MASTER WATCHMAKER

Deryck NUNES was one of the last remaining master watchmakers in South Africa. He died in George in February 2008 at the age of 68. He originally opened a jewellery shop in Paarl, but after his step-father, Raffaele D‘AMATO, recovered from a serious illness, the family moved to George in 1957. They opened Raffaele d‘Amato Jewellers in York Street, with Deryck's mother, Monica. Raffaele was an Italian immigrant, and was trained at a young age as a master watchmaker. He trained Deryck who eventually had clients from England, Germany and Israel. Deryck and his wife, Marlene, took over the family business and, with their eldest son Michél, a jewellery designer, made Raffaele d‘Amato Jewellers one of the country‘s leading manufactures of designer jewellery and timepieces. Deryck was survived by his wife, children Michél, Juanita and Carlo, and grandchildren Daniel, Sean and Cailin.

HISTORY IN ITALY

The Italian village of Grizzana-Morundi has named a peace project after South African politician Colin EGLIN (88) in honour of his bravery in World War II. The Colin Eglin Project for Peace honours his service in Italy during the war. The project is aimed at local school pupils, focuses on teaching them the ideals and principles Eglin stands for. Each year the village has liberation celebrations. In 2007 the celebrations took place at the summit of Monte Stanco, where a battle took place in 1945 and troops of the 6th South African Armoured Division captured the strategic mountain stronghold. Eglin took part in the battle. He was also in the battle at Monte Sole, on his 20th birthday, where the 6th Armoured South African division held their ground and took the mountain-hold from German control. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his part in this battle. There is a South African cemetery in Castiglione dei Pepoli.

CORNER STORE HISTORY

One of East London’s oldest corner shops closed in February 2008 after almost 75 years. Quigney Supply Store was co-owned by Dolly RADLOFF and her siblings Edith and Lee. It was started by their father in 1934. One of the oldest customers was Harry CHOATES (58) who had been a customer for over 40 years.

RESTORING HISTORY

Port Elizabeth-born and raised Savvas KOUSHIS (48) and his wife Amanda. have restored Grahamstown‘s historic Victorian-style Frontier Country Hotel to its original splendour, a project that cost R6,6-million. The ground floor of the building houses a Nedbank branch. The top floor houses rooms overlooking Market Square, the Cathedral of St Michael and St George, the city hall and two rows of Victorian-style shops. The corner balcony is the one where, in 1947, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England and their daughters stood and watched horse racing around Church Square. Savvas has run hotels and restaurants all over South Africa. He collects antiques and loves history. The Frontier is not his first historical project. He also bought and opened Assegai Lodge near Grahamstown, which was built in 1717 and used as a garrison by the British in 1785.

Savvas was in the news earlier in 2008 when he appealed to a Port Elizabeth township resident who was given an old brass bed by his late father Peter, to return it. The bed was shared by Cecil John RHODES and Neville Ernach PICKERING in Kimberley. The bed is believed to be worth R30 000. Peter was a Port Elizabeth barber who owned College Gents Hairdressers in Russell Road. He bought the enamelled bed with solid brass knobs and wheels, near Kimberley in 1983, not realising the historical and monetary value of the bed. In the 1990s he gave it to some poor people from the township. Savvas found out that the home of Neville PICKERING was auctioned off in 1983, with all its contents. He died in 1886 in Kimberley. He was hired by Rhodes in 1881 as a secretary at De Beers Mining Company. In 1882 Rhodes had made a will, leaving all his estate to Pickering. After Pickering's death, he made another will in 1888.

JOCK'S STATUE

In January 2008 the statue of Jock, the famous Staffordshire Bull Terrier that belonged to Sir Percy FITZPATRICK, found a new home at the Johannesburg Zoo. The statue was erected in 1992 in the gardens of the Johannesburg Hospital in Parktown, where Sir Percy's house, Hohenheim, used to stand. It was the same year that the film, Jock of the Bushveld, was made. The statue was commissioned in 1992 by the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust, as part of Parktown's centenary. It was unveiled on 11 November 1992 by the actor, Jonathan RANDS, who played Sir Percy in the film about Jock. A few years later, thieves tried to steal the statue and it was then moved into the hospital's entrance hall. Sally-Ann Fitzpatrick NIVEN, great-grand-daughter of Sir Percy, was at the unveiling of Jock's new spot, together with Flo BIRD of the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust. Jock died when Sir Percy's friend, Tom BARNETT, shot him by mistake. Jock was deaf as a result of being kicked by a kudu, and did not hear Tom the night Tom heard noises in the chicken run. Tom was looking after Jock while Sir Percy was travelling.

A FULL LIFE - CAPT. MEYER BOTHA

In 1993, Captain Meyer BOTHA, airline pilot and a former race car driver, flew more than 26 000 km from the USA via Singapore to Delareyville, to attend Laerskool Wildehondepan's 75th anniversary celebrations. Captain Botha was a pilot with Singapore Airlines at the time and was on duty flying from Singapore-Los Angeles-Singapore flight. After landing in Singapore, he boarded an SAA flight for Johannesburg, and then drove to Grand Central in Midrand, where he flew his Mooney 020 aircraft to Delareyville. After the clebrations, he flew back to Grand Central, before flying SAA back to Singapore.

Of the six students who were in Standard 6 at the school in 1949, five attended the celebrations - Marais AUCAMP, Gert VAN DER RYST, Alta JOHANSSEN (married SCHOLLY), Meyer BOTHA and Johanna KOEN (married JACOBS). Laerskool Wildehondepan was one of the few operating farm schools left then. Capt. Botha's father was a teacher there. The first teacher was Miss LE ROUX (married DU TOIT), who was a 97 year-old widow and living in Johannesburg in 1993.

In 1997, Capt. Botha visited Killarney Race Track in Cape Town, the scene of one of his accidents in 1972 in a Lucky Strike Lotus 49C car. After the 1972 crash he was treated by the doctor on duty. Dr. Harry WADE, who was still involved in 1997 as a doctor on race days at Killarney. In 1969 Capt. Botha crashed another car at a Formula V race in Daytona, USA. In 1970 he won the Meissner Trophy in Formula Ford racing, racing a Lotus car belonging to Dave CHARLTON (six times SA champion). Capt. Botha started racing 1959 and played a big role in getting Formula V started in South Africa in 1966. His last race was in 1972 in a Formula One race. After leaving SAA in 1986, he flew for Singapore Airlines until July 1997. Jody SCHECKTER (1979 world champ) was runner-up in Daytona this race, and went to the UK as part of Capt. Botha's prize because he could not get leave from SAA. Whe he raced the Lotus car, his race mechanic was Sampie BOSMAN. Sampie's son Stephen later became a GTi race driver and a helicopter pilot.

After finishing school, Capt. Botha joined the South African Air Force. He became the youngest SAAF officer when he was made a 2nd Lieutenant at the age of 17 years, 6 months. He went on to study agricultural engineering at the University of Pretoria, before returning to the SAAF. At the age of 21 he joined SAA and stayed there until 1986.

The life of this interesting man ended tragically in October 1998, when he was shot by two murderers at his home in Mear Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria. He was rushed to the Medforum Hospital where he passed away. Capt. Botha was 61 years old and had retired from flying in 1997. He was in the process of turning his house into a guest house. Capt. Botha was divorced. His son, Retief Botha, was a vet in London, and his daughter Melinda VIAN a medical doctor in Cape Town.

DAD WAS WWII HERO

Pietermaritzburg businessman Nad PILLAY (57) started looking into his father's family history after his father's death in 1969. What he found was that his father was a World War II hero. He joined the Army when he was 22. Private A.S. (Haps) PILLAY was captured on three times. Nad and his five sisters always wondered about their father's service but he rarely spoke about it. Nad, who lives in Northdale, started looking for letters, pictures and postcards after his father’s death, and compiled an album. Now he wants to find the families of the men who served with his father, so that together they can discover more. His father served in the Cape Malay Corps. He travelled through North Africa and parts of Europe, including Italy, as a member of the South African Military Transport Unit between 1942 and 1945. He was first captured in Libya in 1942 by German soldiers. On another occasion, he was captured at Tobruk and held in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp. He managed to escape again and hid in the mountains for a year, meeting a group of rebels opposed to the Italian-German alliance. He joined them in acts of sabotage throughout Italy. He later made his way through German lines but was again captured. He was held prisoner until the Allied forces invaded Italy. He was once on a ship which was torpedoed in the Mediterranean and was in the water for several hours before being picked up by a cruiser. Haps was awarded several medals, including the Distinguished Service Order, the 1939-1945 Star, the African Service Medal and the War Medal 1939-1945. Nad found that while other black soldiers received a bicycle for their military service, his father received a car, which he used to start a taxi business in Pietermaritzburg. When the Group Areas Act was enforced, Boom Street residents in central Pietermaritzburg were not forced out because of Haps’ military service. However, a few years later, the Group Areas Act was enforced once more and the residents had to move.