siege and surrender of Monte-video, and was with the British force that surrendered at Buenos Aires. From 1808 to 1814 he fought in the Peninsular War, and he was wounded at the River Coa in 1810. In 1814 and 1815 he served in North America in the war against the United States. After this he was appointed assistant quartermaster-general under the Duke of Wellington and fought at Waterloo.

He was promoted lieutenant on 15 Aug. 1805, captain in 1812, major in 1814, and lt.-colonel in 1815. To escape the atrocities that followed the fall of Badajoz (17 April 1812), two Spanish ladies fled the city and threw themselves on the mercy of two young British officers, John Kincaid and Harry Smith. The younger lady was a convent-bred fourteen-year-old girl, Juana Maria de los Dolores de Leon (27.3.1798 – 10.10.1872), whom Harry Smith married a few days later. She was with him throughout the Peninsular campaign and was involved in many adventurous situations; she was in Belgium during the Battle of Waterloo and accompanied her husband to India and South Africa. Although brought up as a Catholic, she conformed to the Church of England from the time of their first residence at the Cape. This was indeed a most successful marriage, although they had no children.

In 1825, accompanied by his wife, Harry Smith sailed with his regiment for Nova Scotia, where he became aide-de-camp to the Governor, Sir James Kempt. ‘I thus learnt much of the administration of a Government, which was afterwards of the greatest possible use to me when administering a Government myself’, he wrote. He was appointed deputy quartermaster-general in Jamaica in 1827 and in 1829 deputy quartermaster-general at the Cape of Good Hope.

Stationed at Cape Town from 1829 to the end of 1834, he was sent to the Eastern Province on the out break of the Sixth Frontier War, with full civil and military powers. He rode post from Cape Town to Grahamstown in six days, starting on 1 Jan. 1835 with one Hottentot attendant. He proclaimed martial law, strengthened the defences of Grahamstown, and reoccupied Fort Wiltshire. After the arrival of the Governor, Sir Benjamin D’Urban, Smith served as second in command.

From February to June he was occupied in clearing the country of the enemy, and when the Governor returned to Grahamstown, Smith was appointed to take charge of the new Province of Queen Adelaide with headquarters at King William’s Town, where he was joined by his wife. They worked hard at settling the province and civilising the Xhosas until Lord Glenelg reversed D’Urban’s policy, ordering Queen Adelaide Province to be abandoned and Andries Stockenström to succeed Smith on the frontier. Smith was promoted to the rank of colonel on 10 Jan. 1837. He was much fêted in Cape Town for his zealous, humane and enlightened administration on the frontier. He left the Cape in June 1840 on being appointed adjutant-general to the British forces in India.

He was knighted (K.C.B.)for his part in the Gwalior campaign and for his services at the Battle of Maha­rajpur (Dec. 1843); in 1845 and 1846 he saw much fighting against the Sikhs, won a great victory at Aliwal, where he led the final charge in person, and commanded a division at Sobraon. In 1846, for his services in India, he was given the Grand Cross of the Bath and created a baronet, with the unusual appella­lation ‘of Aliwal on the Sutlej’. Having returned to England in 1847, Sir Harry was made a freeman of London and Glasgow, received an honorary degree at Cambridge, and as from 9 Nov. 1846 was promoted major-general. On 3 Sept. 1847 he was appointed Governor of the Cape Colony, High Commissioner and commander-in-chief. With Lady Smith he landed at the Cape on 1. Dec. 1847, The Seventh Frontier War had just ended and Smith left Cape Town on 11 Dec. for King William’s Town to meet the Bantu chiefs. On 17 Dec. at Grahamstown he issued a proclamation greatly extending the boundaries of the Colony, and on 23 Dec. 1847 at King William’s Town, in the presence of the Xhosa chiefs, he proclaimed British Kaffraria a British sovereignty.

On this occasion he made each chief touch either the staff of peace or the staff of war and kiss his foot. Another great meeting of chiefs was held on 7 Jan. 1848 when Sir Harry made them take an oath to obey the laws, to cease the practice of witchcraft, to abolish the sin of buying wives, to listen to the missionaries, etc. In order to impress on them what would happen if they broke their word, he blew up a wagon full of explosives.

On 28 Dec. 1847 the Governor annexed the port and village of East London to the Cape Colony, and in 1848 settled discharged soldiers in the new villages of Ely, Woburn, Auckland and Juanasburg. Having proclaimed the territory between the Orange and Vaal Rivers a British sovereignty and determined the form of government, he defeated the Boer forces tinder Comdt.-Gen. Andries Pretorius at the Battle of Boomplaats.

Although strongly opposed to the use of the Cape as a convict settlement, it was Smith’s duty as gover­nor to give effect to the Order in Council establishing it as such. In forwarding to Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, numerous petitions against the proposal, Smith hoped that ‘the decision of rendering this Colony a penal settlement, so objec­tionable to myself and obnoxious to the inhabitants, may be revoked’. When the Neptune arrived with convicts aboard it was his duty to settle them, and he refused to send the Neptune away, but agreed not to allow the convicts to land until he had made further representations to Earl Grey.

His determined stand against adopting the extreme measures demanded by the Anti-Convict Association brought him much unpopularity at the time, while his refusal to allow the convicts to land brought him a severe reprimand from Earl Grey, who later admitted that in the circumstances Smith could not have acted otherwise.

When Smith thought that he had brought the frontier to a state of tranquility and had returned to Cape Town, the Eighth Frontier War broke out. He hastened to the front, where he was besieged at Fort Cox and broke through the hordes of savages and arrived safely at King Williams Town. He took part in the fighting in the early months of 1851 and continued to direct operations until he was superseded as governor and commander-in-chief by Sir George Cathcart. There were many differences of opinion about the recall of Smith, but he was greeted as a great victor. Promoted lt.-general in 1854, he commanded the Northern military district in England from 1854 to 1859.

Sir Harry Smith was small in stature and slight in build. He was a great soldier, energetic and decisive, a strict disciplinarian, but humane to the men under his command – a man of firm purpose, but of a romantic temperament and given to theatrical gestures. Not only his sterling qualities but also his eccentricities endeared him to both soldiers and civilians.

Various places in South Africa have been named after him or his wife or after places with which he was associated: Harrismith, Fauresmith, Smithfield, Ladysmith, Ladismith, Juanasburg, Aliwal North and Whittlesea. Sir Harry received many decorations and medals.

Juana Smith

Sir Harry Smith

Source: SESA (Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa)

Old Map of Harrismith, Free State

Source: SESA (Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa)

Born on the 22nd August 1874 in a London suburb; died 5 February 1951 in Johannesburg. Conductor, composer.The son of German emigrants to England, Theo Wendt’s father was not completely happy about British education and sent his son to one of the Moravian Church Schools (probably Klein Welka) in Germany. There the discipline was strict, the academic standards high, and the boy could indulge his musical inclinations by beating the drum in the cadet band and by having pianoforte lessons. By the time he had turned fourteen he was determined on a career as a musician and after he had been tested by Carl Reinecke, the Director of the Leipzig Conservatoire, he returned to England for piano lessons under Robert Ernst, before entering the Conservatoire in Cologne in 1891. During his two student years in Germany he became saturated with the late German romanticism of Wagner, and returned to England for further study at the RAM. There the Academy Orchestra offered the possibility of nurturing his rapidly growing love of orchestral direction. He played the viola, at times also the timpani and other percussion instruments, and had sufficient opportunity for exercising his conducting talent. Exempted from examination, he was elected an Associate in the year in which he left England (1896).

He came to South Africa, provisionally to teach pianoforte and harmony at the Diocesan School for Girls in Grahamstown. He taught for 29 hours a week, but he also had a select private practice and was appointed to the management of a new branch of the music dealers, Jackson Bros. In time he also took up the teaching of pianoforte at St Andrew’s College. He became prominent at concerts at which he featured in the company of Percy Ould, a violinist whom he assisted in organizing music for the Grahamstown Exhibition of Arts and Crafts (end of 1898 – beginning of 1899). Wendt composed an Ode for chorus and orchestra to mark the beginning of the Exhibition and also spent some time playing on the pianos exhibited by Jackson’s. Shortly after his arrival, and towards the end of 1899, he presented pianoforte recitals at which a few of his own compositions featured on the programmes. But the opportunities for a first-rate musician were too limited and in 1901 he left the town to take up for a short while the management of a new musical branch of Darter’s in East London and then to visit Durban for a year.

Wendt embarked on a tour of South Africa in July/August 1914 (despite war clouds) and gave over 50 successful concerts at Kimberley, Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban (when the War broke out), Grahamstown (to revive old memories?) and Port Elizabeth. They returned to Cape Town by sea. The tours were resumed after the War and became an annual event, inspiring Durban and eventually Johannesburg to emulate them.

Amid the rather dreary round of recreational and social concerts, the Thursday evening concerts devoted to the symphonic repertoire formed an almost charmed circle and extreme measures had to be adopted after the War when they were endangered by financial considerations. A voluntary Thursday Evening Subscriber’s Society saved the situation by guaranteeing a few thousand pounds each year for their continuation. Without these concerts Wendt would have had no cause to stay on in Cape Town. In 1921 the reluctance of the Council to concede his artistic aims led him to the brink of resignation. He was approached by the Vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand to consider an appointment to the chair of Music in their projected Music Department. When Cape Town required to know the conditions under which he would continue as conductor, he demanded that the Council be relieved of the responsibility of the orchestra; this meant that an outside body would have to accept its management. The Cape Peninsula Publicity Association took up the burden and a new arrangement was reached which relieved the conductor of perennial financial worries. But after three happy years with the orchestra, there was trouble over the reinstatement of a previous reduction of 5% to the players, and when Wendt indignantly took up the cudgels, he was threatened with a reduction of R600 in his salary to meet the additional costs. In April 1924, on the eve of the orchestra’s sixth tour of the Union of South Africa, Wendt fesigned and became Musical Director and Studio Manager of South Africa’s first broadcasting station in Johannesburg. His first association with radio lasted two-and-a-half years and was ended when the broadcasting licence was awarded to Mr Schlesinger, a step which led to the creation of an African Broadcasting Company and the reconsideration of all aspects of broadcasting.

Wendt was responsible for supplying seven hours of listening entertainment each day. This included talks for women and children, operatic excerpts, plays, orchestral and chamber music concerts, as well as light music.

At the end of 1926 he departed from South Africa to establish himself in the United States of America. The American part of his career can be summarized. During the first six years of his stay he was mainly a lecturer in harmony and counterpoint at a college of music, but soon he had a variety of other occupations. He had some standing with Metro Goldwyn Mayer, for whom he composed original music and orchestrated existing music; on Sundays he travelled to Boston to conduct the Boston People’s Symphony Orchestra of 90 players; during the difficult times of the Great Depression he organized and conducted 90 orchestral players at Carnegie Hall and as a result was engaged by the National Broadcasting Corporation to conduct a series of symphony concerts. By 1933 he was established in American music circles and achieved an appointment as permanent conductor of the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra in Western New York State. Three years later he left America to visit Germany with his third wife, a Wagnerian soprano, presumably for the furtherance of their respective careers. While in Germany he had the opportunity of conducting the Berlin Radio Orchestra and was invited to London by the BBC to conduct his Six South African songs for a radio broadcast.

Barely a year after his arrival in Germany he was contacted in Munich by Rene Caprara, the first Director General of the SABC, to join Jeremy Schulman and Arnold Fulton in conducting the new SABC Orchestra. He accepted this proposition and landed in South Africa for the third time in February 1938, this time to conduct a body of players which, in combination with the semi-professional City Orchestra of John Connell, had at times a complement of 80. This arrangement lasted until 1944 when the SABC appointed him their official orchestrator and arranger. During these years he also returned to Cape Town as a guest conductor of the Symphony Orchestra he had established. The University of Cape Town awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Music on 10 December 1948.

Source: South African Music Encyclopaedia and Cape Times.

Writer and social research worker. Swellendam born 28th August 1875 and died in Swellendam on 7th September 1975. She was a formative influence in various fields of cultural life but is best known for her contribution to Afrikaans prose. The first Afrikaans-speaking woman to take up journalism as a career, she established a tradition in Afrikaans journalism for women. Afterwards, as a social worker, she carried out important research and played a decisive part in the organisation of social services. She was the first writer to realise and provide for the Afrikaans-speaking child’s need for imaginative literature in his own language. Her essays, written over many years and covering a wide diversity of subjects, reached a high-water mark in Afrikaans literature, and her short stories represent the narrative art in Afrikaans at its best.

M.E.R. (the name she invariably used as a writer) was educated at Swellendam and at the Rhenish Institute, Stellenbosch. She took a degree at the South African College, Cape Town, being a member of the first university course including women, and in 1896 was one of the first South African women to graduate with a B.A. She taught at schools in the Transvaal Republic and subsequently at Grahamstown and Swellendam. Married in 1902, she had a son, Jacobus (born 11th August 1903), and a daughter, Anna Wilhelmina (born 11th July 1904). Her husband (H. G. R. Oakshott) having left her, she divorced him, resumed her maiden name and brought up the children herself. Anna Rothmann, a biologist, headed the school service division of the Albany Museum at Grahamstown, and is the author of two remarkable children’s books on animals and birds, which have been translated into English as The elephant shrew (1964) and Crow and company (1965).
In 1920 M.E.R. began writing for Die Boerevrou, the first Afrikaans periodical for women, established in 1919 by Mrs. Mabel Malherbe in Pretoria. Soon M.E.R. became the assistant editor, writing stories and verses for the children’s section and contributing many other stories and articles. In 1922, at the instance of Frederik Rompel, she joined the editorial staff of Die Burger and became the first women’s editor of an Afrikaans newspaper. At the same time she became editor of Die Kleinspan, assisted by Ida Theron. During this period her first books for children were published and were enthusiastically received. Her first book of tales for adults, Onweershoogte en ander verhale, appeared in 1927 and revealed her exceptional abilities as a prose writer. In 1928 she became the first organising secretary of the Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging (A.C.V.V.), which had been established in 1904 to deal with the problem of post-war poverty.

In 1929 she was appointed to the Carnegie Commission of Inquiry which investigated the Poor White problem in South Africa. As a social worker she travelled all over the country and gained experience which provided her with valuable material for her later work. During this period she contributed regular articles to Die Burger, which in 1937 also published her articles on her travels abroad. In 1938 M.E.R. received a Carnegie grant for social research in the U.S.A. Her subsequent report was published under the title: A comparison. A report on certain social and economic conditions seen from the social worker’s point of view in two areas: Leslie county, Kentucky, U.S.A. and Knysna district, South Africa. For some time she was also active in politics and in 1933 at the request of political leaders, she became vice-chairman of the Cape National Party.

A volume of prose tales, Drie vertellings (1944), revealed a marked refinement of her art and was hailed by critics as a major work in Afrikaans prose. This was followed by the volume Uit en tuis (1946), which contains some of her best essays. Die gewers (1950), a further volume of sketches and short stories, contains work of exceptional quality. ‘Die hol krans’, included in this volume, is regarded as one of the best short stories in Afrikaans. M.E.R. also wrote two novels: Na vastegange (1944), dealing with race relations, and Die eindelose waagstuk (1948), a study of the marriage relationship. Her novels have not attained the high literary level of her shorter works, but, in parts, equal her narrative work in the shorter genres. Vroue wat Jesus geken het (published in 1965 but written in 1939) is a contemplative essay on the women in the life of Jesus. In the same year there appeared a volume of sketches, tales and essays, So is onse maniere (from Die Burger and Die Huisgenoot), as well as an anthology of her best work under the title Kom nader.

Recognition of her excellence came late in her life. In 1950 an honorary doctor’s degree for her social work was conferred on her by the University of Stellenbosch, and in the same year she received an honorary doctorate in literature from the University of Cape Town. In 1953 the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns awarded her the Hertzog Prize for Afrikaans prose and in 1961 she received the Scheepers Prize for juvenile literature. In 1965 the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge awarded her its medal of honour; she was the first woman and only the fifth person to receive this distinction.

She edited the historically important war diary of her eldest brother, Frits, for whom, for some years, until 1919, she kept house on his Lowveld farm in the Nelspruit district of the Eastern Transvaal. She contributed a valuable introduction: Oorlogsdagboek van ‘n Transvaalse burger te velde 1900-1901 (1947). Her autobiography, written piecemeal over many years, appeared in 1972 under the title My beskeie deel and is a major contribution to South African social history, apart from its high literary quality. She died ten days after her 100th birthday.

Other works: On the A.C.V.V.: Ons saamreis. Die eerste 25 jaar (1930); Ons voortgang (1954). Children’s books: Kinders van die Voortrek (1920; reissued 1960 as Die tweeling trek saam ) ; Die Sondagskind (1922) ; Hansie en die bessiekinders (adapted from the German, 1922); Die Sokka-boek (1926) and Sokka se plaas (1933), dog stories; Vanmelewe (1926); Die Kammalanders (1928); Die oorwinnaar (1929); Stoute bengel (1931); Jong dae (1933); Karlien en Kandas (1933)

Source: Standard Encylopeadia of South Africa

Benjamin Osler also known as Bennie born in Aliwal North on 23rd November 1901 and died in Cape Town on 23rd April 1962, Springbok rugby player, was the son of Benjamin and Isobel Osler. Bennie’s ancestors have been traced back to Edward Osler, a prominent merchant and ship-owner, with a hint of piracy involvement.Bennie went to various schools, including the Western Province Preparatory School, Rondebosch Boys’ High School, and Kingswood College, Grahamstown. From 1921 he read law at the University of Cape Town, qualifying in 1925. During this period he represented the University on the rugby field, but from 1926 to 1930 played for Hamiltons and from 1931 to 1933 for Villagers. He acted as captain of all three clubs and on various occasions captained Western Province, which he represented from 1922 to 1933.

He gained his Springbok colours in 1924, when he played against Ronald Cove-Smith’s British team in all four test matches. Four years later (1928) he also played in all four tests against Maurice Brownlee’s New Zealand touring side, and in 1931-32 captained the Springbok team (which went to the British Isles) in all the tests of that series. He rounded off his rugby career in 1933 by playing in all five tests against the visiting Australians, acting as captain in the second test. He had scored forty-six points in the seventeen consecutive tests in which he played Osler is generally regarded as the best fly-half South Africa has produced so far (1979), a man who could dictate play. The decade during which he was a Springbok is even called the ‘Osler Era’ by sports writers, owing to his influence on the game. While he played for South Africa the country won all the test series, his province carried off the Currie Cup throughout, and each club for which he played won the Grand Challenge Cup. He had no equal as a tactical kicker and it was in particular his almost perfectly-placed corner kicks to wings which gained many tries for the Springboks. He could launch long outside kicks from any corner and as a drop-kicker he often clinched matches. Nobody was more feared by opponents than Osler.

He was also an attacking fly-half who could send his full-backs off with incredible speed when circumstances permitted or, if not, could himself shoot through an opening like lightning. Autocratic on the field, he would tolerate no passes from scrumhalfs that were above waist height; if the centres next to him blundered even once, he usually mistrusted them afterwards and would rather kick the ball – a course of action which can be regarded as one of his few weaknesses. As a captain he attached great value to tactical planning before a match, and he believed in strict team discipline.

During the Second World War (1939-45) Bennie went with the South African forces to East Africa where he contracted both malaria and amoebic dysentery which probably contributed to his relatively early death.

Unlike other great players Osler had little interest in coaching or the administration of the sport when he retired. After working as a salesman for a long time, he eventually went farming on a small scale, at first near East London and later near Bellville.

The brothers Bennie and Stanley Osler

He married Gladys Hobson and had two children. Photographs of him appear inter alia in The Bennie Osler story and Springbok saga (both infra).

Osler’s Cornish Connections

Benjamin. Falmouth born circa 1776 son of Edward and Mary (Paddy) Osler of Falmouth and husband of Jane (Sawle) Osler born 1775. father of Susannah, Stephen Sawle, Mary Anne, Amelia, Elizabeth, Sarah, Joseph, Jane, Benjamin, Phillippa and Julia. Leader of W.J. Cornish 1820 Settlers. Returned to Cornwall with wife and some members of his family 4.1822.

Stephen Sawle born in Falmouth 27th September 1804, died 21st October 1867 in Simonstown. Son of Benjamin and Jane (Sawle) Osler and husband of Catherine Osler (born Dakins, formerly Wright) of Llaway Glen, Montgomeryshire, Wales. 1802-1881. father to Benjamin, James Goodriche, Catherine and Jane; and also Christina, dtr of Orange Kleyne (Klein). Founder of the Osler family in SA.

Susannah Osler born in Falmouth circa 1800. daughter of Benjamin and Jane (Sawle) Osler married 1st John Coleman (1792-1829) of Cock’s party at Reedfountain, Eastern Cape on 17th June 1820, 2nd time to Mr Fineran from Quebec.

The small Cornish party, under the leadership of Benjamin Osler of Falmouth, Cornwall, sailed in the ‘Weymouth’, which left Portsmouth in January 1820. Having arrived in Albany so that he might supervise the first arrivals, Sir Rufane Donkin considered that a more central and accessible site should be chosen for the administration of the settlement. Ignoring the fact of Graham’s Town’s better defensible position and that it was already established as a military base, the site he chose on 9 May 1820, was just west of Thorn Ridge. This was to be the centre of the civilian administration and also the seat of magistracy. Sir Rufane declared it was to supercede Graham’s Town as the capital town of Albany, and it was to be named Bathurst in honour of Earl Bathurst, Secretary for the Colonies. In his enthusiasm Donkin allotted plots to the Earl and also his own sons and nephews, while 500 acres of Glebe were allotted for a clergyman and chaplain of the Church of England, the vacant post to be filled in due course by a suitable man. The post of administrator, however, was filled by the transfer to Albany from the Western Cape of Capt Charles Trappes.

By 9 June the Cornish party of Benjamin Osler was enroute to their location from Algoa Bay. Osler’s party, it had been decided, was to be located some 12 miles southwest of the new town of Bathurst, and halfway to the Kowie River mouth. This was in the curve of the Mansfield River, a left bank tributary to Kowie River, today known as Grove Hill. Osler named the location Pendennis in memory of the similarity the area bore to his Cornish hometown of Falmouth and its Pendennis Castle.

Pitching their tents for protection from the cold winter nights and the intermittent drizzle, the party immediately set to clearing the land so that ploughing and sowing of their first crop could be done. Soon after arrival, they were to be joined by a young man, John Coleman, 28 years of age and a gardener from Cock’s party who had sailed with them in the Weymouth. Coleman was not altogether an unexpected arrival, for he had made his intentions clear earlier and on the 17 June, he was married by the Rev William Shaw to Benjamin Osler’s eldest daughter, Susannah. Theirs were the first marriage in the whole settlement.

The proximity to Bathurst of Osler’s location at Pendennis meant that these settlers were closely concerned with the early development of that town. Lots were already being offered for sale and the Colonial Secretary had ordered erection of a prison. The building of the Bathurst Residency got under way by October. All this activity afforded employment to bricklayers, carpenters, slaters, sawyers and stone-masons, who were able to direct their energies into a rewarding field while they waited patiently for the crops to ripen. Hopes for the future were bright, but by the end of November it became apparent that ‘rust’ had affected practically all the wheat sown since their arrival and the crops were useless. With little resources to withstand such a disaster, the administration decided that the issue of rations was therefore to be continued, but they became an additional charge against the deposit money. When that had been exhausted, it was a liability for future repayment. By Christmas Day that year, the circumstances of many were desperate and prospects for the future grim.

Undaunted by these hardships and their considerably reduced circumstances, the settlers sought what work they could find. The Bathurst Residency, long delayed in its completion by the number of unfortunate disputes that had arisen, was still an avenue for employment. William Mallett, a mason with Osler’s party joined with Thomas Marham of Bethany, James’ party’s location, and together they contracted on 5 November 1821, for slating and plastering work on the Residency to the value of £16. 10. 0d.

Lots had continued to be sold at Bathurst and houses built on them, but again, as a year earlier, ‘rust’ began to appear in the wheat and by the end of the year it was apparent to all that the wheat crop had once again failed. This was now a major calamity. Though rations were continued, they were reduced to half portions. Despite what the settlers had previously received, and even for those in dire need who had no money or hope of ever redeeming what they already owed, a parsiminous administration ruled they were only to get half a pound of rice per adult per week. Meagre indeed, but to ameliorate their difficulties, the stringent pass laws restricting settlers to their locations were relaxed and many now went in search of work, not only in Albany, but further afield if they could afford to get themselves there.

Lord Charles Somerset had by now returned to the Cape from his bride hunting furlough in England, and once again took up the reins of office as Governor.

He was furious to find the number of rather illogical decisions taken by Sir Rufane were actually detrimental to the scheme as he had originally envisaged it. He thus immediately set about reversing them. Bathurst was demoted from its pre-eminent position, which consequently caused another sharp depression when the Magistracy was summarily removed to Graham’s Town and the many settlers who had invested their small capital in establishing business premises in order that they might better serve the community, now faced ruin and impoverishment as it was quite evident the town of Bathurst would stagnate. It did and many then returned their attention to trading. Fairs were permitted at Fort Willshire and to these came the native tribesmen from beyond the Colony’s borders. James Weeks was one of the Cornish settlers who took to offering the more conventional manufactures. He and others traded tobacco and cloth in exchange for hides and skins, ivory, cut wood and simple items of use that could either be sold again in Graham’s Town or taken down to Algoa Bay and bartered there for the farming implements in such short supply. But the air of depression continued, it was no good having the basis for an exchange of goods if the majority the inhabitants, both settler and tribesmen, were so impoverished that goods and hard cash were virtually an unknown commodity amongst them. Osler left his location in April 1822 to return with his wife and five younger children to Cornwall. What remained of Osler’s party slowly broke up. Headed by John Dale, it began to disintegrate further. Osler’s daughter, Susannah and her husband decided to make their home at Simonstown where they were to be joined by her brother, Stephen Sawle Osler, who had elected not to return to Cornwall. By the beginning of 1824 William Mallett had moved away to Uitenhage and matrimony was to call Joseph Richards to a date in Graham’s Town where on 23 September that year, he was married to Sarah Attwell, the seventeen year old daughter of Richard Attwell of Crause’s party. Grace Weeks had died and the end of the year saw Charles Pearse returning to England to rejoin his wife with and family who had been unable to embark with him.

The small party of Cornish settlers, comprising only eleven men and their families at the outset, was already diminished in number by nearly half, and the few that did remain on Pendennis were to become so insignificant numerically that from then on their story melds with that of the settlement itself, conversely reflecting their great adaptability and absorption into the new country.

Source:
Dictionary of South Africa Biography Vol 5.
Cornish Immigrants to South Africa by Graham Dickason.
History of South African Rugby Football (1875 – 1932) by Ivor Difford

Further reading and resources:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bathonia/OslerBathFrancisConnections.htm

Osler Library – http://www.mcgill.ca/osler-library/

Acknowledgements: Michael Bath

Born in 1868 in London; died 13 December 1913 near Jagersfontein, OFS. Violinist and music teacher; son of Edwin Ould, a double-bass player and composer, who was a member of orchestras in London.Percy Ould studied at the RAM from September 1884 to July 1887, becoming an Associate. Upon his arrival in South Africa in 1893, he joined the staff of St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown as music master and in the same year took the initiative in creating an Orchestral Society, which lasted until his departure in 1898. During these four years the membership of the Society increased from 12 to 37 players and the programmes gained in significance, eventually including works such as the Allegro from Mozart’s Jupiter symphony and the Unfinished symphony by Schubert. Ould was indeed a dedicated worker, serious in his approach to amateur playing and enthusiastic to the point of ordering tympani from England to give authority to their percussion section. At times he included some of his own compositions in the programmes. As a music master at St Andrew’s he and his pupils contributed to functions organised by the Literary and Debating Society and Recreation Society and played incidental music to the play productions for which the school had become known. Due to his musicianship there was a marked advance in the quality of the chapel music and of the secular items heard at the annual prize giving ceremonies. Apart from these primary responsibilities he managed the lion’s share of the musical organisation for the Great Exhibition held in Grahamstown from December 1898 to January 1899; his orchestra was active in a choral performance of Messiah and in the accompaniment of soloists. The fruitful years in Grahamstown ended in 1899 when musical interests influenced him to move to Cape Town . He had made a name for himself in that City on 15 July 1896 when he co-operated with the conductor Thomas Barrow-Dowling and the orchestra of the Cape Music Society in performing Mendelssohn’s Violin concerto. He acted as leader of this orchestra until 1906, when the deterioration of his health necessitated his return to the drier climate of Grahamstown. The minutes of the Cape Music Society repeatedly pay tribute to his abilities as an orchestral leader and also note the occasions on which he played his Guadagnini violin in concertos with the orchestra. In Cape Town he had also been responsible for the creation, in 1897, of a string quartet, known as the Chamber Music Union; the Union gave several series of concerts under his direction.

Back in Grahamstown he taught music privately until his appointment as a lecturer in music at the Grahamstown Training College in January 1910. An all-round musician, proficient on piano, organ, stringed instruments and, in addition, an able choirmaster, Ould rapidly developed a school of music at the College. The year of his appointment was also the year in which South Africa became a Union; for Grahamstown’s musical contribution to the general festivities he created a Grahamstown Philharmonic Society which attracted 104 voices and an orchestra of 35. They performed at a concert given on 31 May 1910, at which he conducted inter alia a performance of his own setting of F.E. Walrond’s occasional poem entitled Mighty Lord of nations. Continually troubled by ill-health, he was forced temporarily to relinquish his work at the Training College and depart for treatment in England. He returned to Grahamstown after six months, but three weeks later he died while on a visit to friends in the O.F.S.

Mr. JAMES W. A. TYAMZASHE, elder son of Rev. Gwayi Tyamzashe, was born at Kimberley, 11th March, 1879. Attended the Dutch Reformed and Perseverance Schools at Kimberley and finally went to Lovedale in 1896 where he passed his Third Year Teacher’s and School Higher Examinations of the Cape of Good Hope University. He also read for the Matriculation Examination. Passed the Second Year Teachers’ Examination with honours in 1898. Taught at Lovedale, Mnggesha, Mafeking, Tigerkloof, Uitenhage and finally at the Pirie Mission Station, where, owing to failing health, he was granted a Government pension. Mr. Tyamzashe was an exceptionally good pianist and organist. Composed several songs and his notes on Tonic Solfa and Staff Notation were published in the Education Gazette, and were very highly commented upon by the then Superintendent-General of Education for the Cape. One of the Inspectors of Schools considered him the best of native teachers in school method and music. Prior to his death, which took place at the early age of 52, he was appointed messenger of the court for the district of Kingwilliamstown. By his death an accomplished scholar and musician was lost to the African nation. He married Mina Elizabeth, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Xholla, of Grahamstown, who survives him with eight children.