Search the over 500 male adults listed in the 1928 Krugersdorp Voters List. We found blacksmiths, bus drivers, butchers, carpenters, civil servants, clerks, constables, dental mechanics, fitters, masons, miners, policemen, warders and trolley drivers.

Search our records now. We have given you surnames, first names, addresses as well as occupations to help you find your ancestors. Below is a list of the surnames that can be found in this database.

Ackerman, Adams , Ainsworth, Allsopp, Anderson, Archbold, Arenson, Aronovitz, Aryes,
Ashworth, Assor, Axelson, Badenhorst, Baker, Barendse, Barnard, Bassch, Bateman, Bedford,
Beneke, Bessinger, Bester, Beukes, Bezuidenhout, Black, Blignaut, Bond, Boruchman,
Boshoff, Botes, Botha, Bouwer, Breed, Breytenbach, Brink, Brits, Britz, Broadhurst,
Brockelbank, Brooderyk, Brown, Bruwer, Bullard, Burrell, Busch, Bush, Byleveldt, Callow,
Campher, Campher , Celliers, Centnerowitz, Chambers, Clark, Classens, Coetzee, Coetzee ,
Coetzer, Cohnheim, Collins, Colyn, Combrink, Connock, Cooper, Cowley, Cowling, Coxon,
Craighead, Croft, Cronie, Crowe, Davidson, Davies, De Bruyn, De Klerk, De Lange, De
Villiers, Denysschen, Dodds, Donaldson, Douglas, Du Plessis, Du Plooy, Du Toit, Duggan,
Duminy, Duvenhage, Eddy, Edwards, Edworthy, Els, Emett, Engela, Engelbercht, Erasmus ,
Ernst, Esterhuyzen, Falconer, Farish, Feitelberg, Fenn, Fenton, Ferreira , Fletcher,
Foord, Forster, Fouche, Fourie, Fowler, Francis, Friedman, Furstenburg, Gallichan, Gangel,
Gedye, Gerber, Gerret, Gibson, Goodman, Gouws, Gregor, Greyling, Griffith, Grobler,
Hadden, Hailey, Hale, Halgryn, Hamilton, Harber, Harmse, Harrison, Heard, Hechter, Heelis,
Henderson, Hendrikz, Henning, Herholdt, Heyneke, Hickey, Hinks, Hodgson, Hoffman, Holmes,
Holton, Horrell, Hosking, Hudson, Hulbert, Human, Humphrey, Hunter, Jackson, Jacobs,
James, Janse Van Rensburg, Johnson, Jones, Jonker, Jordaan, Jose, Joubert, Just, Keevy,
Kempen, Kiersch, Killick, Kleynhans, Klopper, Kloppers, Kortsen, Kotler, Kotze, Krawitz,
Kriek, Kruger, La Marque, Labuschagne, Laight, Le Roux, Lessing, Lewis, Lindhout ,
Linford, Lombard, Long, Lotter, Lotz, Loubser, Loudow, Lourens, Ludick, Lundie, Lurie,
Macintyre, Macrae, Main, Maling, Maltz, Manthey, Marais, Marais , Mardon, Maree, Maritz,
Marlowe, Marsberg, Martin, Materface, Mathews, May, Mcalpine, Mcculloch, Mcdonald,
Mcfarlane, Mcguire, Mclean, Mcleay, Melchbeker, Merkel, Mew, Michalow, Millar, Milton,
Milward, Minnaar, Mitchell, Mortimer, Morton, Muburgh, Muhlenbeck, Muir, Muntingh, Murray,
Myburg, Naude, Neill, Nel, Nienaber, Nole, Nosica, Oberholzer, Oelofse, Ogilvie, Olivier,
Oosthuizen, Opperman, Osborn, Otto, Page, Parkes, Peach, Penn, Phillips, Phillipson,
Pitts, Player, Ponton, Potgieter, Pretorius, Price, Prinsloo, Quick, Raftopulos,
Redelinghuys, Reed, Reid, Reinecke, Resnick, Rheeders, Ridley, Robb, Robertson, Robinson,
Robson, Rohland, Roos, Ross, Rousseau, Roux, Rudolph, Sablick, Sans, Schilbach, Schmidt,
Schoeman, Schutte, Scott, Serel, Sewitz, Shackelton, Shenker, Short, Skinner, Smith,
Smuts, Spence, Spilsbury, Stappard, Steel, Steffens, Stephen, Stewart, Steyn, Stone,
Strydom, Strydon, Sullivan, Swanepoel, Swart, Tait, Taljaard, Taylor, Teasdale,
Theunissen, Theys, Thomas, Thompson, Thrope, Todd, Treisman, Trimble, Van Blerk, Van
Bosch, Van Bouillon, Van Coppenhagen, Van Den Berg, Van Den Heever, Van Der Berg, Van Der
Hoff, Van Der Hoven, Van Der Linde, Van Der Merwe, Van Der Walt, Van Dyk, Van Goeverden,
Van Greunen, Van Heerden, Van Niekerk, Van Rhyn, Van Rooyen, Van Ryneveld, Van Wyk, Van
Wyngaarden, Vavasour, Venter, Verster, Viljoen, Visser, Viviers, Vorster, Vos, Waite,
Walden, Wallace, Wallach, Walls, Webb, Weeks, Welsh, Wessels, Whear, Wheeler, Whitesides,
Wienand, Willcox, Willemse, Williams, Williamson, Wills, Wimbles, Winder, Wright, Yates,
Zentkowsky.

Search this wonderful list of over 500 Voters from the 1928 who resided in the Klerksdorp area. This database provides full names, addresses and occupations of voters who qualified to vote.

From bank clerks, boere, miners, teachers, railway officials and speculators, we have them here. Below is a list of surnames that can be found in this database.

Ackerman, Ackermann, Alant, Annandale, Aspeling, Badenhorst, Beckley, Beetge, Benadie,
Bergman, Beukus, Bezuidenhourt, Bezuidenhout, Blom, Blomkamp, Bloom, Boltman, Bolton,
Bond, Boshoff, Bosman, Botha, Bothma, Braude, Breedt, Brink, Brits, Broderyk, Bronkhorst,
Brown, Bruckmann, Buissine, Burger, Burns, Buys, Cameron, Cawood, Celliers, Chambers,
Christian, Claase, Clemitson, Clinton, Coetzee, Cohen, Colyn, Combrinck, Cooks, Cordier,
Cowan, Cox, Davidtz, De Beer, De Bruyn, De Klerk, De Kock, De Koker, De Korte, De Wet,
Deane, Delaport, Delport, Dix, Dove, Dreyer, Driver, Du Bruin, Du Plessis, Du Plooy, Du
Preez, Du Toit, Dyason, Elliott, Ellison, Els, Engelbrecht, Erasmus, Ernst, Esterhuizen,
Evain, Evans, Favard, Fenwick, Ferreira, Fourie, Freeman, Fullard, Gericke, Gordon,
Gravell, Greef, Greyling, Griesel, Grobbelaar, Grobler, Groenewald, Halgryn, Halkerston,
Haman, Hamilton, Harmzen, Hart, Havenga, Haywood-May, Heenop, Herberden, Hern, Hesketh,
Hills, Hockey, Hoffland, Holland, Horan, Horwitz, Hunter, Jacobs, Janneke, Janse, Janse
Van Rensburg, Jansen, Johnson, Jonker, Jooste, Jordaan, Joubert, Jowell, Kaminer, Kieser,
Klue, Knight, Koen, Kotze, Kotzee, Kriel, Kropman, Kruger, Kuhn, Labuschagne, Laffens,
Lambard, Le George, Le Grange, Le Roux, Lemmer, Levin, Levy, Lewis, Liebenberg, Lindeque,
Lodewyek, Loggenberg, Lombaard, Lombard, Loubser, Lourens, Louw, Lubbe, Lucas, Ludick,
Maartens, Maartins, Macklin, Malan, Marais, Maree, Marx, Matthews, Mcdonald, Meeding,
Meintjes, Mendelsohn, Meyer, Moir, Morris, Morrison, Myburg, Myburgh, Nagel, Nel, Neser,
Nicoll, Nienaber, Nieuwenhuis, Nightingale, Nortje, O’reilly, Oberholzer, Olivier,
Oosthuizen, Opperman, Page, Palm, Panley, Parkhill, Paterson, Pawson, Peacock, Penn,
Phaal, Plant, Potgieter, Pretorius, Prinsloo, Prynne, Randall, Reneke, Revill, Reyneke,
Richardson, Roach, Robinson, Roesch, Roodt, Roos, Rootman, Rossouw, Rousseau, Roux, Rowe,
Ryce, Saaiman, Schaiowitz, Schapow, Schoeman, Seyffert, Shapcote, Sharpley, Shaw, Shearer,
Simpson, Smit, Smith, Smook, Snyders, Solomon, Staddon, Stapelberg, Starfield, Starr,
Steel, Steinberg, Sterley, Stevn, Stewart, Steyn, Stiles, Stopforth, Storm, Strauss,
Strydom, Surname, Swan, Swanepoel, Swart, Taylor, Teichert, Templeman, Terblanche, Tolmay,
Usher, Van Der Heever, Van Der Linde, Van Der Lith, Van Der Merwe, Van Der Schyff, Van Der
Walt, Van Der Watt, Van Der Westhuizen, Van Deventer, Van Gruene, Van Heerden, Van
Lelyveld, Van Logenberg, Van Loggenberg, Van Niekerk, Van Nispen, Van Rensburg, Van
Rooyen, Van Schalkwyk, Van Sittert, Van Staden, Van Vuuren, Van Wyk, Van Zyl, Vardy,
Venter, Vercueil, Vermeulen, Vice, Viljoen, Visagie, Visser, Viviers, Vorster, Vos,
Vosloo, Wallace, Want, Warmenhoven, Wilken, Wilkens, Willcocks, Williams, Willis, Wilsen,
Wilson, Woite, Wolfaardt, Wolmarans, Wrightson, Zaayman, Zwarts,

Search this unusual 1927 Willowmore Voters List.  Over 3000 individuals listed in this farming community. Details provided are:  surname, first names, title,  residence, occupation, qualification to vote, employment status, employer details, race destinction, polling district and division.

The town was established in 1862. According to some, it was named after William Moore, who occupied the farm The Willows on which the town was laid out. Another source states that it was established and named by a farmer, Lehmkuhl, who combined his wife’s maiden name, Petronella Catharina Moore, with a large willow tree that stood near his house.

Below is a list of surnames to be found in this voters list.

Abrahams, Ackerman, Ackermann, Adams, Africa, Ahrens, Albert, Albrish, Allers, Altenstead, Anthony, Ash, Aspeling, Assia, Avontuur, Badenhorst, Baldie, Barkhuizen, Barkhuysen, Barnard, Barnardt, Barnett, Barry, Bashford, Basson, Beaton, Becker, Beer, Bekker, Beling, Bellardie, Bellingham, Benecke, Beneke, Bergh, Berman, Bernhardt, Berrington, Bester, Bezuidenhout, Blake, Blignaut, Bosch, Boshoff, Bosman, Botes, Botha, Bothma, Bouwer, Bowers, Brauns, Brewis, Breytenbach, Brits, Britz, Brooker, Bruce, Bruinette, Brunette, Brunsdon, Bruwer, Buckley, Burchell, Burger, Burgher, Burton, Buys, Büchner, Cairncross, Caithness, Campbell, Campher, Carelse, Catton, Cawood, Cecil, Cellarius, Chambers, Chatwind, Cilliers, Claasen, Claassen, Clarke, Classen, Coblentz, Codner, Coen, Coertze, Coetzee, Coetzer, Cohen, Colborne, Coleman, Coleske, Combrinck, Cooper, Cormack, Cornelius, Cowley, Cronin, Crouse, Crumpton, Dall, Danhauser, Davel, De Beer, De Bruin, De Goede, de Jager, De Klerk, De la Harpe, De Lange, De Leeuw, De Swardt, De Villiers, De Vos, de Vries, De Waal, De Wet, Delport, Devine, Deyce, Deysel, Deyzel, Dickson, Didericks, Didloff, Diedericks, Dill, Dithmers-Hughes, Dixon, Dorfling, Doubell, Douglas, Draai, du Pisani, Du Pisanie, Du Plessis, Du Plooy, Du Preez, Du Toit, Dumon, Dumons, Dumont, Eales, Eathoo, Eaton, Ecker, Ellis, Els, Engelbrecht, Ensor, Erasmus, Esterhuizen, Eyre, Ezekowitz, Featherstone, Ferendal, Ferreira, Finn, Fisher, Fitch, Fivaz, Fortuin, Fouche, Fourie, Frank, Fraser, Freedman, Friend, Friends, Gavin, Geard, Geldenhuis, Geldenhuys, Gellman, George, Gerber, Gerdener, Gericke, Gibbs, Gillespie, Glago, Goedhals, Golden, Goldman, Goss, Gough, Gous, Gouws, Greef, Greeff, Green, Greenwood, Groenewald, Grootboom, Grundlingh, Haarhoff, Haggard, Hall, Hanekom, Hartman, Hashe, Havenga, Hayes, Hayward, Heese, Helm, Hemens, Hendriks, Henshilwood, Henstock, Herbel, Herbst, Herselman, Heunis, Heyns, Hicken, Hinds, Hitge, Hobson, Honey, Honiball, Hooper, Horn, Horowitz, Horscroft, Horwitz, Hough, Human, Jacobs, Jamneck, Janse Van Rensburg, Jansen, Jansen Van Rensburg, Jens, Johnston, Jonck, Jonker, Jordan, Joseph, Joubert, Judelman, Kamfer, Kaplan, Karelse, Keller, Kemp, Kempen, Kerspey, Keulder, Keyser, Keyter, Kilian, Killian, King, Kirchner, Kirkman, Kirsten, Kiviet, Kleinhans, Kleu, Klewansky, Kleyn, Klopper, Klue, Kluyt, Kluyts, Knight, Knoesan, Knoesen, Koch, Koekemoer, Koen, Koertze, Komo, Komoetie, Korkee, Korkie, Korsten, Krause, Krige, Kritzinger, Krugel, Kruger, Kuhn, Kunneke, Laas, Lamb, Lamini, Lamprecht, Landman, Lane, Lategan, Lazarowitz, Le Grange, Le Roux, Lee, Leiserowitz, Lemmer, Lendoor, Lewis, Lewis-Haslemere, Linde, Lloyd, Loggenberg, Lombard, Loock, Lotter, Lourens, Louw, Lovegrove, Lowensohn, Loynes, Lucas, Ludik, Luiters, Lyons, Maart, Macdonald, Maclachlan, Maclean, Madlakana, Magawn, Magerman, Malherbe, Marais, Marcowitz, Maree, Marincowitz, Markotter, Marthinsen, Marx, Masiza, Massyn, McClune, McKay, McLeod, Mcloughlin, Meintjies, Meyer, Middleton, Miller, Mills, Minnie, Minty, Moggee, Monk, Moorcroft, Moore, Morgan, Morris, Mostert, Muller, Munro, Murray, Musikanth, Myburgh, Myles, Mynhardt, Naude, Nel, Nicol, Nkomo, Nobatana, Noeka, Noll, Nomdo, Nortier, Nortje, Nortjie, O’Donoghue, Oelofsen, Olckers, Olivier, Olls, Oosthuizen, Oosthuysen, Orton, Otto, Palmer, Park, Patel, Pedro, Perry, Petersen, Pettit, Pfister, Pickard, Piek, Pienaar, Pietersen, Pitout, Plaatjes, Potgieter, Pottas, Pretorius, Prins, Prinsloo, Proskewitz, Rabie, Rademeyer, Randell, Rankie, Rathbone, Raubenheimer, Rautenbach, Redelinghuis, Reitmuller, Renison, Rensburg, Reynecke, Reynolds, Rheeder, Rich, Richardson, Ring, Roberts, Roelofse, Roll, Rollison, Roman, Roscoe, Rossouw, Rothner, Roux, Rubidge, Rudman, Runeveld, Ryan, Saaiman, Samworth, Sayewitz, Schaap, Scheepers, Scheltema, Schiltz, Schoeman, Scholtz, Schonees, Schonken, Schoonees, Schoonraad, Schoultz, Schreiber, Schreuder, Schuin, Schutte, Scott, Senekal, September, Serfontein, Shand, Shapiro, Sharp, Shear, Sieff, Siew, Silver, Skorbinski, Slabbert, Slater, Slier, Smith, Smuts, Snyman, Socishe, Solomon, Speelman, Spies, Stander, Steffens, Stegmann, Stenhouse, Stevens, Stewart, Steyl, Steyn, Steynberg, Stidolph, Stokes, Stols, Stoltz, Stone, Strimling, Stroebel, Strumpher, Strydom, Studer, Stuurman, Swanepoel, Swart, Swarts, Swemmer, Tait, Targowsky, Taute, Taylder, Terblanche, Terblans, Theophilus, Theron, Thom, Thompson, Thomson, Thurtell, Thyse, Thysse, Tintinger, Tipper, Tiran, Topic, Toua, Trytsman, Tuck, Turck, Turner, Twaku, Valtijn, Van Aarde, Van Alphen, Van Blerk, Van Breda, Van Deempter, Van Deemter, Van der Berg, Van der Bijl, Van der Byl, Van der Hoven, van der Merwe, van der Mescht, Van der Ryst, Van der Spuy, Van der Walt, Van der Watt, van der Westhiusen, van der Westhuisen, Van der Westhuizen, Van Dyk, van Eck, Van Eyssen, Van Graan, Van Heerden, Van Huyssteen, van Jaarsveld, van Jaarsveldt, Van Loggerenberg, Van Molendorf, van Niekerk, van Rensburg, Van Rhyn, van Rooyen, Van Schalkwyk, Van Soelen, van Staden, Van Tonder, van Vuuren, Van Wijk, Van Wyk, van Zyl, Veldtman, Venter, Verasammy, Vermaak, Verwey, Viljoe, Viljoen, Visser, Vister, Vlok, Vogel, Volschenk, Vos, Vosloo, Vrey, Wabana, Wagenaar, Wagener, Wagner, Walsh, Walton, Wamsteker, Wannenberg, Ward, Warraker, Wasserman, Webster, Wehmeyer, Weinstein, Welch, Welgemoed, Welman, West, Wevers, Weyers, White, Wickham, Wiggett, Wildeman, Wilken, Willemse, Williams, Wilmot, Wilson, Windvogel, Witbooi, Woudberg, Wright, Yake, Young, Zaaiman, Zaayman, Zondag, Zondagh,

Are you at a loss as to where to find your Boer ancestors?

The 1925 Klerksdorp Voters List has  2366 people listed who were eligible to vote and more than 1000 farmers as well. You are sure to find one of your Trek Boer families here and grow your family tree. With surname such as Schoeman, Steyns, Venters, Vissers, Pretorius, Nel, Meiring, Kruger, Marais, Lubbe, Liebenberg, Joubert, Jooste, Janse Van Rensburg, Janse Van Vuuren, Jacobs, Fourie, Erasmus, Du Toit, Du Preez, De Kock, Coetzee, Brits, Botha, Blom, Benade and Badenhorst.

Do you have any interesting stories or old photographs to share with us? Did you know that you can create you very own album on our gallery and add photo’s or documents?

We have added 2,624 new names  from the 1833 Cape Almanac to our database. Find out who was a wigmaker, a mangler, a wagon hirer or even a pickler!  A list of principal inhabitants of Cape Town. This database includes: Title, Surname, First Names or Initials, occupation and address.

Is your surname listed in this over 1400 variety of names?

Abdol, Abdolbachie, Abdolbasier, Abdoldrachmer, Abdolgaries, Abdoljakie, Abdolkiep, Abdolmalek, Abdolmansuer, Abdolsamar, Abdolsoeker, Abdolsubboer, Abdolsummat, Abdolwakil, Abdolwashet, Abraham, Abrahams, Abrahamse, Ackerman, Ada, Adams, Adamse, Adamson, Adriaanse, Adrian, Adrianse, Agom, Aitchinson, Albertus, Albertyn, Aldred, Alexander, Aling, Alldridge, Alleman, Allen, America, Amm, Amos, Anderson, Andreas, Andresa, Anhuizer, Anosi, Ansdell, Anthon, Anthony, Antje, Appel, April, Arendsz, Armstrong, Arnold, Arrowsmith, Aschen, Ashley, Aspeling, Attwell, Auret, Aurnhamer, Baard, Badroon, Bailey, Baker, Baks, Balston, Bam, Bamberger, Bance, Bantham, Barber, Barbier, Barend, Barendz, Barker, Barks, Baron, Barris, Barry, Bartels, Bartholomew, Bartie , Bartman, Bathie, Batist, Batt, Beaufort, Beck, Becker, Beeker, Begley, Behr, Beil, Bell, Belta, Ben, Bendall, Benecke, Benoy, Bergh, Bergstedt, Bernhardi, Berning, Berrange, Bestandig, Betje, Better, Beuchling, Beyleveld, Bickersteth, Biel, Billingsley, Birch, Bird, Black, Blair, Blake, Blanckenberg, Blarence, Bletterman, Blignaut, Bloem, Blore, Boltman, Boniface, Booysen, Borcherds, Boreherds, Borgstrom, Borgwetel, Borradailes, Bosch, Bosman, Boss, Bosse, Bosselman, Bossman, Botha, Bottrill, Boucher, Bowles, Boys, Brady, Brand, Brandman, Brandt, Brasler, Brath, Bray, Breedevelt, Breeze, Bren, Bresler, Brett, Breugeman, Brevers, Bridekirk, Briers, Brill, Brink, Brink , Bron, Broodrick, Brook, Bropie, Brown, Bruary, Brumfield, Brunet, Brusman, Bruyns, Bryant, Buchanan, Buck, Buckley, Buckton, Budge, Buissinne, Buitendag, Burgess, Burton, Butgut, Buyskes, Byrne, Bösenberg, Cadogan, Caesar, Cairncross, Caldecott, Calf, Callander, Cambier, Cameron, Camyn, Candasa, Cannon, Cannon , Canterbury, Capon, Carfrae, Carnell, Carolus, Carsten, Carstens, Carter, Cassel, Castien, Caton, Catorzia, Cats, Catz, Cauvin, Celliers, Cerf, Cessar, Chandler, Chapman, Chapple , Chase, Chiappini, Chisolm, Christiaan, Christiaansen, Christian, Christie, Christina, Church, Claasen, Clarence, Claresse, Clark, Clarke, Clayton, Cleenwerk, Clement, Cloete, Cloete  , Cobern, Coenraadie, Coensen, Coetze, Coffin, Coleman, Colident, Collard, Collins, Collison, Comarmond, Combrink, Comfield, Compton, Connor, Constable, Cook, Cooke, Cooper, Coops, Corbitt, Corder, Corless, Cornelissen, Cornellis, Correll, Courlois, Courtney, Cousins, Cowell, Craaywinkel, Creed, Criese, Croeser, Cromhout, Croucher, Crozier, Cruywagen, Cullen, Curlewis, Dacosta, Damedor, Damense, Dames, Damon, Daneel, Danford, Daniel, Daniels , Danielse, Dantu , David, Davids, Davidse , Davis, Dawell , Day , de Beer, de Geest, de Greef, de Haan, de Jongh, de Kock, de Kock , de Korte, De la Hunt, de Lettre, de Lima, de Lorentz , De Moldrup, de Ronde, de Roos, de Roubaix, De Ruiter, de Smidt, De Smidt , de Ville, de Villiers, de Villiers , de Vos, de Vos , de Vries, De Vrye, de Waal, de Waal , de Wed , De Wet, De Wet , de Wit, de Wit , Deane , Dedear , Dekenah, Delhant , Delorme , Demfords , Demolen , Dempers, Denessau, Deneys, Deneys , Denison, der Goede, Dert , Destro , Desvages , Dickinson, Dickson, Dickson , Diddleston , Dieleman , Dievendal , Dill, Dillman , Dinness, Disandt , Dixie , Dixon , Dobie ,
Dodd, Dolley, Donough , Doortje, Dormehl , Doyle, Drake, Dray , Drege , Dreyer, Dreyer , Drury, du Plessie, Du Plessis, Du Toit, Dungey, Durham, During, Dusing, Dyason, Dyce, Eagar, Eaton, Ebden, Eckhard, Eckhout, Ecklet, Eckley, Edwards, Eerenberg, Ekermans, Eksteen, Eli, Ellen, Elliott, Elsing, Elsmlie, Elster, Ely, Emmet, Engelbrecht, Enslin, Enstin, Erith, Ernstzen, Eskteen, Esther, Eston, Euvrard, Eva, Everest, Fabe, Fairbairn, Fairbridge, Fairelough, Falkenburg, Faulkner, Faure, Faustman, Fawing, Feitje, Felix, Fell, Ferreira, Fichat, Fick, Fischer, Fison, Fitzpatrick, Flamme, Flandorffer, Fleck, Fletterman, Flint, Fock, Focks, Foelscher, Foes, Foley, Forbes, Ford, Ford  , Fortner, Fowler, Fox, Fraenkel, Frances, Frazer, Friesberg, Frieslar, Frieslich, Frith, Frizlar, Frylinck, Gaban , Gabriels, Gadaidine , Gadney, Gamelidien , Garish, Garoutte, Garratt, Gaum, Gay, Geduld, Geering, Gehazi , Genade, Genau, George, Georgeon, Gerber, Gerdain, Gerkes, Germans, Gertenbach, Getsen, Geyer, Ghertse , Gibherd , Gideon , Gie , Gildenhuis, Gildenhuizen , Gildenzaph, Gilloway, Gilloway , Gilmer , Gilwyn , Gingham , Godfred , Goemoes , Goetz, Golding , Goodrich, Goodwin, Gopel, Goschen, Goslett , Goss , Gough, Gouland, Graves, Gray, Grebe , Gregan , Gregory , Greig , Griffiths ,
Grimers, Grimes , Grindley, Groenewald, Groenwald , Grondlier , Grosch , Grove, Groves , Grybe, Guest, Gun , Gunn, Hablutzel , Hall, Hallier , Halwayday , Hamman, Hammans , Hammes, Hammes , Hanbury, Hancke, Hancke , Hannam, Hannas, Hansen, Hansen , Hanslo , Hardie , Hare, Harley ,Harms, Harper, Harris, Harris , Hart , Hartel, Hartman, Hartog, Hartslief , Haslam, Haubtfleisch, Haupt, Havery, Hawkins, Hawkins , Haylet , Haylett, Haynes , Hayward , Heatlie, Heckrath , Heckroodt, Heeger, Heegers, Heideman, Heinenberg, Heinrich, Heintjes, Heldzyngen, Hellett, Helston, Helstrom, Henan, Henderson, Hendricksen, Hendrikse, Hendriksen, Henly,Herbert , Herbold, Herbst, Herholdt, Herman, Herold, Herrer, Herring, Hertzog, Herwig, Hes,
Hess, Hesselmeyer, Heugh, Heuning, Heurtley, Heuser, Hewitt, Heydenrych, Heydenryk, Heyer, Heyneke, Heyneman, Heyns, Heyward, Hiddingh, Hiebner, Higgins, Himel, Hind, Hirchenheim, Hitchcock, Hitzeroth, Hobley, Hoek, Hoets, Hoffman, Hoffmeyr, Hofmeyr, Hogsflesh, Hohne, Hollen, Holloway, Holm, Holtman, Home, Hopkins, Horak, Horn, Horn , Horne, Hough, Hovil, Hudd, Hudson, Hughes, Hugo, Humphreys, Hunt, Hunter, Hurlingh, Hurter, Huskisson, Hutchons , Hutton, Immelman, Ingles, Inglesby, Ingram, Ingram , Innes, Isaac, Isaak, Isaakse, Isles, Israel, Itzemplitz, Jackson, Jacobs, Jacobse, Jacobsz, Jameila, Jamies, Janaldine, Janetjie, Janio, Jansen, Janson, Jansten, Jantzee, Japie, Jardine, Jarvis, Jeary, Jensen, Jeptha, Jeptha , Jessup, John, Johnson, Jonas, Jones, Jones , Jones  , Jonker, Jordaan, Josie, Josse, Joubert,
Judge, Junera, Jurgens, Juritz, Jury, Kanneymeyr, Karl, Karstel, Kay, Kealams, Keet, Keeve, Keiser, Kekewich, Kelber, Kelderman, Kelly, Kemp, Kennedy, Kerdel , Kerkes, Kerning, Ketter, Keuber, Keuler, Kiener, Kift, Kilgour, Killian, Kincaid, King, Kinnburg, Kintzle, Kippey,Kirsten, Klasing, Klerck, Kleyn, Klinck, Kloppers, Klyn, Klynsmit, Knaut, Knoble, Knoll, Knoop,Knott, Knox, Knype, Koch, Kock, Koetze, Koetzer, Koevoet, Kohl, Kohler, Kolbe, Kolber, Koning,Korsten, Korster, Kotze, Kraanstein, Kraayveld, Kraft, Kriel, Krige, Krimmel, Krynaauw, Kuuhl, Kuys, Laageraadts, Laangenaught, Laar, Lacable, Laidlaw, Laing, Lakock, Lamb, Lambert,
Lamberts, Lambrechts, Lambress, Landsberg, Langeveld, Lary, Lategan, Laubscher, Laurence, Lawson, Lawton, Le Breton, Le Breton , Le Bron, Le Brun, Le Clues, Le Roes, Le Roux, Le Sueur ,Lea, Leatt, Lee , Leeb , Leen, Leentje, Leep, Leeuwendaal, Leeuwendal, Leeuwner, Lehman, Leibbrandt, Leonard, Leriche, Lesar, Less, Letterstedt, Levick, Lewee, Ley, Lichtwark, Liebbrandt, Liesching, Liesmont, Lieven, Lillis, Linage, Lind, Lindebaum, Lindeman, Lindenberg, Lingeveld, Lingevelder, Lining, Lisenburg, Lochner, Locke, Lodewyk, Loedolff, Logie, Logier, Lombard, Lond, Londt, Long, Loos, Losco, Lotter, Lotz, Louis, Louisa, Lourens, Louw, Lowrie, Lowry, Luchthoff, Lukas, Luttig, Luyt, Maaneveld, Maas, Maasdorp, Mabille,
Macarthy, MacGregor, Mackenzie, Mackrill, Madeleen , Mader, Magistraat, Malan, Maletto, Mallett, Manche, Manuel, Mappe, Marais, Marchand, Marcous, Marcus, Maria, Marlow, Marnitz, Marquard, Marrant, Marrison, Marsh, Marshall, Martin, Martinas, Martinson, Maskew, Mathysen, Matthews, Matthiessen, Matthysen, Maude, Maynard, McCLeod, McComb, McDonald, McDougal, MCFarlan, McKinnon, McLachlan, Meall, Mechau, Meeser, Meiring, Mellet, Mellings, Mellish, Mende, Mentor, Menzies, Merrington, Mertens, Metz, Metzeler, Meyer, Michell , Middlekop, Middleton, Miller, Mills, Minnaar, Mitchell, Mocke, Mohr, Mol, Molesworth, Moller, Moltby, Momsen, Monk, Moore, Morell, Morgan, Morgendaal, Morison, Mory, Moses, Mosterd, Mostert,
Mulder, Muller, Mulles, Munnik, Muntingh, Murphy, Murray, Mustapha, Muter, Myburg, Myburgh, Nauhoff, Neave, Nee er, Neederland, Neethling, Nelson, Neyhof, Nibs, Nicholl, Niehaus, Niewoudt, Nisbet, Noble, Nolden, Norman, Nyhoff, Nymans, O’Flinn, O’Lachlan, O’Neil, Ockert, Oestheyden, Okes, Oldham, Oliphant, Oliver, Olthoff, Onverwacht, Oostendurp, Oppel, Oprimo, Ord, Orlandine, Orri, Osler, Osmond, Ost, Overbeek, Paine, Pallass, Pannerwit, Papow, Pappe, Parker, Pears, Peebles , Pentz, Pero, Perryn, Peters, Petersen, Peterson, Petrie, Pettison, Pfester, Phanp, Pheasant, Pheifer, Phelps , Phider, Philip, Phillips, Pietersen, Pillans, Piton, Plessie, Plessie , Plouvier, Plouvier , Poel, Poelse , Polena, Poolman, Poop, Poph, Poulteney, Poupart, Powell, Powell , Powells, Powelse, Powrie, Pozende, Pozin, Preller, Prestwich, Price, Prichard, Prince, Prins, Prubart, Pruce , Puckey, Purvis, Quin, Rabe, Railston, Randall, Raphael, Ras, Rauch, Raven, Redelinghuys, Redwood, Reenen Van, Reeves, Regeel, Regen, Regnar, Reid, Reid , Reis, Rekeba, Rens, Retief, Richert, Richter, Rimrod, Rippel, Rishton, Roberts, Robertson, Robinson, Rode, Roelandt, Roesch, Rogerson, Ronquest, Roodt, Roos, Rorich, Rosa, Rose, Roselt, Roset, Ross, Rossouw, Roubaix, Rousseau, Roux, Rowan, Rowles, Rusch, Russel, Russouw, Rutgers, Rutherfoord, Ruthven, Ruysch, Rykheer, Rynbach,
Rynhard, Rynhout, Rynke, Saartjie , Saban , Sacreas, Sala, Salomonsen, Samaay, Sampsodien , Sandenberg, Sandford, Saunders, Savaars, Savary, Sayus, Scevers, Schaal, Schabord, Schaeble,
Schalkwyk, Schelden, Schelder, Schenk, Scheuble, Schickerling, Schier, Schikkerling, Schindehutte, Schirmer, Schmidt, Schoester, Scholtz, Schonegevel, Schonnberg, Schoonraad, Schoukerk, Schrikker, Schultz, Schutte, Schweil, Scoon, Scott, Searle, Seller, Semorie , Senkantyn, Serrurier, Sertyn, Seyffert, Shaw, Shearer, Shelly , Sherman, Shortman, Sibbald, Siebert, Siedeman, Silberbauer, Simons, Simpson, Sims, Sinclair, Slater , Sloman, Smart, Smidt, Smidtsdorff, Smit, Smith, Smuts, Snell, Soestman, Solomon, Sommer, Sommervaile, Sosang , Spadille , Spangenberg, Spatie , Spencer, Spengler, Spiers, Spies, Spoer, Spolander, Spratt, Sprew, Spykerman, Stadler, Stanfield, Stark, Starling, Staudt, Staveren van Kloek, Steedman, Steel, Steenhobel, Steffens, Stegman, Stein, Stemmet, Stenhouse, Stephen, Steuart, Steyn, Steytler, Stidworthy, Stigant, Stiglingh, Still, Stober, Stodart, Stoeffers, Stoel, Stoll, Stoll , Stone , Strachan, Strachan , Stronach , Stronch, Stuckeris , Sturgis, Sturk , Stædel, Sullivan , Sutherland , Swanepoel, Swartz , Swaving , Sweetman, Sweney , Syme , Tait , Tardien, Tayer, Tayse, Tennam , Tennant, Tennant , Tennant & Co, Terholm , Terhoven , Tesselaar ,Teubes, Teunant , Thalwitzer , Theas , Theron , Theunes , Thibault , Thomas , Thomassen ,Thompson, Thompson , Thomson, Thomson , Thorp , Thwaites , Thys , Ticky , Tier , Timmerman ,Tonkin , Tourin , Townsend , Tredeaux , Tredgold , Treuman, Tromp , Truter, Truter , Turner, Twentyman, Twycross, Udemans, Ufken, Ulrich, Ungerer, Uri, Usher, Valentin, Valentyn, Van Balen, van Bergen, van Blerck, van Blerk, van Blommestein, Van Boon, van Breda, van Breda , van Coller, van Copenhagen, van de Kaap, van den Berg, van den Burg, van der Bihl, van der Byl, Van der Chys , van der Haardie, Van der Horst, van der Kemp, Van der Lingen, Van der Poel, van der Poel , Van der Reder, Van der Riet, Van der Schyff, van der Spuy, van der Spuy , Van Derendome , Van Dillen  , Van Driel    , Van Dyk, Van Ellewe, Van Eyk , Van Eysen, Van Eyssen , van Geems, van Graan  , van Haght, van Hall, Van Hellings, Van Helsdingen, Van Hou, Van Lier, van Nieker, Van Niekerk, Van Nierop, Van Reenan , Van Reenen, Van Regen , Van Ryneveld, Van Rynier, Van Schalkwyk, van Schoor, Van Winkle, Van Wyngard, Vascher, Vawser, Veean, Venables, Vendues, Venning, Ventura , Vergo, Vergottini, Verioni, Vermaak, Versveld, Vervoort, Vetter, Victor, Villet, Villiers, Vippond, Virgo, Vissagie, Visscher, Visser, Vlotman, Vogelgezang, Voges  , Voget, Voight, Volkwyn, Volraad , Volstedt, Volsteedt, Von Ludwig , Von Manager , Vos, Vos , Vracher, Vries , Vurman, Waall, Waasman, Wade, Wagenhorst, Wagner, Wahl, Waldek, Wall, Walpot, Walter, Wannenberg, Wanza, Ward, Warren, Warrington, Wasserfall, Watering, Waterman, Watermeyer, Waters, Wathen, Watney, Watson, Watt, Webb, Webber, Weber, Webster, Weed, Weepner, Weidemeyer, Weis, Weldeman, Welkom, Welsh, Wenham, Wentzel, Wernich, Wernsdorff, Westcott, Whiley, Whiskin , Whitcomb, White, Whitfield, Wicht, Wickboom, Wicksteed, Widemeyer, Wiedeman, Wieldhagen, Wiergo, Wiid, Wildt, Wilhelm, Wilkinson, Will, Willem, Willenburg, Williams, Willmott, Wilsenach, Wilsnach, Wilsnacht, Windle, Winterbach, Wium, Woeke, Wolfaard, Wolferum, Wolff, Wolhuter, Wollaston, Wolverans, Woodlock, Woodman, Wools, Woudberg, Woutersen, Wrankmore, Wrensch, Wright, Wydeman, Wykherd, Wylde, Wyman, Wyngard, Wyngardtz, Wys, Younger, Ysman, Zastron, Zeeberg, Zeederberg, Zeeman, Zeyltz, Zezars, Ziedel, Ziedeman, Zieler, Zinn, Zorn, Zulch

I have been asked by the Author of this Volume to write “something” relative to the recruitment of the Cape Corps. Search our Cape Corps records.

It may be said at once that there are two gentlemen who could have under-taken this task with greater credit. I refer to Colonel Sir Walter Stanford, Chairman of the Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee, and to Colonel T. J. J. Inglesby, one of its valued members. Both were associated with the movement from its commencement, both keenly interested in the possibility of the Coloured man as a fighter able to share with the white man the privilege of taking part in the Great War, and both particularly well qualified to lead such a movement.

The Machine Gun Company at Sidi Bishr

There were times when, as we all know, the Mother Country was almost pathetically calling to her sons to come forward voluntarily in the cause of humanity and Empire. Men were stirred as they never were before, and perhaps never will be again.

The appeal got hold of the Coloured man and gripped him, and with the help of his many friends strong representations were made to the Union Government to give him his chance.

But it was only on General Botha’s return from the German South-West African Campaign that those earnest representations were seriously considered.

The acceptance of the principle that the Coloured man should be allowed to become a soldier took concrete form in the month of September, 1915, when the Imperial Army Council accepted the offer of the Union Government to raise an Infantry Battalion of Cape Coloured men for Service overseas.

A telegraphic despatch was received in Cape Town from the Director of War Recruiting at Pretoria (Sir Charles Crewe) asking Senator Colonel the Hon. Walter Stanford, Sir John Graham, Dr. A. Abdurahman, the Mayor of Cape Town (Mr. Harry Hands), Colonel T. J. J. Inglesby and Mr. Eames-Perkins (Hon. Secretary of the Cape Town War Recruiting Committee), to meet him to discuss the formation of a Cape Coloured Regiment.

The formation of such a Unit was entirely in the nature of an experiment. A section of the people of the Cape Province resented the idea of raising such a force for employment in the fighting line. On the other hand there were many who resented the exclusion of such an organised force from the German South-West Campaign, and saw no valid reason now why the Coloured man should not be given an opportunity to serve his King and Country and follow in the footsteps of the white men and coloured races throughout the Empire then flocking from all its corners to take part in the great struggle for human freedom.

The Empire was calling for men, more men. The Cape Coloured man asked for and was given his chance and a new chapter in the history of the Coloured people of the Cape opened.

Prudence demanded that a very high standard should be aimed at, and it was decided that only men of exceptionally good character, between the age of 20 and 30, minimum height 5 ft. 3 in., chest measurement 33% in., unmarried and without dependents of any description, should be accepted for service in this unit.

On enrolment the Coloured man became an Imperial soldier, under the Army Act, for the period of the War and six months afterwards, or until legally discharged, with Imperial rates of pay, viz. :

and with Pensions and Gratuities as for the British West Indian Imperial Service Contingent.

The foregoing details and instructions having been determined, the Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee was formed, with Headquarters at Cape Town, for the purpose of enrolling Coloured men for active service with the Battalion of the Cape Corps.

Colonel Grey (Commissioner of Police), Major G. A. Morris of the Natal Carbineer’s (Special Service Squadron), Captain J. C. Berrange, and Captain H. G. Wilmot were mentioned in connection with the Command.

The mantle fell upon Major George A. Morris, son of Mr. J. W. Morris, a former Transkeian Magistrate.

Major Morris was duly gazetted as Lieut.-Colonel and Officer Commanding the Cape Corps on October 5th, 1915.

The following gentlemen accepted the responsibility of a seat on the Cape Corps Recruiting Committee, viz. :

Senator Colonel Walter Stanford, C.B., C.M.G., Chairman ; Major G. B. Van Zyl, M.L.A., Vice-Chairman ; Mr. A. Eames-Perkins, Hon. Secretary. Colonel T. J. J. Inglesby, V.D.; Lieut.-Colonel John Hewat, M.L.A.; Lieut.-Colonel F. W. Divine ; Captain W. D. Hare ; Sir John Graham, h.C.M.G.; Sir Frederick W. Smith, Kt., J.P.; Rev. Canon Lavis ; Rev. George Robson ; Advocate Morris Alexander, M.L.A.; Mr. J. W. Jagger, M.L.A.; with the following leaders of the Cape Coloured community, viz. : Dr. Abdurahman, M.P.C.; Mr. H. Hartog ; Mr. P. Ryan ; Mr. M. J. Fredericks ; Mr. J. Currey. NOTE.-Several other gentlemen joined this Committee later and Sir Harry Hands, P.B.E. (Mayor of Cape Town) became Chairman of the Committee-vice Colonel Stanford who went to Pretoria to become Director of War Recruiting-and Canon S. W. Lavis, Vice-Chairman. (Vide Illustration, page 17.)

Lieut-Colonel Morris C.M.G. and Captain H. Edwards with the Regimental Band taken at Mustapha Camp, Alexandra, Egypt in June 1919

The Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee had the good fortune to secure the services of Sergeant-Major Samuel Hanley Reynard as a member of the Staff. No choice could have been better. His cheerfulness and conscientious performance of his work throughout the Recruiting Campaign won the esteem and respect of all who came in contact with him. Though a veteran he never flinched in carrying out of his very arduous duties.

During especially busy times the assistance of the Boy Scouts was asked for, and they never failed to answer the call made on them. Valuable assistance was willingly given, and the boys who were detailed to the Recruiting Committee by the Secretary of the Boy Scouts’ Association well earned the War Certificate that the performance of their duties at the City Hall entitled them to.

A large crowd of Coloured men and women gathered outside the Recruiting Station at the City Hall, Cape Town, in the early morning of 25th October, 1915, aroused into action by announcements in the Press that the Coloured man’s opportunity was now open to him. The crowd surged into the Vestibule when the doors opened at 10 o’clock, and it became necessary to erect barriers and to provide a squad of Police before the men could be handled. To witness the inauguration of this circumstance of significance many prominent personages, Civil and Military, visited the Recruiting Station, including the General Officer Commanding in South Africa (Major-General C. W. Thompson) and his Staff.

Captains W. R. Cowell and C. G. Durham, Officers of the 1st Cape Corps, with Colonel T. J. J. Inglesby and Lieut.-Colonel Divine, members of the Recruiting Committee, had charge of the proceedings. By noon well over a hundred recruits had passed through the hands of the Military Medical Officers, but only a small percentage succeeded in passing the very strenuous test imposed. As a result of the first day’s recruiting twenty-two men were entrained at Cape Town for Simonstown, where the Mobilisation Camp for the reception of the enlisted men had been established, there to receive their first instruction from competent instructors and to have instilled into them habits of discipline, etc., as well as to meet their future comrades who were journeying from such places as Stellenbosch, Worcester, Port Elizabeth, Kimberley, and the Mission Stations of Saron and Mamre, etc.

Considering the strenuous conditions of enlistment laid down the first day’s result was not unsatisfactory, but there were some who had got their “tails up.” “The pay was insufficient “”There was no separation allowance “! To ventilate those views a meeting of Coloured men was held on the Grand Parade, and no blame could be attached to the women who kept a strict watch on the actions of the men who supported them. Though, as a matter of fact no men were accepted for service in cases where there were dependents, and the Officers of the Cape Corps and the members of the Recruiting Committee zealously guarded instructions to that effect from Headquarters. And no wonder! They were not out to pauperise women and children.

There could be no burking the fact that at Cape Town the class of man required was holding back, and this reluctance to come forward was due solely to the question of no separation allowances and the insistence that there should be no dependents. Reports from other recruiting centres for the Cape Corps in this connection were illuminating; for example: -Worcester was asked to supply 6o men; that number was obtained in one day. Port Elizabeth provided 31 men out of 45 required. Johannesburg was only asked to supply 30 recruits, and those left for Simonstown on the clay recruiting for Coloured men opened. Kimberley’s quota was 50 men, and they were secured also in one day and were entrained for Simonstown.

In addition, other country places intimated that they could supply a certain number of men, while districts which had already furnished their quota expressed willingness to add to the number already secured, and the Mission Stations at Saron and Mamre each volunteered to furnish a company.

The Mother City of Cape Town found itself in this peculiar position that while she had taken the lead in expressing the desire for Coloured men to serve in the War, it seemed that the Coloured residents of the Peninsula would be ill represented in the first coloured fighting force to be established, whilst places other than Cape Town collared the honour. One loop hole in this peculiar situation presented itself, viz.:-the Governor-General’s Fund. But all hopes in that regard was quickly dispelled by the definite instructions of the Director of War Recruiting that no man with dependents would be accepted. Indeed, it was hardly a fair request to make that the Governor-General’s Fund should provide for dependents.

The very real grievance 9c pay and allowances was immediately tackled by the Recruiting Committee, and in November, I915, Colonel Inglesby and Mr. Brydone were deputed to go to Pretoria to endeavour to obtain better conditions, whilst Colonel Stanford, the Chairman, and the members of the Recruiting Committee in force waited upon General Smuts in Cape Town in the sane pressing connection. Meanwhile a slight concession was made by the Governor-General’s Fund, viz.: that they would give assistance in special cases, when brought to their notice.

It was about this time that the Cape Corps Gifts and Comforts Committee came into being. Later this committee became affiliated to the South African Gifts and Comforts Committee and did splendid work in supplying comforts for the men of the regiment.

“I have been informed,” said Lord Buxton at the Recruiting Conference held at Pretoria on November 14th, 1915, “that the successful operations in German South-West Africa have had a great moral effect in the European sphere of operations and caused great depression in enemy circles. The successful subjugation of German East Africa will bring about even greater moral effect to the advantage of our side all the world over.”

To take part in that subjugation of the enemy’s outposts Lieut.-Colonel Morris was now busy training his men at the camp at Simonstown, which, notwithstanding the many difficulties encountered, was steadily swelling its population.

” They are as keen as mustard,” said their Commanding Officer, ” and in their spare time are drilling on their own,” so that when His Excellency the Governor-General, accompanied by Major-General Thompson, inspected the Cape Corps at Simonstown on the 3oth November, 1915, they were complimented by him on their smart and soldierly appearance and workmanlike bearing.

That outside forces were in fullest sympathy with the men of the Cape Corps was shown by many thoughtful incidents. Two may be given.

“Tango” was enrolled. He was a smart Airedale terrier presented by Master Jack Ashley of Bellville as a mascot to the 1st Cape Corps. In the proverbial canine fashion he wagged himself into the affections of officers and men alike during his short stay at the camp at Simonstown, and Lieut.-Colonel Morris, in expressing his thanks to the juvenile donor, wrote: “I am sure that he will bring us luck.” “Tango,” when the Battalion embarked for East Africa, was called upon to show the stuff he was made of, for the Commander of the “Armadale Castle” was compelled to refuse to allow him to embark. With the persistence of his kind, however, “Tango” found another way of circumventing official opposition. A flying leap from the quay landed him on deck among his pals and the ship’s Commander had no heart to eject him.

The following letter speaks for itself: -

Wellington. “Dear Sir,

I am a coloured woman. It is a very little money that I send this is the money for the Cape Corps fund which I buy flowers from my own money and sell out again. I think it is very little but it will help too, my husband is gone to the front.”

(Signed)             (Mrs.) D.S.

A postal order for fifteen shillings was enclosed.

During the months of October, November, and December, 1915, very strenuous work was done by the Recruiting Committee to enable the full complement of men (about one thousand and twenty) to be secured. The methods employed varied. Bands, Street Parades, Meetings in outlying Suburban Districts, Speeches at Bioscopes, Stirring Posters, Press Notices (the value of which cannot be overestimated) all had their turn. Ours was, of course, the job to induce those who were hanging back for various reasons to come to the recruiting stations. Once there the conditions were fully explained to the men, and the presence on duty of officers and non-coms in the smart uniform of the Cape Corps swept away all hesitation, if there were any, and made them all long to emulate those who had already joined as soldiers of the King. Having made up their minds they were then invited to interview the selection officers appointed by Lieut.-Colonel Morris.

These had their tables in the vestibule of the City Hall, Cape Town, and with drafts continually arriving from other centres, were kept pretty busy.

The officers in charge were Major Durham (a strict disciplinarian) and Captain Cowell (a kindly and just officer and beloved by his men, who later made the great sacrifice). They accepted or rejected the men. The accepted men were then passed on to the inner room (Reception Hall) for medical examination.

I remember one particularly strenuous morning. The vestibule was a busy hive with the hum of many voices, and, a not particularly savoury odour of old clothes-clothes that reeked with the sweat of hot and honest daily toil. The folding doors from the Reception Hall opened and a waft of sweet music floated through. The City Orchestra in the Main Hall was rehearsing. Instinctively drawn to breathe the music’s divine message, I was met by the Military Medical Officer, stethoscope in hand. He came to invite me to witness between sixty and seventy coloured men stripped for examination. These men had just previously been handed over to him. Then I realised that the clothing makes (or mars) the man. Now, lined up and smiling, naked to the world, they were fine specimens of strong brawny manhood. So splendidly developed were many of them that it might have been a parade of prize fighters, and, ugly in physiognomy as many of them undoubtedly were, their smiles revealed dentures that many a woman would have sacrificed a good deal to call her own. It is perhaps needless to say that every one of those men passed as medically fit for active service. They were attested and sent to the camp right away.

Early in December, 1815, the Cape Corps was nearing its full complement, and recruiting definitely closed on 12th December, 1915.

At that date the Nett result of the recruitment for the Cape Corps was one thousand and sixteen men. Considering the difficulties in regard to pay and allowances, which all the efforts of the Recruiting Committee had so far failed to get altered, it did vast credit to the young coloured man without encumbrances and showed quite clearly the spirit that was in him to assist his country in time of need.

On the world’s day of rejoicing, Christmas Day (1915), the Camp at Simons-town was thrown open to relatives and friends of the men of the Cape Corps, and full advantage was taken of the concession.

Amongst the old time customs, plum puddings and music and bands were provided and dancing and joviality took place as though no red war existed and in spite of the gloomy news that trickled through over the cables. It was just for the day, the work with all its seriousness and earnestness, was for the morrow.

Mr. Harry Hands (the Mayor) in his message to the citizens of Cape Town clearly gave the key note in reference to the position as it was at that time.

“We are on the eve of Christmas,” he said, ” and at the end of another year, a year of war, and, for many hundreds and thousands of human beings, of suffering and sadness, a year in which death has taken a heavy toll of the Empire’s manhood. From many a home in the Peninsula loved ones who have gone forth at the call of duty will be absent this Christmas. There must there-fore, be a note of sadness in our greetings, but we can still find comfort in the old, old message. Seventeen months of war have not shaken our confidence and our conviction that right must prevail, and though we may be sore let and hindered we shall endure to the end, and the end will be victory.”

In January, 1916, with the full complement of recruits secured, courtesies were exchanged between the Senior Officers of the Cape Corps and the members of the Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee in the form of simple luncheons at the Camp at Simonstown and at the Civil Service Club at Cape Town. The main reason for those proceedings was to wish ” God Speed ” and ” Good luck ” on the eve of departure on the one hand, and on the other the expression of thanks (none of course were needed) to the Recruiting Committee for what they had accomplished.

When the Cape Corps’ embarkation date arrived, very naturally the South African Military Command did not take any chances. A smoke-screen was thrown over the movement of all troops. That notwithstanding, a great crowd assembled at the docks at Cape Town, and all the approaches thereto, to witness the departure of the Battalion for East Africa on 9th February, 1916.

It was a true South African summer’s afternoon. Three train loads of men steamed into the Docks, direct from Simonstown to the ship’s side.

H.M.T. “Armadale Castle” was waiting to receive the Officers and men of the Cape Corps. The embarkation was speedily and smartly accomplished. Many a mother strained with tears of pride in her eyes to get a glimpse of her son; many a young Coloured woman, who had a very particular interest in her newly–made soldier friend, moved in the crowd in the hope of a last farewell.

With the Band playing martial airs and the men leaning over the great ship’s side anxious for a last good-bye, and the sun shining upon a sea of helmets and dark skinned faces and flashing upon the trappings of the uniforms, it was difficult to believe that these were the same men, who only a few months before had come to enlist at the City Hall, many- ill-clad and anything but smart.

The transformation was so complete. Straight, and smart and smiling, with boots, buttons, and equipment polished to a turn, they were a fine workmanlike body of healthy men, and for cheerfulness, dignity of hearing, and soldierly appearance the Officers in Charge would not have been easy to beat in any regiment.

Then, God Save the King, every one stood to attention, and the great Troopship steamed majestically away (I fancy “Tango” barked). As evening came she dwindled to a speck on the sea, and finally vanished from sight.

The Cape Corps had gone on the great adventure, taking with them the hearts and the hopes of thousands of their kinsfolk in the Union. The reputation of the Coloured community of South Africa was in their hands.

The Recruiting Committee could rest on its oars until casualties and disease thinned the ranks of the departed warriors and a new recruiting Campaign was ordered to fill the gaps.

C. Ruiters

It became evident soon after the departure of the “Armadale Castle” that a number of the men of the Cape Corps had left women and children dependents unprovided for, notwithstanding the care that had been exercised by the Selection Officers and the Recruiting Committee. It was unthinkable that these should be left to suffer. The situation was taken in hand at once by the Recruiting Committee, and a list of married men with dependents prepared. Commercial establishments who had employed such men before enlistment were approached, and guarantees obtained in most cases that half civil pay would be given to proved dependents, until Military separation allowances were secured.

The New Year (1916) was scarcely one month past w hen General Smuts took charge of the East African Campaign. From that time calls for reinforcements for the Cape Corps were frequent, with the authorisation that married men could be accepted for Service, and that Separation Allowances would be paid upon the following basis, viz.:-is. 1s. per diem to wives, and 2d. per diem for each child under the age of 16, or in cases of widowless and motherless children, 4d. per diem. Proved Dependents of unmarried men were placed on the same scale, always provided that the soldier allotted to the dependent half his pay. This placed recruitment for the Cape Corps upon a better footing, more especially as grants from the Governor-General’s Fund were left entirely in the hands of the local Committees of that Organisation.

The foregoing may, it is hoped, convey some idea of the activities of the Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee in the earlier stages of the Recruiting Campaign as well as of the feeling held by that body relative to the care of the families of the enlisted men, during their period of active service.

Frequent calls came later from the Director of War Recruiting, Pretoria, for men, more men, who, by dint of hard work and the beating up of Suburban and outlying districts, never failed to materialise. For instance, during the period 27th February to 27th April, 1917, 1,457 Coloured men were attested for the Cape Corps, whilst a large number were turned down as unfit for Active Service.

In all, during the Recruiting Campaign, 6,000 men were enrolled for the 1st Cape Corps, and 2,000 for the 2nd Cape Corps.

Other Coloured units were formed, of a different character to the Cape Corps it is true, but all useful in their different spheres, and all dovetailing and harmonising into the great fighting machine of the Empire. For instance, the Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee were requested to find one thousand men for the Cape Coloured Labour Battalion, with reinforcements as required, whilst they were interested in and consulted with reference to the formation of the South African Native Labour Contingent, in which ten thousand men were enrolled.

In addition, the Recruiting Committee were called upon to supply Coloured men to the S.A. Artillery (Drivers and Leaders) and for the Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport Companies, etc., etc.

The exact total figures of Coloured men obtained by the Cape Corps Recruiting Committee are not before me at the present time, but it is certain that they were in the neighbourhood of twenty-five thousand, over rather than under. It is in my opinion a fair calculation to make that 4 to 1 of the men who presented themselves for enrolment were turned down as medically unfit, and if this basis is correct, it shows the handling of one hundred thousand Coloured men.

Amongst the rejected there was genuine disappointment and not a little grumbling. Many such men, especially the younger ones, hung about the recruiting station for weeks hoping by hook or by crook to be allowed to go, while the spectacle of their “pals” in the smart uniform of the Cape Corps heightened their misery at being left behind.

Every post brought letters from men in the country districts, bitterly complaining that the medical officer either did not know his job, or that he had mistaken their case.

Covering some ten closely written pages, smatterings of English and Dutch, a Coloured boy at Clanwilliam, 19 years of age, bemoaned his fate because he was two inches under the regulation height to enable him to join the Cape Corps. He begged to be allowed to join as a bugler; he knew that he could get one cheap if the money was sent to buy it, and, he added, “God would bless the Recruiting Committee.”

Besides the actual recruiting of Coloured men, the Recruiting Committee took upon its shoulders other matters closely connected with the men enrolled. For instance

• The obtaining of maternity grants relative to children born after the soldier’s enlistment.
• The question of free Education for Coloured children during the soldier’s period of active service.
• The remission of the fee for the Marriage Certificate-it being a regulation that this must be produced before Separation Allowance could be claimed or assessed.

Medicine and Comforts for Sick wives and children of soldiers.

The witnessing of the Signature on Military Cheques for monthly allowances in order to satisfy Banking requirements, etc., etc.

A batch of from thirty-five to forty coloured women, some with babies at the breast, others leading ragged and bare-footed children by the hand-little things that the soldier of the Cape Corps had left behind him to be cared for by the country whose freedom he was helping to keep intact-came to the recruiting station one slack morning. Sergeant-Major Reynard was pounced upon in the vestibule of the City Hall. He stood their fury and anger like the good old soldier that he is until explanations were possible.

When order was restored out of the chaos, they were invited to appoint one of their numbers to interview the writer in an inner room.

It was not hard to enter into the feelings of these women. Their separation allowances as has been stated were very small, just enough to provide food to keep them and their children alive and with no hope of putting anything by to meet an unforeseen emergency. However, they were content to suffer the hardships that white and coloured alike were called upon to bear at that time.

But the least delay in the payment of the allowances due created more difficulties than they were prepared to endure. A delay of some days had already taken place in the arrival from the Paymaster of the usual monthly draft, and the children were without food. They had already applied to the Paymaster of the Cape Corps, but he was powerless to assist them in their trouble, and had to explain that there would be a further delay of three or four days-due entirely to the change of office from one centre to another. The Cape Corps Gifts and Comforts Committee found the matter was one that did not come within their scope, and no tangible result accrued as the result of an application to the local Secretary to the Governor-General’s Fund. Finally the Cape Corps War Recruiting Committee was approached as described.

The writer’s own application to the then Secretary of the Governor-General’s Fund shared the same fate as the women’s appeal, and it became necessary to bring the full force of the Recruiting Committee into action. The result was entirely successful, and each family or individual went away with a sufficiency to tide over the awkward period. The women were satisfied and even grateful and dispersed to their various homes in outlying parts of the Cape Peninsula. The same method was adopted in cases where difficulties arose with landlords, who either wished to eject dependents of soldiers on account of the men being on active service, or to increase the rent on threat of ejectment if they did not agree to pay.

In fact there was no genuine grievance connected with the dependents of the enlisted men, which the Recruiting Committee was not compelled to redress.

There were, of course, some strange incidents connected with the recruiting of the coloured units. The following may be cited:

Private John Jacobs of the 1st Cape Corps had, by good fortune-or otherwise-obtained leave of absence from his Regiment during a lull in its activities, and found himself in the Cape Peninsula. Resultant upon his good-or evil-fortune he took it upon himself to form fresh attachments and responsibilities in domestic life.

The sequel to this visit was revealed in a letter, businesslike in its brevity and very much to the point, to the Hon. Secretary Recruiting Committee, as follows : -

“Hon. Sir,

I married John Jacobs a week ago. He has gone back. We have ten Children. Please let me know how I stand.

Yours truly,……..”

On a tour of the Eastern Province of the Cape quite recently the writer had the good luck to have as a companion on the journey an ex-officer of the Cape Corps who had served in the East African campaign and in Palestine. During the journey opportunity was afforded of hearing something of the doings of the Cape Corps in the actual fighting line, some of which no doubt will be set down in this volume. That officer’s praise of his men, of their manly courage and pluck, of their discipline and cheerful endurance in times of hard-ship and difficulties, served to confirm the reports one had heard of the splendid work and behaviour of the men in camp, on the march, or under fire.

At most of the stations at which the train halted, coloured men stepped out from somewhere, and, in their working clothes, stood to attention and saluted-they were so obviously glad to see their old officer, and to have the opportunity to refresh in a few words their memories of the time when they had served under him in the Great War.

It was the same in many of the places we visited during the tour. There was generally some coloured man who halted in his work to salute the officer, notwithstanding that both wore civilian clothes. Indeed, on the train by which we travelled, an ex-member of the Cape Corps brought us our nightly bedding, and the chef’s coloured assistant in the dining-car tendered his respectful greetings and was recognised.

On some of the farms visited at which ex-officers of the Cape Corps had entered into possession, the servants, the farm hands, and those employed in other capacities were all, wherever possible, returned soldiers of the Cape Corps. In some of the town’s ex-officers of the Cape Corps who had embarked upon new ventures since release from service employ men in their offices who have seen service in the Battalion. This continued association in civil life of European officers and Coloured ex-soldiers who served under them during the Great War is of course only natural and may in course of time evaporate and become only a memory. But what seems to be forced upon one is that this sympathetic understanding and respect between the white officer and the coloured man who served with and under him, if fostered in some way, should prove of inestimable value to the State.

South Africa, we are told, is a land that is merely scratched upon the ‘surface. Could not some semi-military body be formed from what is left of the Cape Corps for its greater development?

By Mr. A. Eames Perkins.

Extracted from the publication The Story of the 1^st Cape Corps 1915 – 1919 by Captain I.D. Difford

Biography of Ruda Wahl

Ruda was born on 18 November 1953 in Hartswater in the Northern Cape and was educated at Hartswater Primary School, Parow Central Primary, Keimoes High School and Upington High School, where she spent her final school years as a boarder. After matriculating she entered the Civil Defence College in George where she undertook voluntary military service for a year in one of the first women's army camps in South Africa.

In November 1977, she married JP Landman and begun her career as a TV newsreader in 1983. Her hobbies include r eading, movies, spending time with friends over good wine and good food and she, like many other South African women, belongs to a monthly book club. Ruda has one son Johannes Petrus who is 20 years old.

Ruda has few memories of her grandparents as most of them died when she was small. She remembers: "Oupa Gert" was my father and Oupa Wahl, his father, "Oupa Jonnie" as we called him, lived with us when I was little. He died when I was four. Unfortunately I don't remember much about him, but my dad talked about his family of course – I knew most of them, and so did my mum.

Oupa Wahl fought in the Anglo-Boer War as a young man and the legend was that he took so many Grandpa headache powders that his sleeping spot was surrounded by little pink papers in the morning. He also fought in the Rebellion – one of his sons (my uncle, my father's brother) was called Manie Maritz Wahl after General Manie Maritz.

Do you have any family heirlooms that belonged to your ancestors?

I have a handcarved wooden jewellery box. Written on the side is "From S van der Merwe T Miss G/T/C (very ornate) Verster Aandenking uit Tokai 1903". That would mean the jail after the Anglo Boer War. I don't know who made it, probably Schalk Willem Jacobus van der Merwe, my mother's grandfather. But who is the mystery Miss Verster? In 1903 he was a married man with children! And the jewellery box is in our family, i.e. his daughter inherited it. My brother has a hand-tied shawl and a little wooden chest from the same period.

Did any of your family members make an impact in your life and why?

I only knew my mother's father, Andries Petrus Viljoen. I lived with him and his sister (his wife died in childbirth in 1933) for a few months when I was nine, and we often visited them for holidays before and after that. He was "Oudad", devoted to his newspaper every evening, quietly comfortable with the neighbours we shared evening with. I was probably more affected by the place, the desert heat and simplicity, than by specific people.

What aspect of you family's history has fascinated or interested you the most?

The War and the Rebellion. I wish I could have talked to my grandfather about that.

Do you have a personal motto which you live by?

From Byron Katie: What is, is. Don't resist what is; don't waste energy on how other people should behave. Accept what is, and decide how you want to respond to it.

Memoirs of the Wahl Family

Stofvlei Farm, in the Magisterial District of Springbok, is where Gert Kotze Wahl was born. The old farm had a petrol pump and a post office. There were three buildings on the farm which included the house, the shop and about 300 metres west from the house was a third tin cottage. According to family legend Grandmother Gerrie's family (the Kotze's – had "money"). Initially grandmother Gerrie was the postmaster, and later it was Grandfather John. Grandpa John, who was General Maritz's attendant, promised him that he would name his next son after the General, and so the Manie Maritz name was brought into the Wahl family on 21 November 1914.

Naturally they were pro-German. Grandfather made a knives/forks bowl from wood in the Johannesburg Jail, as well as a tray. On the bowl it says: "Aan mijn lieve Vrouw van John, Johannesburg Tronk 28 Oktober 1915".

The Wahl's enjoyed playing Bridge and their ancestors were wagon makers. Grandfather John was an Elder in the N.G. Kerk in Loeriesfontein his entire life and the middle services, in-between Holy Communion, was always held on Stofvlei farm.

According to grandchild, Andries Wahl: "We knew grandfather as "Oupa Wahl" and all the other people I ever heard talking to or of him, used the diminutive – or in Afrikaans pronounced with a long "ô", or in English pronounced as "Johnny". During my stay in Keimoes I also managed an agency from the office in Pofadder, and there I dealt with 5 or 6 people who knew him. All of them added the "ie/y". A guy who rebelled against the English didn't want to be "John" if his name was "Adam Johannes".

Many of the area's children went to school at Nuwerus. The school lorry's destination, which was the transport of the area's schoolchildren to and from Nuwerus, was Stofvlei. Both Grandma and Grandpa Wahl's graves are in Stofvlei.

Grandfather Johnie had two sisters and as the family story goes there were two Wahl's that came from Germany. The one Wahl settled himself in Paarl and became Afrikaans and the other in Cape Town who became English – this part of the family included the well-known optometrist.

Grandfather Wahl's one sister married an Englishman, and grandfather never spoke to her again after that – remember it was the time of the Anglo-Boer War. I knew the other sister. She was Aunt Bettie Bodley and lived in Paarl. She had three daughters. Aunt Bettie's husband was Tom Boyley, but he died very young. The daughters were Hettie (her husband was a Van der Westhuizen, teacher at Boys High in Paarl), Magdaleen – married to a Hugo (English pronunciation), and Elise. Elise was a famous artist, especially for her sketches of wild flowers. She was married to Apie van Wyk, also an artist.

Grandfather John was a dignified, strict man with a good sense of humour who could always tell a good story – a trait that goes through all the Wahl's

Behind the scenes

Ruda Landman's birthplace in the dry and dusty town of Keimoes, in the Northern Cape, is a far cry from where her family's humble beginnings started in the lush and fertile valleys of Europe. From the Persecution of her family in France in the 1600's, her ancestry consists of a kaleidoscope of French refugees as well as Dutch and German Immigrants.

When the French Huguenots arrived at the Cape in 1688 as a closely linked group, in contrast to the Germans, they all lived together in Drakenstein, although they never constituted a completely united bloc; a number of Dutch farms were interspersed among them. Until May 1702 they had their own French minister, Pierre Simond, and until February 1723 a French reader and schoolmaster, Paul Roux. The Huguenots clung to their language for fifteen to twenty years; in 1703 only slightly more than one fifth of the adult French colonists were sufficiently conversant with Dutch to understand a sermon in Dutch properly, and many children as yet knew little or no Dutch at all. The joint opposition of the farmers toward W. A. van der Stel shortly afterwards brought the French more and more into contact with their Dutch neighbours; as a result of social intercourse and intermarriage they soon adopted the language and customs of their new country. Forty years after the arrival of the Huguenots, the French language had almost died out and Dutch was the preferred tongue.

In South Africa we are extremely lucky to have such superb and dedicated family historians, as well as exquisite records in our Archives, which begin prior to Jan Van Riebeeck landing at the Cape. Jan's diary of his voyage to South Africa is documented and stored in the Cape Town Archives.

This mammoth task of tracing Ruda's family tree in record time, was compiled to find out how far back the Wahl family and its branches can be traced as well as how many sets of grandparents can be found.  Click here to view Ruda's family tree.

The Wahl Family

Daniel Hendrik Wahl was born circa 1850 and research has proven that there is no legitimate documentation to prove his parentage. On the 17th February 1874, Daniel Hendrik applied for a special marriage license to marry Maria Catherina Reynecke.

Photographer of the Paarl: Daniel Hendrik Wahl's Insolvent Estate (In further documentation, and finding the Liquidation and Distribution account, it is noted that Daniel was known as the “Photographer of the Paarl and Wheelwright of Paarl” in 1883)

And in another image one section of the document refers to the surname as "de Wahl" and not "Wahl", which meant that one would now have to search under the many variants of including de Wahl, Waal and de Waal. Mr D.H Wahl's Insolvent Estate

Further documentation also mentions the "widow Reynecke" Elisabeth Wilhelmina Reynecke, which was his mother in law, as well as a Constant Wahl and Adam J Wahl who thus far cannot be linked to this immediate family as no parentage exists for Daniel. It is assumed that the two men mentioned are possibly brothers as they fit well with other documentation of the same period.

Unfortunately the common problem with variants of name spelling has been a classic example of the "brick wall" scenario, which has been encountered here thus the time limit on this research has been halted. The original Wahl Family whom Daniel Hendrik would have descended is (1) Johan(n) Christia(a)n Wahl, from Strelitz in Mecklenburg (Germany). Arrives here in 1752 as a soldier. Citizen in 1756. Married 10th September 1757 to Christina Gerrits, daughter of Herman Gerrits (2 children) or (2) Johan(n) Coenraad or Conrad Wahl, from Wildungen (Germany). Arrives here in 1774 as a soldier. Citizen in 1780. Died 15th October 1814. Married 12th November 1780 to Catharina Hilledonda van Dyk (7 children). Motto: Factis non verbis.

Most family pedigrees of this extent can take many years to complete and we at Ancestry24 have managed to go back 10 generations in two weeks.

A lineage and direct relation to South African actress Charlize Theron has also been illustrated and Ruda finds herself as the ½ 5th cousin to this Hollywood star.  Click here how Ruda and Charlize are related.

Jaques De Savoye

Jaques De Savoye (Ruda's 7 times great grandfather on her maternal side) was born in Ath, Belgium around 1636 and died in the Cape in October, 1717. He was a merchant and Cape free burgher and was the son of Jacques de Savoye and his wife, Jeanne van der Zee (Delamere, Desuslamer).

Jacques was a wealthy merchant in Ghent, Belgium, but his devotion to the Protestant religion led to his persecution by the Jesuits, and there was even an attempt to murder him. In 1687 he moved to the Netherlands and left for the Cape in the Oosterland on 29th January 1688. In addition to his wife, mother-in-law and three of his children, he was accompanied by the brothers Jean, Jacob and Daniel Nortier.

De Savoye soon became a leader among the French community at the Cape: he was one of the deputation which, on 28th November 1689, asked the Governor and Council of Policy for a separate congregation for the French refugees, and the following year he helped to administer the funds donated to the French refugees by the charity board of the church of Batavia. At various times he also served on the college of landdros and heemraden.

To begin with, Jacques farmed at Vrede-en-Lust at Simondium and in 1699 was also given Leeuwenvallei in the Wagenmakersvallei ( Wellington ), but settled at the Cape soon afterwards. He apparently experienced financial difficulties since in 1701 he owed the Cape church council 816 guilders and various people sued him for outstanding debts. In 1712 he described himself as being without means.

In March 1712 he left for the Netherlands in the Samson, accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law. He enrolled as a member of the Walloon congregation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 16th December 1714, but only four months later, on 20th April 1715, it was reported that he had returned to the Cape. There is, however no documentary proof of his presence neither at the Cape neither after 1715, nor in C.G. Botha's assertion that he died in October 1717.

De Savoye often clashed with other people. During the struggle of the free burghers against Wilhem Adriaen van der Stel, he was strongly opposed to the Governor and was imprisoned in the Castle for a time. He was also involved in a long-drawn-out dispute with the Rev. Pierre Simond, and he and Hercules des Pré went to court on several occasions to settle their differences.

He was married twice: first to Christiana du Pont and then to Marie Madeleine le Clercq of Tournai, Belgium, daughter of Philippe le Clercq and his wife, Antoinette Carnoy. Five children were born of the first marriage and three of the second. Three married daughters and a son remained behind at the Cape, as well as a son who was a junior merchant in the service of the V.O.C. and who died without leaving an heir.

Acknowledgements & Sources:

Ruda Landman
Gert Wahl
Keith Meintjies
National Archives Respository Cape Town
Dr Chris Theron
Janet Melville
Genealogical Institute in Stellenbosch
SAG Genealogies Volumes 1 – 13 www.gisa.org.za

Images Acknowledgement:

Images.co.za / Die Burger / Werner Hills; National Archives Respository Cape Town
Who's Who of Southern Africa (Ruda Landman)

Christiaan (Frederik) Louis Leipoldt

Born in Worcester, 28 December 1880 and died in Cape Town, 12 April 1947. Physician, poet and author, Louis was the fourth child of Christiaan Friedrich Leipoldt (Died: 11 November 1911), a Rhenish missionary and N.G. Kerk minister, and his wife Anna Meta Christiana Esselen (Died: 24 December 1903), the daughter of the Rev. Louis F. Esselen, a Rhenish missionary of Worcester, in whose home in Adderley Street Leipoldt was born and where he lived with his parents until he was four years old. His maternal grandfather gave Leipoldt his first lessons in reading and writing, guided his general education and exerted great influence on him during his formative years. His paternal grandfather, J. G. Lepoldt, was a Rhenish missionary at Ebenhaezer on the Olifants River and at Wuppertal. Leipoldt’s father was also a missionary, first in Sumatra and from 1879 at Worcester. In 1883, however, he became an N.G. Kerk minister and settled in 1884 at Clanwilliam in the N.G. parsonage in Park Street.The relationship existing among the members of the Leipoldt family was not a happy one, while Leipoldt’s relations with his mother were decidedly unhappy. However, he held his father in high esteem and greatly respected him.

An intellectually gifted child, Leipoldt received an exceptionally good grounding at home in the natural sciences, history, geography, languages (Greek, Latin, French), literature and Eastern religious conceptions. His father had an extensive library and gave Leipoldt informal instruction and guided him towards independent study by teaching him to consult source material and to solve problems on his own. This laid the foundation for his independent trend of thought in later years. His curiosity and spirit of investigation also manifested themselves in later life in his diversity of interests apart from literature: in education, the supernatural, in politics, psychology, philosophy, history, botany and in the culinary art. Even as a child his general knowledge was exceptional.

Leipoldt’s three home languages were English, German and Dutch. As a child he was able to read the language of the Malays. At a very early age he read a great deal, evinced a thirst for knowledge, a great capacity for work and an astonishing memory. He read the works of Dante, Bunyan, Milton, Racine and Scott, and before he was ten years old he knew long passages from the works of some of these authors. English became the language he used for journalism, while his poetry, prose and plays were written mainly in Afrikaans, although he began by writing his poetry in English.

Leipoldt’s childhood days were not happy. As his mother prevented his association with other children, he led a very lonely life in Clanwilliam. He remained at home until he had passed his matriculation examination. Two trips to Cape Town (1886 and 1890) made a deep impression on him. Although he attested to his unhappy life right to the end, nevertheless some of his poems reveal the intense joy which as a child he experienced in nature.

As an artist Leipoldt developed at an early age. His father encouraged him to read literary works and made him write essays which he criticized. This encouraged the artistic qualities dormant in him. From his sixth year he corresponded with his grandfather Esselen and this first conscious setting down of his observations trained him in the art of writing. Because of his loneliness he, even before his eighth year, created imaginary playmates in his writings. Throughout his life he continued to converse with himself in his poems, especially in his “Slampamperliedjies” (vagabond songs).

As the age of eight he wrote a tragedy inspired by Van Limburg Brouwer’s Akbar. Between the ages of ten and twelve he earned his first money with stories, which were published in the London Boy’s Own Paper and The Cape Argus, as well as with journalistic literature in The Cape Times, Cape Monthly Magazine and Scientific African. His creative and journalistic work during these early days was thus combined. At the age of fourteen he became a reporter for The Cape Times in the North-Western Cape. During these early years he also furnished news items for Johannesburg and Bloemfontein newspapers. He was helped with his poetry by an English minister, the Rev. C. D. Roberts, who also wrote poetry.

Leipoldt’s love for botany was awakened early in his life. In his twelfth year he met the well-known German botanist Rudolph Schlechter collecting plants in the veld outside Clanwilliam. Schlechter invited Leipoldt to accompany him on his trip by ox-waggon to Namaqualand. He later also became friendly with other well-known botanists such as Peter MacOwan, Harry Bolus and Rudolph Marloth.

Journalism was Leipoldt’s first profession. In 1896 he wrote to The Cape Times on the colour question, which gave rise to a violent controversy and F. S. Malan the editor of Ons Land devoted a leader to it. In 1898 Leipoldt published a number of sketches on Clanwilliam in the Cape Industrial Magazine. He also matriculated in that year. As the life in Clanwilliam was too confining for his budding genius, he moved to the Cape where he became a journalist for De Kolonist. Before his twentieth year he was already a contributor to several leading newspapers abroad. When the Second Anglo-Boer War broke out Leipoldt was unable to reconcile himself with the pro-Rhodes sentiment of De Kolonist and Het Dagblad and became the Dutch correspondent for the pro-Boer newspaper the South African News, which sent him to the North-eastern front. He also wrote communiques on the war for overseas newspapers such as the Manchester Guardian and Daily Express (England), Het Nieuws van de Dag en De Telegraaf (Holland), Petit Bleu (Belgium), the Hamburger Neueste Nachrichten (Germany), the Chicago Record and the Boston Post (U.S.A.). During the war Leipoldt travelled about a great deal in the Cape Colony as a shorthand recorder for the circuit court, and in 1900-01 he attended the court sessions dealing with Cape rebels. During this period he wrote a number of poems which appeared later in his first volume of poetry, such as ‘Oom Gert vertel’, which originated in Dordrecht in 1901, based on incidents related to him by an old man shortly after the engagement at Labuschagnesnek. His first published verses were war poems which appeared during the war in English in the pro-Boer New Age. In 1900 he published two sketches ‘De Rebel’ and in 1901 ‘Bambinellino’ in the Dutch art publication Elesevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift . They were written in Dutch but with an Afrikaans dialogue. It was the first belletristic contribution by an Afrikaans author to a Dutch paper. ‘De Rebel’ was the forerunner of the poem ‘Oom Gert Vertel’.

At the end of 1899 the editor of the South African News was imprisoned under martial law and the nineteen-year-old Leipoldt became editor until October 1901, when the paper was temporarily suspended under martial law. Leipoldt refused an offer from a Rhodesian newspaper and in 1902 went abroad. He travelled through Holland, Belgium, France and Spain as a reporter for the Manchester Guardian. In 1903 he enrolled at Guy’s Hospital, London, as a medical student but continued with his journalism, writing for English and American papers. In addition he attended lectures on law, and on occasion he travelled to the Netherlands to interview Pres. S. J. P. Kruger in Utrecht on behalf of the British press. In 1904 he became the editor of Sir Henry Burdett’s The Hospital, travelling to Europe and America to collect in-formation about hospitals. He also edited School Hygiene, the official publication of British school physicians.

In 1907 Leipoldt completed his medical studies, being awarded the gold medal for surgery as well as for medicine. He became a houseman at Guy’s hospital and furthered his studies in orthopaedics and children’s diseases in Berlin, Bologna, Vienna and Graz. In 1909 he went on a six-month luxury yachting excursion along the coast of America as personal physician to the eleven-year old son of the millionaire press-magnate, Joseph Pulitzer. In the U.S.A. he visited orthopaedic centres. In 1909 he received the F.R.C.S. in London and again travelled to France, Italy, West Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1909 his first book appeared: The ideal graduate study institution: what Germany has done (London, 1909). Between 1910 -11 he was attached to the large children’s hospital in Chelsea, London, and to the German hospital at Dalston. At this time he published his first book on nutrition and diet: Common sense dietetics (London, 1911), an adaptation of which he issued a quarter of a century later entitled The belly-book or diner’s guide (London, 1936).

He became a school doctor, first in south London and then in Hampstead, and in this capacity he frequently travelled to the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and the U.S.A. In January 1912 for health reasons he accepted the post of ship’s doctor in the Ulysses, on its voyage from England to the Dutch East-Indies, where he visited Java, Sumatra and Borneo. In June 1912 he returned, resumed his work in Hampstead and wrote a manual entitled The school nurse: her duties and responsibilities (London, 1912). While in London Leipoldt studied for and obtained various diplomas in cookery. Throughout his life he was interested in the culinary art and is known for his Kos vir die kenner (Cape Town, 1933). During the war in the Balkans (1912 -13) he again acted as war correspondent, for the allies, the Bulgarians, Roumanians, Servians and Greeks in their struggle against Turkey, but as a physician he on occasion even tended wounded Turks and as a mark of gratitude the University of Constantinople conferred an honorary degree on him.

Leipoldt’s poetical talent flourished during the years that he spent overseas, but as a poet he still felt the indelible effect of the Second Anglo-Boer War. In 1910 his friend J. J. Smith helped him in London with the editing of his first volume of poems, Oom Gert vertel en ander gedigte (Cape Town, 1911). It consisted of poems which dated from 1896 and is one of the most important volumes of early Afrikaans poetry. Together with J. F. Celliers and Totius (J. D. du Toit), whose volumes of poems appeared more or less simultaneously, he became known as one of the ‘Driemanskap’. The poems included in Leipoldt’s first volume are written in a magnificent colloquial Afrikaans bearing the characteristic Afrikaans and South African stamp; the volume has also some of the finest Afrikaans war poems. The poem which also furnishes the title of the volume is a dramatic monologue and Oom Gert is regarded as the first vital character in Afrikaans literature. This volume also contains brilliant nature poems and illustrates Leipoldt’s interest in the child, both in his role as a physician and later as a foster father.

Leipoldt in his role of the child’s friend reveals himself at an early stage in his other literary works. One of his most attractive stories entitled ‘Die weeskindjie wat ‘n moeder wou hê’, appeared in 1914 in Die Brandwag.

In 1914 Leipoldt returned to South Africa, and in April of the same year he became chief medical inspector of schools in the Transvaal, the first post of its kind in South Africa. When the First World War broke out in August, Gen. Louis Botha commandeered him for service in the Department of Defence. Later on he accompanied Botha as his personal physician, but in June 1915 he resumed his duties as school medical inspector.

In the meanwhile Leipoldt continued his work as a creative artist, and in this year revealed his ability as a dramatist. His first published play, Die Laspos, a one-act play which appeared on 25 May 1919 in Die Brandwag, was followed in 1920 by his second volume of poems Dingaansdag (Pretoria, 1920) which did not attain the high standard of the first. It dealt with the Great Trek and the Afrikaner nation during the First World War and the Rebellion. In his first volume the poet had sympathised and associated himself with the suffering and fortunes of his people, but in the new volume his political sentiments had undergone a change. Shortly afterwards a third volume of poems entitled Uit drie wêrelddele was published in Cape Town in 1923, and these poems were a great improvement on those of the previous volume. Some of them were written in England and others in the East Indies. Three of the best known poems in this volume are ‘By die vlei’, ‘Die man met die helm’, and ‘Grys-blou butte’, depicting a lonely man advanced in years. In ‘Droom en doen’ Leipoldt endeavours to forget the Second Anglo-Boer War and sallies forth to meet a new future. The poet who was so indignant about the war in Oom Gert vertel en ander gedigte now sought conciliation. He also revealed a strong cosmopolitan outlook.

Leipoldt evinced a strong interest in the East, its religion, customs, inhabitants and scenery, as is illustrated by his journey to the Orient (1912) and his poems on the East Uit Drie wêrelddele and Uit my Oosterse dagboek (Cape Town, 1932). His art was permeated by his interest in the exotic, the strange and extraordinary, the supernatural, the problem of death, the here-after, and in abnormal and deviate characters. Whereas Leipoldt had always been a man of sober, sound judgement in the scientific field, in journalism and in his everyday relationship with people, in the sphere of art he tended to be swayed by emotion.

In 1916 he assisted with the medical inspection of schools in Natal and in 1919 in the Cape. As a medical inspector of schools he did much for school tours, school holiday camps and convalescent homes for ailing children. His love of teaching was not only clearly discernible in his medical work but also came to the fore in various writings, such as Praatjies met die oumense (Pretoria, 1918), in which he proffered a miscellany of advice to parents on educational, medical and other topics. In 1919 Leipoldt and Dr Anne Cleaver established a school clinic in Johannesburg, the first of its kind in South Africa, and in the following year he published Die Afrikaanse kind in siekte en gesondheid (Cape Town, 1920). Among his best-known books for children are the educational Praatjies met die kinders (Pretoria, 1920), Stories vir kinders (Cape Town, 1922) en Kampstories (Pretoria, 1923), which appeared at a time when there was comparatively little in the way of Afrikaans reading matter for children.

During the time that Leipoldt was living in Pretoria in the capacity of medical inspector of schools he was also a regular contributor to Die Brandwag . He edited the Transvaal Medical Times and published poems and popular science articles in periodicals and newspapers such as De Goede Hoop, Ons Moedertaal, Die Boervrou, Die Volkstem and Die Huisgenoot. In Pretoria he became friendly with Dr F. V. Engelenburg, the editor of De Volkstem. In 1922 Leipoldt joined the editorial staff of the newspaper and in 1923 became its assistant-editor. However, he could not agree with Gustav S. Preller who succeeded Engelenburg in 1924 and was dismissed in 1925, butLeipoldt continued to write the column ‘Oom Gert se diwigasies’ for the paper until 9 December 1931.

In the early twenties Leipoldt published his greatest dramatic work entitled Die heks (Cape Town, 1923), which he had commenced writing in English during the years 1910-11 while in London. It was rewritten in Afrikaans in 1914 prior to his return to South Africa and he continued working on it until it was published in 1923. Even today it is regarded as one of the most important Afrikaans dramatic works and established Leipoldt as one of the pioneers in this field.
In the 1924 general election he stood as a candidate for the South African Party in the Wonderboom constituency, but was defeated. In April 1925 he again moved to Cape Town to set up practice as a child specialist, and spent some of his happiest years there until his death. Leipoldt cherished a deep affection for Cape Town with its scenic beauty and historical associations with the past.

Leipoldt opened his home ‘Arbury’ in Kenilworth to underprivileged boys who resided with him as his foster children. He legally adopted one boy, Jeffrey Leipoldt. In 1928 he accompanied a group of school children on a two-month holiday tour to England.

In Cape Town Leipoldt wrote medical articles for The Cape Argus. In 1926 he became secretary of the Medical Council of South Africa and editor of the South African Medical Journal, and also acted as a part-time lecturer on children’s diseases at the University of Cape Town (1926 -39). In 1939 he became part-time secretary of the South African Medical Council, travelled throughout the country and attended congresses and meetings. In 1934 an honorary D.Litt. degree was conferred on him by the University of the Witwatersrand.

From the thirties onwards Leipoldt showed a growing interest in his literary work, and these years proved particularly rewarding for him as an artist. Die laaste aand (Cape Town, 1930) was the first Afrikaans play ever written in verse form, although he had begun working on it as early as 1915. It is one of his best works, for which together with Die heks he was awarded the Hertzog prize in 1944. Die Bergtragedie (Cape Town, 1932), a long poem on which he had begun working before 1900 (originally in English), is not of a high standard although Leipoldt considered it good. A volume of poems entitled Skoonheidstroos (Cape Town, 1932), appeared at this time and included poems written during the period 1923-32. This work was also awarded the Hertzog prize and contains a number of Leipoldt’s loveliest poems, such as ‘n Kersnaggebed’, although it never achieved the heights attained by Oom Gert vertel en ander gedigte. At the beginning of the thirties a number of less successful works appeared: Afgode (1931), Die Kwaksalwer (1931) and Onrus (1931). Apart from these dramatic works Leipoldt also published three one-act plays: Jannie (1919), ‘n Vergissing (1927) en Die byl (1950).

His prose works were chiefly a product of the thirties. The first to appear was Waar spoke speel (Cape Town, 1927); it was followed by Wat agter lê en ander verhale (Cape Town, 1930); a long psychological novel: Die donker huis (Cape Town, 1931); and a lengthy historical novel set in the period shortly after the Great Trek: Galgsalmander (Cape Town, 1932). Die moord op Muizenberg (Cape Town, 1932) is a detective novel. Die rooi rotte (Cape Town, 1932) is a book of short stories. Uit my oorsese dagboek (Cape Town, 1932) is an absorbing travel book. Die verbrande lyk (Cape Town, 1934) is another detective story. Die dwergvroutjie (Cape Town, 1937), is a psychological story and was originally written in English. Bushveld doctor (London, 1937) is a well-written autobiography. This was followed in 1939 by Die Moord in die bosveld (Cape Town, 1939). In his prose works, which consist mainly of murder and detective stories, Leipoldt’s preoccupation with the abnormal in psychology, and with the supernatural and the mysterious comes to the fore. His prose works never attain tLeipoldthe heights achieved in his plays and poetry, yet he possesses a flowing and absorbing narrative style; and although it was small, he undoubtedly had a share in the development of Afrikaans prose. During these years he also wrote stories for children: Paddastories vir die peetkind (1934), Die wonderlike klok, Die mossie wat wou ryk word (1931) en Die goue eier (1937). He also published popular science fiction for children as exemplified in As die natuur gesels (two volumes, Cape Town, 1928, 1931).

Apart from his creative work during the thirties he published a number of works such as Medicine and faith (London, 1935) and various historical works based on secondary source material: firstly, Jan van Riebeeck: a biographical study (London, 1936), of which a German translation also appeared : Holland gründet die Kapkolonie: Jan van Riebeeck Leben and Werke (Leipzig, 1937). There is also an Afrikaans version entitled Jan van Riebeeck: die grondlegger van ‘n blanke Suid-Afrika (Cape Town, 1938). Leipoldt had begun to collect the material for his biography as early as 1896. The most significant facts about the Voortrekkers were summarised by him for young people in Die groot trek (Cape Town, 1938), which coincided with the Voortrekker centenary. During the Huguenot jubilee year he also published Die Hugenote (Cape Town, 1939). After his period of office as secretary of the South African Medical Council and editor of the council’s journal had ended in 1944, he devoted himself mainly to journalism and to acquiring information for a biography on Pres. S. J. P. Kruger which he had begun in 1906 but never completed. In his poetry and plays Leipoldt also showed an interest in historical characters such as Wolraad Woltemade, Pieter Gijsbert Noodt and other figures like De Lesseps and Multatuli.

When the Second World War broke out Leipoldt favoured South African participation. He wrote sonnets on the war for The Cape Times, the Forum, Die Volkstem, en De Stoep, a Curacao newspaper.

Leipoldt died shortly after the war of a heart complaint caused by rheumatic fever which he had contracted at the age of seven. The casket containing his ashes was interred at the entrance of a cave surrounded by boulders in the rocky country of the Pakhuispas near Clanwilliam, that countryside which he had loved so deeply, a short distance from the Clanwilliam-Calvinia road near Kliphuis. It is a picturesque part of the country where he roamed as a child. After his death three volumes of his poems were published: Die moormansgat en ander verhalende en natuurverse (Cape Town, 1948); Gesëende skaduwees (Cape Town, 1949) which contained poems written during the period 1910 to 1947; and The ballad of Dick King and other poems (Cape Town, 1949), Leipoldt’s only volume of English poems. This contains verses written at the time of the Second World War and also older poems, some even dating from his youth. They appeared under the name Pheidippides, a pseudonym whichLeipoldt had used in newspapers when publishing his English poems on the Second World War.

After Leipoldt’s death, 300 years of Cape Wine (Cape Town, 1952) and Polfyntjies vir die proe (Cape Town, 1963) also appeared, compiled from particularly absorbing articles written under the pseudonym K. A. it. Bonade in Die Huisgenoot (1942-7). His valuable collection of cookery books and his manuscripts of recipes are in the S.A. Library, Cape Town.

The University of Cape Town has a valuable and comprehensive collection of Leipoldt’s letters, manuscripts and journalistic work, as well as books which he donated to the library, such as the comparatively unknown poems which he wrote for the University of Cape Town Quarterly in the thirties.

Biographical information written by Leipoldtand published in Die Huisgenoot, include ‘Clanwilliam: herinneringe aan ‘n ou dorpie’ (5 November 1926), ‘Eerste skoffies’ (1 December 1933), ‘Oor my eie werk’ (6 December 1940), ‘Jeugherinneringe’ (9 May 1947) and ‘My jubileumjaar’ (17 January 1947). His ‘Outobiografiese fragment’ appeared post-humously in Standpunte (18 December 1950). He never succeeded in carrying out his resolution to write an autobiography.

Leipoldt’s literary output constitutes only a part of his rich, versatile life, and yet it represents one of his greatest contributions to South Africa. Remarkably diverse in nature, his works include articles on popular science, journalistic work, translations, and numerous volumes of poetry, plays, novels, short stories and travel reminiscences. The quality of his work is not uniform and his poems frequently lack finish; nevertheless he is still one of the greatest Afrikaans poets and dramatists.

Leipoldt, who from childhood had received a strongly English-orientated education, enjoyed moving in English circles and during his later years spent most of his time among the English-speaking section. As a poet, although he wrote typically Afrikaans poetry and transformed the then unmoulded literary Afrikaans of the early twenties into an elevated medium for poetry, later he tended to ridicule the Afrikaner, the typically Afrikaans characteristics, and the Afrikaans language which he had employed so skillfully as a writer. He even spoke disparagingly of his war poems, describing them as a product of youthful immaturity. He had always been opposed to the Afrikaans-Calvinistic viewpoint, although he frequently employed Christian sentiments in his poems and was without difficulty able to identify himself with the aspirations of the Afrikaner. The English press devoted a good deal of space to Leipoldt in their columns at the time of his death; nevertheless, his passing was felt most keenly by the Afrikaans-speaking section and his memory remains indelibly imprinted among the Afrikaner people. There are two facets discernible in Leipoldt’s character: on the one hand his astounding versatility, his ability to contend with a number of interests simultaneously, and on the other the picture of a person of many conflicting emotions.

Although Leipoldt confessed to being lonely, he had a wide and influential circle of friends and acquaintances, including Gen. J. C. Smuts, Dr Engelenburg, Prof. P. D. Hahn, John X. Merriman, the Roman Catholic priest F. C. Kolbe, Prof. P. MacOwan, Dr Rudolph Marloth, Marcus Viljoen and Dr Harry Bolus. It was Dr. Bolus who encouraged Leipoldt’s love of nature, made him conscious of the beauty of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and provided him with financial backing when he went overseas in 1902. Abroad Leipoldt made the acquaintance of Pres. S. J. P. Kruger, Dr W. J. Leyds and Ramsay Macdonald. Leipoldt also numbered Cecil John Rhodes and a few prominent women among his acquaintances. Although he never married and on occasion made odd pronouncements about women and also wrote little love poetry, he was known for his conspicuous gallantry towards ladies and there are agreeable female characters in his poetry, in “Die heks” and in “Van Noot se laaste aand”.

In his poetry Leipoldt created an impression of strong individualism and detachedness, yet he contrived to serve his fellowmen in public life in many spheres: as a physician, as a journalist and as a lover of children.

There is a statue of Leipoldt in plaster of Paris by Florencio Cuairan in the Jagger Library of the Cape Town University, and one in bronze in the public library, Clanwilliam, and in the Medical Centre, Wale Street, Cape Town. Photographs taken at different stages in his life appear in Burgers (infra).

Source: Dictionary of South African Biography (Volume II)

Image: Cape Town Archives

Born in Harlingerode, Brunswick, Germany on 7th May 1803 and died in Rosebank, Cape, 28th February 1905), merchant, artist and musician, was the youngest son of Cornelius (von) Landsberg (1765-1843) who emigrated from Brunswick because of political oppression after the fall of Napoleon. With his wife, Elisabeth Knoblanch (1763-1857), and his children he arrived on 8 August 1818, after a voyage of eleven months and settled in Cape Town as a watchmaker. According to family tradition the Landsberg’s originated from royalty and owned a German castle built by Count Hero in 976. From 1415 to 1798 the castle was the seat of the Bernese governors. In 1803 it was awarded to the canton of Aargau and at present belongs to the city of Lenzburg. Family correspondence in the Potchefstroom Museum tends to discredit this tradition.

Soon after his arrival at the Cape L. joined trading ventures to the interior. By the early 1820s he had become a snuff manufacturer (‘Landsberg’s snuff’ is still used) and by 1831 was registered as a retailer in Shortmarket Street, Cape Town, where the firm still exists. His business soon expanded to embrace tobacco and cigars, medicines, and later, wines and spirits. By the end of the century Landsberg travellers were known throughout South Africa.

As a young man he taught drawing and music at the Tot Nut van’t Algemeen school from 1847 to 1851, and at the South African College. In 1870 he still had his studio at 17 Roeland Street. He was a co-founder of the Cape Musical Society, playing first violin in its orchestra. Of his 200 works as an artist, some seventy-five, including sculptured heads of his grandparents, were presented to the Potchefstroom Museum by a grandson, August D’Astre. ‘The Magi’, a large painting, was removed from the Mowbray town hall, Cape Town, after repeated mutilation by vandals and, so far, has not been traced. A lithography of his painting of Brandvlei Baths, near Worcester, is included in Poortermans, while the Potchefstroom Museum has a number of Landsberg’s original paintings.

His European scenes were developed from sketches perhaps made during his visit to Europe in 1864, or, in the case of earlier ones, were painted from memory. Of his Cape scenes (some are in water-colours) good examples are ‘Farmstead at Worcester, 1847′; ‘Storm at the Cape, 1865′; ‘Washerwomen in Platteklip, 1882′; and ‘A rugby match on the Camp Ground, 1888′.

His larger works are either Biblical or historical, being realistic and minutely detailed. Cape characters such as Hottentot women, Bantu and piccanins appear in his ‘Christ addressing the people’ and ‘The last trump’. The large ‘ Battle between Germani and Romans’ is full of action and human expression. His men and women are muscular and often ruggedly Semitic-featured. His ‘Moses with the ten Commandments’ was presented to the Cape Parliament in 1883. The Africana Museum, Johannesburg, possesses a large painting (44½ inches by 66½ inches) of the battle of Amajuba, done in 1881, and Personality contains coloured reproductions of four brilliant pieces: ‘Gibraltar’, ‘Frederick the Great of Prussia’, ‘Arrival of Julius Caesar on the British coast’ (showing the fierce struggle in the water), and the peaceful ‘Camp ground, Rondebosch’. Mrs Thora Botha, a descendant, owns the painting of the Tugela River (1823), in which his sister was drowned.

Hottentot Girl

Otto lived moderately and was a devout Unitarian. He remained an active walker and horse-man, an excellent raconteur, and was in his hundredth year strong enough to play the violin and to start a painting, ‘The Creation’.
His profits were invested in bonds on farms and by 1880 he was able to hand his business over to his grandson, Julius Otto Jeppe, and retire in comfort to Vredenburg, Rosebank.

He died at almost 102 years, possibly the last South African to have seen Napoleon en route for Russia in 1812. After one of the largest funerals seen in Cape Town, he was buried on 2nd March 1905 in St Peter’s Cemetery, Mowbray. His first wife was Maria Jacoba de Jongh (1809 -10 March 1861); his second wife, Catherine Matchell (1840 -30 April 1911), accompanied him, in 1864, on his only visit to Europe. One of Otto’s sons was Ernst Landsberg, M.L.C. for the western divisions in the Cape Parliament (1864 -68). Of the thirteen children of his first marriage only two daughters, Julia Elizabeth D’Astre and Sophia Theresa Henrietta Lithman, survived him; they and the children of a deceased daughter, Maria Jacoba Carolina Jeppo (first wife of Hermann Jeppe), and his widow became the main heirs of his estate, which amounted to over £95 000. Bequests also went to some servants, and to churches of all denominations. There are portraits of Landsberg in the Potchefstroom Museum (they include a photograph of him at the age of 100 years) and (infra) in The Veld and The Cape Argus.

Source: Dictionary of South African Biography

Image Source: SA Standard Encyclopaedia – Hottentot Girl, by Otto Landsberg, in the Potchefstroom Museum

Botha, Mrs Annie Frances Bland

Wife of General the Right Honourable Louis Botha, P.C, Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, Minister for Agriculture.Born at Swellendam, Cape Colony.

Daughter of John George C. Emmett, Esq.

Educated at St. Michael’s Home, Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.

Clubs: Alexandra, London Alexandra, Cape Town etc.

Societies: South African Women’s Federation, Prisoners’ Aid Society, Women’s South African Party, Women’s Agricultural Society, South African Women’s Industrial Union, Girl Guides etc.

Takes great interest in all Social, Industrial and Philanthropic Institutions affecting the general welfare of South Africa.

Has three sons, two daughters: Louis, John, Philip; Helena (de Waal), Frances.
Addresses: Groote Schuur, Rondebosch, Cape Peninsula; Sunnyside, Pretoria, Transvaal; Rusthof, near Standerton, Transvaal.