Interview with Franco Lambiase – 1976
Franco came to St David’s as a day boy in 1970 from Bramley Primary School after his family
had emigrated back to South Africa from 18 months in Italy. Arriving in standard 6 he found St
David’s to be a very strict school with mainly brothers teaching. Having come from a nonconformist
environment Franco found St David’s to be regimental and it was difficult for him to
adapt.
Brother Anthony was the headmaster until 1975 when Brother Timothy took over. The brothers
he remembers include Br Bosco (Mario); Br Bernard; Br Aquinas, Br Timothy, Br Aidan the
bursar; Br Ronald and Br Andrew (Drac). Of the lay teachers he remembered Mr Saunders -
Afrikaans, Mrs Zent the librarian who gave him writing lessons and Heather Joseph was friendly
with William Carew (Bubbles), Trudy Elliott, - English with whom he kept in touch.
Franco wasn’t very sporty but played 3rd team rugby and hated swimming. He was there when
the new Science wing and auditorium were opened in 1972. Franco was quite artistic and was
awarded a trophy for Art and also did the decorations for the matric dance – a medieval theme.
Academically Franco did not excel but managed to pass his matric.
After matriculating, Franco went on to Wits University where he studied Pharmacy. He ran a
pharmacy until 1993 when he finally gave this up to become a confectioner and now runs his
own business making specialty cakes. He makes cakes for magazines, wedding expos and is a
member of the Cake Decorators Guild. He judges for Angela Day the mince pies, hot cross
buns and Christmas cakes.
Franco is not a member of MOBS but participated in last year’s St David’s Christmas market.
JLE February 2013

Interview with Rowan Stafford – 2003
Rowan came to St David’s into grade 8 from St Peter’s Prep and after one month at St Peter’s College. He
and his good friend Matthew Alford both came from St Peter’s, their friendship goes back a long time.
Rowan arrived at St David’s on a Tuesday whilst assembly was in progress in the old hall, not knowing
where to go or what to do. James Barrow was assigned to show him around and then at first break he met
up with Matthew.
Rowan enjoyed the sport and was a member of 1st team hockey for 2 ½ years. He made it to the final trials
but didn’t make the provincial team. He was good at athletics and a keen cricketer but didn’t quite make it in
the larger school that was St David’s and played in the B team. He was injured in his first game of rugby
and didn’t play again. Rowan also enjoyed golf and got down to a 3 handicap playing after school at
Wanderers.
As to the camps, Rowan thought himself fortunate to miss the grade 8 camp at Glenmore but thought the
grade 10 camps were more fun. The boys went to St Lucia where they had to camp out on the beach with
only their sleeping bags. Unfortunately there was an absolute deluge and the boys ended up sheltering in
some nearby toilets, cold, wet and shivering. There was a 1st team hockey tour to Cape Town instead of
Argentina where they got a hiding from the big schools down there. During another tour to St Albans with
Andrew Taylor as captain, the boys sneaked out to go to movies, were caught and did not play the next day
and Andrew was stripped of his captainship.
The teachers all had their individual ways of disciplining the boys – Mr Buys used a water polo ball, Mrs
Cameron her high heeled shoes and Mr McMillan his cricket bat. There were some bad moments with
Marius Buys with his strange stories and methods of teaching. He particularly liked Mrs Roman who had so
much patience and love for her pupils. He recalled an incident when she was writing on the board and
someone started throwing naartjies around. One naartjie narrowly missed Rowan and ended up splattering
the board next to Mrs Roman, she just sighed and carried on. Mrs Voorendyck was also popular but once
ended up sending the whole class out because none of the boys bar 3 had done their homework. Mr
Andrew was quite scary in that one could never tell what kind of mood he would be in. Paul Edey also
impacted as a teacher, having so much charisma and no one wanted to get a bad mark. Rowan felt he was
a major influence with a personal relationship with every boy in the high school.
Rowan together with Matthew Alford used to edit the school’s weekly newsletter working for Reverend
Bruce. They did this for 2 ½ years giving up the job before their matric exams. They had to get it ready for
printing on Thursday and there was always a rush to find a cartoon for the front page.
Rowan recalls bunking assembly and Afrikaans often using the newsletter as an excuse. Sometimes they
would join Jason Sturzenegger in his booth where he operated the sound. On one occasion they thought a
teacher was coming and had to climb up through the trap door to the bell tower and wait until assembly was
over.
Jason remembers the matric ance and in particular the after party held at Melrose Arch when they were all
kicked out the venue and his father came and took him and Matthew home rather drunk.
Rowan received half colours for hockey and was a library prefect. He remembers that particular assembly
when his girlfriend from Kingsmead was there and Mr Williams made the announcement which came as a
complete surprise to him. Rowan also received a prize for Mathematics standard grade in 2003.
Rowan matriculated with distinctions in Art HG and Mathematics SG and went on to study at Rhodes which
he found to be a big wake up call. He studied a BComm and majored in three subjects going on to do an
LM in Trusts and is currently finishing off an LLM in tax through Unisa. He is currently employed by Mahons
as a commercial attorney dealing with general commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, trusts and tax.
Rowan didn’t feel strongly about the school when he left but after time realised how important it had been
and enjoyed the recent reunion and the MOBS reunions held at Rhodes. He would send any sons of his to
St David’s and is a member of MOBS. He would also be interested in participating in future matric rites of
passage.
Rowan recently played in the hockey tournament held in honour of Malcolm Williams and realised just how
fit he was when at school.
Rowan’s company participates in community development with one of the senior partners being a board
member of the Teddy Bear Clinic donating cash and legal services.
JLE December 2013

Interview with Raymond John – 1977
Raymond first came to St David’s in the early 1960’s as he had strong ties with the school
being the second youngest of 6 brothers and currently has a son Marco John in grade11. His
brothers were Jimmy (1964); Michel (1972); Costa (1973); Yango (1974); and Marcel (1978).
Raymond joined St David’s as a day boy in 1967, grade 2, the first year the grades were
introduced, he had attended Rosebank Convent for grade 1.
It was not unfamiliar territory for Raymond as had always been involved with his brothers
watching Rugby against KES and other schools. He remembered the bright red buses that
used to bring the KES boys, whole school to support at such big matches.
The teachers he recalls are Mrs Marsay grade 2, Mrs Elliott Std 1, Mrs Napier Std 2; Mrs
Geddes Std 3; Miss Cougan Std 4 and Mrs Kensovitch in Std 5 – she was very strict but
included a spiritual aspect in all that she taught and had a big influence on Raymond’s
spiritual upbringing. Of the Brothers there was Br Ronald, Br Bernard who taught Latin, Br
Mario, Br Aidan and of course Br Anthony.
Raymond enjoyed the sport and played cricket, rugby, soccer and participated in athletics
and played A team cricket until matric when he played a few games for the 1sts and was
captain of the 2nds. In 1970 the cricket oval was opened and top overseas cricketers were
there. He remembers bowling to Geoff Boycott who stayed at the school for a while. Don
Wilson who became the coach for the MCC and Peter Stringer who is the cricket coach at
Trinity College. Raymond was also captain of 2nd team rugby.
He recalled that the matches against Observatory were very intense and competitive
whether it was rugby or water polo and that in 1971 Obs boys came and defaced the school
with spray paint.
Raymond’s house “The Bishops” always came last in inter-house competitions but they
always won the Spirit Cup.
On the cultural side, Raymond was a member of the debating team and in the semi-final of
the Kobe Cup. He also played a role in “Hamlet” fencing with Marc John.
He recalled that St David’s in 1975 was the first school in South Africa to admit black pupils.
The apartheid government was establishing relations with other African countries and had to
accommodate the Malawian ambassador’s children as they couldn’t do that in the public
schools.
Something else that stands out in Raymond’s memory was that of Desmond Tutu coming to
the school and addressing the boys.
There were no camps as we know them today but Raymond remembered an outing to the
planetarium and a rugby camp in Std 9 when he was injured.
Raymond felt that, at the time, the school didn’t pay enough attention to academics and that
the prep school wasn’t as good as it should have been. However he remembered that Br
Ezekial was a really outstanding Maths teacher.
In 1972 the boarding facility, the back bone of the school closed which had a huge impact.
Many boys, sons of ambassadors, those from outlying areas of South Africa had to find other
boarding schools to accommodate them.
Raymond was awarded an honours blazer and had scrolls for studies, merit and debating of
which he was very proud. Raymond was the top student in grade 7 and also in his matric
year.
His last day was a half day and a bit of a letdown. He then went into the army for 2 years to
do his national service it was the first year that the 2 year commitment started. Originally
Raymond wanted to study medicine but after his army service studied instead for a BComm.
at Wits University. He then worked at the JSE eventually ending up at Investec for 17 years
and now runs his own business.
Raymond’s late father was very involved with the school raising funds to buy extra land. The
brothers presented the school with the Costa John Memorial Trophy in his memory, for
excellence in swimming, academics and athletics.
Raymond is currently on the board of governors for the Lebanese Catholic School in the
south of Johannesburg which has now opened up to grade 2. He is also a trustee of the
Opus Securitatus which administers the priest’s pension fund. He is also a member of
MOBS. He was also fortunate to visit Br Anthony at Nazareth House before he died. He
remembered fondly that Br Anthony was the guest speaker at his brother Jimmy’s 21st
birthday celebration.
JLE June 2013

Interview with Kevin Moran – 1985
Kevin came to St David’s in 1974, grade 1 and remembers being quite nervous and not wanting
to go to school. He had his lunch box stolen by Warwick Dredge and he didn’t want to go back
to school. However he and Warwick became great friends and still keep in touch.
The teachers he remembers are Mrs Eliot, the best one, she was a long time English teacher
and instilled in Kevin a love of Shakespeare and he thought she was an excellent teacher. He
learnt so much in his last two years with her. Mr Collia was a good Maths teacher despite
Kevin’s personal dislike of him. Willy Castle, because he pushed him even though he hated it at
the time, however even though he was tough, he was always there to show support in his later
years playing rugby in the high school. Kevin thought Mr Boswell was an excellent teacher and
fair. He loved Mr McFadden as a funny unique character who knew how to teach for the final
exam, but Kevin wouldn’t have recommended his rote style of teaching. There was also a Br
Gerard was an amazing man who played in Craven week or its equivalent when he was in high
school. He was also spiritual and Kevin found him to be inspirational in his kindness. Many of
the teachers really inspired Kevin. He remembers taking an Ad Maths course which was
basically the same as the course (1st semester) he took at university which certainly helped him.
Kevin remembered Mr Murphy the school’s first lay headmaster who turned out to be a fraud
and a professional wrestler and there being a lot of embarrassment when he was found out.
Kevin recalled that In grade1 and 2, he loved playing marbles. The headmistress of the grades
was an elderly, very kind woman who would point her finger which was bent at the knuckle,
probably from arthritis. In the primary school, Willy Castle was his soccer coach and, as Kevin
didn’t like soccer, Willy went to fetch him a few times from the bus stop before he could get on
the bus. Kevin remembered kind Br Anthony leaving and the more intimidating Br Timothy
taking over. Kevin really enjoyed the History tour to Natal.
In high school sports became more important and rivalries with other schools became more
intense. He loved the swimming and rugby tours. Kevin played in the 1stXV rugby, A and B
team swimming, A team water polo and was on and off the athletics team. He was also a
member of the All Marist XV team in 1985. However some his worst moments were all sports
moments that had nothing to do with the school. Things like playing for the first time in the U12A
rugby team in a Currie Cup curtain raiser and being the reason why St David’s lost the game
because he could not hook or throw a straight line out. The team never had possession
because of him and lost by 24 points. He felt that the team was great and should have won by
20 plus. Another occasion that stands out was when he was playing 1stXV against Marist
Observatory when he tried to tackle their best player. He not only stiff armed him but grabbed
the back of his collar and dragged him probably 15 metres on his face, much to the delight of
Observatory’s entire school.
Kevin enjoyed the camaraderie with all his close friends with whom he is still close to this day
even though he moved to the USA to go to college and he sees them in South Africa or in the
US on a regular basis. Friends,such as Jason Goodall, Mathew Smith, Eugene Taylor and Paul
Johnston. He loved playing sports, particularly rugby and despite paying lip service to disliking
school, he enjoyed all of it, including the classroom for the most part.
What he didn’t enjoy was particularly in the junior school, he didn’t like some of the teachers and
how they treated the pupils. He was fine with caning and the like, but some of the more
sensitive children were not ok with it and some of the teachers were quite cruel. He now realises
that it was a different world back then. In high school Kevin had a personal run in with a Maths
teacher, they really disliked each other. The teacher later became the 1st team rugby coach
much to Kevin’s dismay. They continued to clash and Kevin didn’t get his rugby scroll..
All he remembers of his last day was that it was spent writing the last final and then all of the
matrics running out of school screaming and shouting. Later a group of them stood outside
planning their trip to Plett.
After matriculating Kevin studied for a Bachelors degree at University of California, Irvine and
Juris Doctor (law degree) from the University of the Pacific, McGregor School of law and is now
a practising attorney.
Nobody in his family went to university, there was no expectation to do so but he had some
incredible teachers at St David’s who made it clear that they expected everyone in his class to
go to university.
Kevin is married living in California with his wife and two daughters aged 6 and 8.
JLE June 2013

Interview with Martin Rumpelt – 1973
Martin came to St David’s from the German School Johannesburg in standard 6. His parents were not too
happy with the lack of discipline at the German School and the fact that matric would have to be written in
English when all the teaching was given through the medium of German. Father Paulsen was a family friend
and he recommended St David’s as an alternative. Martin had an older brother Thomas who also attended St
David’s matriculating in 1972, he currently lives in Germany.
Martin had been given a tour of the school the year before he arrived and had met the brothers but was, none
the less nervous on his first day. He knew a couple of boys from Cubs and Scouts one of whom was Vincent
O’Mahoney which made life a little easier. Br Anthony was headmaster at the time and he remembered some
of the other Brothers – Br Andrew (Drac) so called because he drew blood when he caned the boys. He was
Spanish and regarded all the boys as spoilt brats and that he was the equaliser; Br Bernard- very artistic and
had a darkroom downstairs below the Science block; Br Mario who still visits Martin’s mother; Br Timothy (Tin
Man) who was the rugby coach for all the 1st teams and a super guy; Br Anthony – (Oaunges); Br Michael; Br
Aidan the bursar who impressed the boys no end with his visitors who came on motor bikes in leather gear; Br
Vincent; Br Paul who was blind; Br Aquinas and Br Patrick. He recalled Mrs Janusch who taught Latin and who
had long conversations with the brothers in Latin.
Martin really enjoyed the sport especially coming from a school where the main sports were swimming and
tennis and some soccer. He loved the swimming, water polo, tennis and rugby. He had never played rugby
before and, with the classes being so small everyone had to participate in either an A or B team. Nassey
Simaan was the rugby coach and he remembers his first rugby match when Mike Griffiths kicked the ball which
bounced off the bars straight into Martin’s hands, He didn’t know what to do and didn’t know the rules but
Nassey screamed at him to score a try –so he managed to score in his first game. He had a “deja vous”
moment recently when his son was playing rugby on the same field in exactly the same conditions – a
flashback to a moment in time. Martin was also a member of the Transvaal karate team which was an extramural
activity.
Discipline was good and all the boys accepted the caning when they had done wrong. Once Br Andrew caned
the whole school, there was a visiting team and someone had written derogatory graffiti on the walls in the
quad, when no-one owned up to this, he caned every boy.
Academically Martin was given every opportunity to do well but didn’t apply himself whereas his older brother
was always top of the class together with Alfred Ghodes. However he passed his matric and then went into he
army for two years in the 11th commando, Kimberly and did border duty for 17 months. After his final exams it
was a bit of an anti-climax and he then went on holiday with his family but with the call up papers for the army.
He was the only boy from St David’s going but fortunately he met up with someone on the train. On discharge
from the army he went on to study for a BSc Building at Wits University. He is involved in construction work,
building and civil engineering and the company he is with Aveng-Grinaker-LTA, built the first Soccer City and
the new Soccer City for the World Cup. Currently the company is looking more to Africa, Zambia, Namibia,
Botswana and Mozambique whereas South Africa and Zimbabwe are quiet in comparison. The newly elected
President of Zambia has stamped out corruption and a lot of development is taking place.
Martin’s two sons both attended St David’s,Nicholas having matriculated and Phillip is currently in grade 11.
His daughter Megan is a pupil at St Mary’s Waverly.
Martin is a member of MOBS

Interview with Lloyd Wilkins – 1980
Lloyd joined St David’s in January 1979, having just arrived in South Africa from Rhodesia, as it was then.
He had been a pupil at St George’s in Salisbury and arrived knowing nobody at the school. However the
boys were very welcoming and it didn’t take long before he felt at home.
Lloyd remembers with clarity that in his first few days at the school, he lost R100 which he had been given
by his parents to buy books. He was quite panicked as it was a lot of money, especially in the context of
having just emigrated. He made it known that he had lost the money and within a short time it was handed
to him, much to his relief. The temptation to keep the money must have been high but the integrity of his
peers was evident.
Lloyd really enjoyed the camaraderie and made lifelong friends, most of whom he is still in touch with on a
regular basis. A group of them in Australia meet at least once a quarter to spend a long weekend together
with their wives. One aspect of St David’s he didn’t enjoy was the caning.
In matric a group of the boys had found a small piece of wood which had broken off a desk lid and, during
lunch break, they were playing soccer with it in the corridor outside the first floor classrooms. Their ”ball”
was kicked down the stairs and Lloyd chase after it only to collide near the bottom of the stairs with their
headmaster Br Timothy who was coming up the stairs to investigate the noise. Lloyd’s momentum was
such that he bowled him over and landed on top of him at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately the only
injury was to his pride and Lloyd was ordered to his office to receive a caning. He thinks he was the only
matric boy to be caned that year.
A teacher he remembers was Mr McFadden who ensured that all his pupils developed a love of history and
obtained good marks in matric, in part by teaching the boys under a tree on the side of the rugby field.
Lloyd played 3rd rugby XV, 2nd cricket XI, was in the athletics team and captain of the riding club,
participated in senior best speakers competition, was marketing director of the business game. Lloyd
played 2nd team rugby in standard 9 but broke his leg playing St John’s and broke it again at the start of
matric so he missed most of the season once again.
In 1979 Lloyd captained the St David’s riding team and with his younger brother Graham and Simon Bird,
went to England to compete in the All England Schools Show jumping competition at Hickstead. On
borrowed horses they competed against the best English schools and came third!
Lloyd was awarded a scroll for studies.
The matric dance had the theme space and they had as much fun decorating the hall with pictures of
spacecraft as they had at the actual event.
On their last day a large group of boys returned to the school after midnight, dressed in black and pushing
their cars so as not to raise the alarm. They proceeded to decorate the trees in the quad with large
amounts of toilet paper. They became more enthusiastic as they progressed and their stealth was soon
replaced by increasing hilarity, culminating in an epic water fight involving two groups of them, each
manning a fire hose in the corridors outside the first floor classrooms. As lights went on in the brothers’
sleeping quarters they made a hasty retreat.
He went on to study a BA(Law) at Wits University and is now chief operating officer of Barclays Bank in
Australia. He is also chairman of Street Work a charity that helps homeless youths in Sydney. Lloyd is
married and has two daughters studying at a university in Sydney.
Lloyd last visited St David’s in 2006 but attended an informal reunion organised by Sven Arp in August
2013.
JLE November 2013

Interview with James Oberholzer
James came to St David’s in grade O and, with 20 other boys, was a pupil up until he matriculated in 2003.
James remembers all his primary school teachers who made a big impact on his life in particular Mrs
Norton, Mrs Schaafsma, Mrs Ansell and Mrs Kirkenhofer. He recalled being “jacked” by Mr Castle which he
deserved and was almost grateful for. He used to go to after care, was very involved with sports and
academics, was a member of the choir and was awarded a major closed scholarship to the high school.
During his tenure the school went through a huge transformation with the building of high and prep school
pavilions, the swimming pool, tennis courts, Champagne hall, library and the parking lot and the main
entrance. The original entrance was not even tarred initially.
James has good memories of the teachers in high school and the relationship they had with the boys,
specifically Mr Buys, Mr Fry, Mrs Nagy who was his tutor, Mr Gaffney, Br Anthony, Father Brewer and
Reverend Bruce who was a fantastic teacher and really made you think.
James was involved with cricket, soccer, tennis and swimming but was particularly focused on his golf and
from standard 8. He played golf at provincial, level from standard 6 until matric and represented South
Africa at the Junior World Championships in San Diego, USA but was not awarded a Springbok blazer. He
did well academically but only learnt to really work when he went to university. He enjoyed debating but
preferred participating from the floor. He was also a member of high school parliament.
James enjoyed all the tours both sporting and cultural but didn’t go overseas. He misses the sport, the
rivalry and competiveness with other schools. The biggest rivals (on and off the field) were St John’s and St
Stithian’s but, on leaving school the boys became great friends with pupils from those schools.
In standard 9 he did a series of aptitude and career tests which indicated he should excel as a landscape
architect or stockbroker which is what he is now and he loves what he is doing.
James was a prefect and deputy head boy with Gareth Kolkenbeck-Ruh, head boy. He was head of house
Benedict, vice captain hockey and captain of the golf team. He was awarded an honours blazer for golf and
scrolls for academics, leadership and hockey.
James has Italian citizenship and, to avoid the compulsory army service had to show proof of registration at
university.
After matriculating, James went on to UCT to study Business Science but eventually graduated with a
BComm Economics and Finance and graduated with Honours in Economics in 2008. He had a gap year
where he worked as an underwriter in the short term corporate insurance industry before going back to
finish his degree. He learnt that one had to be focused and motivated and was no longer spoon fed as one
was at school.
James is currently employed as a stockbroker, specialising as a research analyst for the mining industry for
Macquarie, a global investment bank headquartered in Sydney, Australia, its strengths being commodities
and infrastructure.
Although James hasn’t maintained contact with many of his contemporaries at St David’s he enjoyed the
reunion in November. Whilst at university, living away from home he established strong friendships with
other students.
If he was blessed with sons James would want to send them to St David’s and is a member of MOBS.
JLE December 2013

Interview with Robbie Crawford-Brunt – Grade 2 – Standard 2 1945
Robbie was only at Marist Brothers for three years and left at the end of standard 2. He started school in
1943 and completed grade 1 and 2 in one year.
Tony Sonnenveldt was in his class whose family were Robbie’s neighbours. Robbie’s parents built a house
on the corner of Main (now Rivonia Road) and Empire Place, Sandhurst a block away from today’s
Sandton City. In those days it was out in the sticks on the edge of a housing development. The
Sonnenveldts lived opposite in Empire Place and Tony sometimes rode to school on a horse. Gallos of the
record company lived opposite in Main Road.
Robbie still has all his school reports as well as receipts for school fees. He also has some exam papers
from that period and a copy of a proposal to establish a Marist old boys club.
Robbie was happy and contented at Marist Brothers and doesn’t recall any bad times or unpleasant
experiences.
JLE June 2013

Interview with Glenda Anderson – Staff – 1974 – 2009
Glenda originally started teaching in Cape Town at Wynberg Boys Junior where she taught Gr 2’s for 6
years. She then met and married Trevor in 1973 and moved to Johannesburg with him. They celebrated
their fortieth wedding anniversary in 2013.
After an interview with Br Anthony, Glenda was appointed to take over from Ann Mc Cann and began
teaching grade 4 in October 1974. There were four terms in those days, Br Anthony went on leave and Br
Mario stood in for him and took Glenda for a walk around the school premises.
Glenda enjoyed St David’s, everyone was very friendly and on her first day the headmistress, Mrs
Kempster told her not to worry about playground duty but Glenda ended up having her duty week at the
end of term. As all the boys were hyped up it proved to be not the most pleasant of duties.
The staffroom was next to Carol Ansell’s old classroom. Mrs Kempster’s office desk was there and a long
table went against the window and everyone had their allocated seat. It was all quite formal. Unfortunately
Glenda was given a middle seat and at her “first break” everyone had to get out so that she could get in.
Needless to say she learnt to be on time in future.
Glenda was qualified to teach up to grade 7 and had also specialised in infant school methods and in 1978
she moved down to grade 3 as junior primary which was her first love.
Glenda produced several prep school plays including Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island and the nativity plays
at the year end. Her husband Trevor wrote the scripts and the plays were performed around the swimming
pool. The stage was the three steps by the baby swimming pool. The angels were comprised of grade 1’s
and 2’s and the main cast grades 6 -7 and the choir with other children.
On the sporting side Glenda was teacher in charge of the prep tennis from 1978 to 1995 and was also a
committee member of the Southern Transvaal Primary Schools Tennis Association.
Champagnat Day was always special and before the construction of the new chapel the whole school went
by bus to Rosebank Church. In the early days there were none of the festivities that currently occur so the
children received a bun and a cool drink with everyone cramming into the hall which is now the high school
library.
In 1995 she assumed the responsibility for training the first holy communion candidates as well as the
junior altar servers and considers this one of the most rewarding tasks undertaken until her retirement.
Together with her close friend Ann Hayward they completed and donated tapestries to the new chapel
which can be seen in the entrance portal.
After Mrs Kempster left Mr Manolios became headmaster but left when Mr Murphy was appointed
headmaster of the high school. Following this there was no headmaster in the prep school for some time
while Br Anthony, followed by Br Timothy, Messers Murphy, Frielick and Boswell and then Mrs Elliott for 9
months was in the position in the high school. There was an uncomfortable imbalance between the prep
and the high school, Br Timothy having previously indicated that the high school teachers were not to
fraternise with those of the prep school. The prep staffs weren’t allowed into the high school staff room
having their own staff room in the grade 4-5 block or art room where the chapel is today.
Things changed when Mr Davies became high school headmaster and Mr Royce prep school headmaster
in 1989. Greg Royce was young, in his mid-thirties, from St Martin’s in the south of Johannesburg. He was
very dynamic with lots of ideas and was up to date with all things international. He introduced Kumon into
the syllabus, the first school to do so in South Africa. David Spence was the prep school deputy
headmaster and put Royce’s good ideas into action. Glenda was placed in charge of Kumon to administer it
and involved the parents without making it too onerous. The children worked with it quite well in the
beginning but it eventually had to be watered down and made more flexible with time. The new leader in
Japan told the SA agent that the children had to achieve the precise times and were only allowed to make
so many mistakes. In the end it didn’t work as SA children were not the same as the Japanese children and
could not be so rigid. Repetition was good but Glenda had to adapt the system to help but didn’t stick to the
time limits as she found that the children became frustrated and disheartened.
In 1995 Paul Edey arrived as the newly appointed high school headmaster and Greg Royce left at the end
of the first term to take up the position of headmaster of St Peter’s Prep. Mrs Schaafsma also left in August
1995 and Rick Wilson was appointed as headmaster of the prep. Glenda was promoted to head of the
junior primary department replacing Mrs Schaafsma, and was then appointed director in 2004. The building
of the grade 0 Block at the paddock commenced and Glenda introduced a bridging class for grades 1-2 and
2-3.The children came out of class for the first two hours of the school day until break. Glenda also started
the grade 00 in 2006 which comprised of only two classes of 18 children because there was also an entry
point in grade 0 for children.
During most of Glenda’s time, the board of governors were rather like a secret society that no-one knew
anything about. Willy Castle was always trying to introduce them to the staff but they weren’t even in the
yearbook and it was only when Paul Edey and Kevin Brewer came that they became more visible.
Glenda has some tremendous memories but was not prepared to single out any particular pupils, because
to her, each pupil was special in his own way. She and Trevor were involved with the 50 year celebrations
and she was chairman of the committee involved organising the events. Glenda and Trevor were on the
PTA committee helping with the fundraising and annual fireworks events from 1990 until she retired in

2009. From the beginning of 2010 Glenda was involved in the research for this book that is to be published
      in 2016 in conjunction with St David’s 75th anniversary; however, she and Trevor retired to Mossel Bay in
      March 2011 and she was no longer able to participate in this project.
      JLE January 2014

Interview with Robert Berti - 1976
Rob was originally a pupil at Observatory having emigrated from Italy with his family in August 1972 at the
age of 14. He was initially a boarder in standard 6 but, when the family was more established and had a
home in Bryanston, he and his brother came to St David’s as day boys, Rob into standard 7 and his brother
into standard 6 . Rob believes that he learnt a lot of English whilst in boarding 24\7 with boys from many
other countries such as the Congo, Zambia and Angola.
Rob recalls that Brother Anthony was the headmaster until he left in 1975 and Brother Timothy “Tin Man”
took over. Br Anthony was a legend and when he snapped his fingers you jumped!
Rob’s first impression of St David’s was that he felt quite comfortable and didn’t have to struggle. However,
it was not easy dealing with a new language but after about 6 months Rob says he began to think in
English. He studied Italian in standard 7, 8 and 9 but gave it up in matric although he did write it as one of
his subjects.
Rob participated in sport playing rugby, athletics and tennis. He had never played rugby before but the
coach put him in the back line telling him he would learn quickly. Rob was quick on his feet which was an
advantage.
Athletics was his main love the 100m, 200m, 100m Hurdles and 400m relay. Those were the days when
athletics was big with the inter-catholic schools and against schools such as Parktown Boys, KES and St
Stithians. Rob really enjoyed athletics and remembers a time when hundreds of boys were competing at
the Wanderers in a stadium that no longer exists. Athletics was compulsory when it came to inter-house
competition.
Rob played rugby 2nd team and was promoted to the 1st team in standard 8. He was awarded an honours
blazer for tennis. He has memories of playing in the U15 rugby team against St Stithians when a boy from
the opposing team kicked him in the face and concussed him. He came around swearing, and then only
realised that Br Anthony was standing over him. Br Anthony told him to “take it easy”. On another occasion
he was running the 400m against KES, a very competitive school. He was neck and neck with a boy from
KES who broke just before the finishing line with Rob then in first place. It was a highlight in Rob’s athletic
career. A similar thing happened during the 100m hurdles in an inter-Catholic athletics meeting when a boy
from CBC hit the last hurdle giving Rob the lead. Another major event was that In Rob’s matric year St
David’s beat KES’s water polo team.
Academically Rob never really struggled and was awarded colours for academics. Biology was his best
subject which he believes he owes to Mr Carew who had a different teaching approach and got the best out
of the boys. Rob just got pipped for the Biology prize. Rob auditioned for “The Merchant of Venice” and
remembers Mrs Eliott just laughing,he was not included in the play.
There were no camps in those days but Bill Carew organised trips with about 12 boys to Naboomspruit
when they would go into the bush. Teachers he remembers well are Bill Carew, Mr Lipschitz – Maths, and
Mr Maritz – Geography who used to wear steel tips on his shoes and didn’t take any nonsense from
anyone; Br Mario – Science, a nice guy; Mrs Elliott – English, who was a legend in her own right with a
broad Scottish accent like Br Anthony.
Rob was also awarded colours for merit and was a member of College house.
After matriculating Rob went to Wits University to study engineering. He survived one year before being
kicked out. He then went on to the Technicon where worked for his Higher National Diploma in
Engineering. He felt that the tech was more hands on in its approach with a wide syllabus and proved to be
more practical. He has been in engineering for the past 30 years and is involved with the family business,
his father having bought the business in 1976 and Rob joined in 1983. He wasn’t required to do army
service as he was an Italian citizen but he did volunteer for the air force and was a police reservist for 10
years.
Rob has had 3 sons educated at St David’s, Nicolas (2005) and Michael (2007) with the last, Matthew
writing his matric this year. He also has nephews in Grade 0 and 00 and hopes his family will continue to be
connected with St David’s in the future. He is a member of MOBS and attends most of the rugby matches
including the recent notable math against St John’s when the boys asked him to please contribute with his
usual bellows!
JLE September 2014

Peter Wharton-Hood – 1983
In 1977 Peter came from Clifton Preparatory, Durban to St David’s into standard 4 as Peter’s father had
been transferred by Liberty Life to Johannesburg. Peter would never forget his first day being interviewed
by George Manolios and his impression of the school was of a pristine, big and beautiful place.
His first teachers included Mrs Kenesovitch; Heather Joseph who all the boys were in love with and of
course Willy Castle. Peter did well academically winning many subject prizes in the prep.
Other pupils he was friendly with at the time were Andrew Forsmann; Mark Forsmann; Mark Attieh; Garth
Ritchie; Duncan Senior and teachers in the high school were Mr Walsh who taught Maths; Tom
MacFadden a brilliant History teacher, there were 12 in his class and 10 got A’s in matric; Mr P Colia –
Maths; Mr Boswell – Afrikaans; Gavin Neft the Afrikaans teacher who had a great swing when hitting the
boys and Sven Retslaf.
Brother Anthony was around for a while in 1982 and Br Timothy (Tin Man) was headmaster until 1981.The
changes in the leadership of the school from 1982 with first Mr Murphy, then Mr Freilick as headmaster
created chaos in the school with Peter’s class became fragmented being in the epicentre.
The sport was brilliant and Peter was fortunate to play in the Transvaal schools cricket side and was
captain of the 1st XI in 1983. Peter also played 1st team rugby in 1982 and 1983 and was a member of the
Debating team in 1983, led by Mrs Trudie Elliot. Peter also went with a group of boys to assist at the
squatter camp in Slough, Kuruman which was run by Br Anthony.
Peter recalls many memorable school tours, among them the junior school cricket tour to the Eastern Cape
and the rugby tour to St Charles, Durban. He was a member of the provincial cricket team in the prep,
played in the Coca Cola week and Beckwith week with the U15’s but missed Nuffield.
Peter was awarded colours for cricket and rugby and received 6 A’s with distinction in matric. He was also
elected deputy head boy. Peter believes that he owes a huge debt to St David’s and couldn’t have had a
better start in life, it’s what shaped him as a person giving him a balanced , religious upbringing with a
strong academic base accompanied by the discipline to play sport as well. The school was ideally suited
to Peter and the times that the country was going through. Peter feels strongly that he was blessed to have
had the chance to attend such a school. St David’s also enabled him to discern the right choice of career
having undergone an aptitude test in standard 9, he was initially thinking of becoming a doctor or an
actuary but the test came out strongly in favour of accountancy.
It was a tough school to grow up in and getting caned was part of the deal. Some of the boys used to put
notches in their ties every time they were caned, a bit of a status symbol. There were many funny moments
but Peter won’t mention them in order to protect the guilty parties!
Peter believes that he was assisted through scholarships in some shape or form whilst he was at St David’s
and feels he repaid his debt by lecturing at Wits on a part-time basis from 1989 until 1999 and is currently a
trustee on the Chartered Accountants’ Eden Trust.
After matriculating, Peter went to Wits University to write a BComm then Hons, followed by a CTA and CA
(SA). He completed his articles with Price Waterhouse then, in 1987 he went to Harvard as part of the
advanced management programme. He then became the Edcon group financial executor and in 1997
moved on to Standard Bank as financial director of the Standard Corporate and Merchant Banking division
of Standard Bank and ended up as the group deputy chief executive and chief operating officer of the
Standard Bank Group and a member of the board of directors of Liberty Life and the Standard Bank Group.
In 2013 he was appointed chief executive of Deutsche Bank SA.
Peter was involved with corporate outreach activities through Standard Bank which was the biggest single
contributor to a broad based BBE company Tutuwa and Deutsche Bank is involved with the SA Foundation.
Peter is a member of MOBS, last visited the school in 2003 for the fireworks, is married to Sarah and has
two daughters, Emily born 1999 and Beatrice 2003. Had he had sons they would most certainly have
attended St David’s.
Peter is keen to become more involved with the school, business commitments allowing.
JE October 2014

Interview with Charles Fontaine – 1966 (Standard 8)
Charles first came to St David’s in 1953 into grade 1 at the age of 5. He was a day boy and was living in
temporary accommodation with his family in the Rondavels on the corner of Boundary and Fricker Roads.
Charles’s father was Catholic and his mother Anglican.
He recalled his first day walking with his mother to school and an hour and half later running back home.
Needless to say he had to return and was very happy after that initial hiccup. Miss Brick was his grade 1
teacher and was extremely strict. Charles also remembers Mrs Kempster who also taught him. Mrs
Janusch was a dragon who was also extremely strict and rapped the boys on the knuckles with a ruler if
they displeased her.
Charles has memories of Brother Pius who looked after the really beautiful and magnificent gardens. Br
Edwin was the headmaster and Br Anthony from 1960. Charles was also taught by Br Timothy and Br
Vincent. Charles enjoyed Arithmetic as it was made very interesting. He has fond memories of matron
Buckley-Jones who was so sympathetic and kind to all the boys.
In the prep, Charles enjoyed the sport playing cricket, soccer, was involved with athletics, swimming and
bicycle polo during the holidays! The boarders’ dormitories overlooked the school swimming pool and the
boarders sometimes jumped into the pool from the windows on the first floor.
Athletics meetings were sometimes embarrassing especially if you were running last in full view of all the
boys and their parents. On one occasion Charles was training for the hurdles, wearing Mike Larkin’s spikes,
hurdled the wrong way and broke his arm. Mike and John Larkin were also pupils at the school; Mike had
poor eyesight and couldn’t drive because of this. He was in the law faculty at Wits University at one stage
and thereafter at UCT. Sadly he was murdered in Cape Town in the vicinity of UCT.
Mass was held regularly and, on special occasions like Champagnat Day, in the chapel which was very
homely with beautiful statues. Charles was also part of the choir in the production of “HMS Pinafore”.
Most of the day boys parked their bikes at the large bicycle shed which was reconstructed in 1955.
Charles’s worst moment at the school when he was involved in a fight on the slope near the tennis courts
with other boys around egging them on. He had never been involved in any other fights and didn’t enjoy
this one.
Charles was amongst the boys of the first standard 6 class to occupy the new block of classrooms next to
the new chapel. He moved into the other wing where Br Anthony’s office was when he was promoted to
high school. He liked Br Anthony whom he regarded as an incredible person. Charles was very impressed
when, at the 20th anniversary reunion, Br Anthony remembered both himself and his brother by name..
Sadly, in 1962 Charles had to leave to go to St Aidan’s, Grahamstown as his father felt that there were too
many non-Catholics at St David’s. Charles didn’t want to leave but his father had made the decision and he
had to adhere to his father’s wishes.
After matriculating, Charles went into the Navy to complete his military service based with the Naval
Gymnasium at Saldhana Bay in 1967. In 1968 he enrolled for a BComm at Wits University and qualified as
a chartered accountant with a post-graduate diploma in Business Information Systems.. He is currently a
partner with Harris, Dowden and Fontaine, having previously been a partner at Price Waterhouse and
manages the audit for St David’s and a number of schools. Charles is married to Elizabeth and they have
three sons, James, Christopher and Peter.
Charles is a member of MOBS
JLE March 2014

Interview with John Hilton – 1997
John joined St David’s in standard 6, 1993, coming from a government co-ed school, he was at first
overwhelmed by the discipline and having to wear a blazer. The Lacey brothers, Christopher and Alastair
also arrived at the same time.The first few days were interesting and he recalled meeting his best friend
Michael Muller at the pool.
The boys were taught to be men following the school’s motto “Comfortare esto Vir”: take courage and be a
man.
Of the teachers John remembers Gary Norton as being a disciplinarian, Mrs Geldenhuys the Science
teacher, Mrs Marais, Afrikaans and Graeme McMillan who was a good hockey player, Rod Smith
ousemaster of Osmund, Richard Girdwoood, English who was a legend, Neil Mitchell, Religious Education.
John didn’t make life easy for himself, and together with Johnathan Nel wrote a couple of plays for
Osmund, parodies and satires which didn’t please Father Brewer or Paul Edey at all. In his matric year
they wrote “Snow White and the Seven Boers”. They wrote and produced the “SA Natiivity in grade 11 and
were awarded the best play and John the best producer.
The school was relatively small and John remembers the rugby matches against other bigger schools
which were great fun and St David’s always took a beating. Swimming was John’s summer sport and he
umpired cricket and played hockey in the winter. The trip on the train on alternate years to St Andrews,
Bloemfontein must have been a nightmare for the teachers to handle all the boys and the shenanigans they
got up to.
John enjoyed the cultural trip to Europe at the age of 17 with a bunch of his mates touring in a semi Kontiki
style trip.
John was made a prefect halfway through the year, together with Darryl Eames in 1997 and was captain of
1st team hockey in standard 9 and matric and played for the provincial C team. At that time there were only
41 boys in matric. John also participated in public speaking and debating and was a member of parliament
in 1996. He was awarded colours for hockey and a cultural tie for oratory and a scroll for drama. He was
part of a team which won the Microsoft Web Design Competition in 1996
After matriculating, John studied Informatics at RAU working afterwards as an IT consultant for a long time.
However, he is now working for a conservation trust, the Wild Bird Trust on a project in the Okavango,
Botswana. He is also very involved with an Eastern Cape project growing and planting indigenous fruit
trees together with the local population.
John joined the MOBS committee straight after leaving school. The committee didn’t have the full
endorsement of the school at the time but Adriano and John developed the MOBS data base. Darko Vidas
and Chris Busschau were also on the committee which didn’t even have a quorum so it is encouraging to
see the growth in MOBS.
John is still a member of MOBS and would send any son of his own to St David’s.
JLE November 2014

Interview with Cedric Du Trevou – 1989
Cedric joined St David’s in standard 1 (grade 3) and his brother in grade 0. Cedric came from Sandown
primary school. His father was Swiss and his mother Mauritian. His brother was already at St David’s when
he left Sandown and, even being a quiet, reserved boy it didn’t take him too long to settle in.
His first teacher was Mrs Orford followed by Mrs Anderson and Mrs Hurley. He enjoyed the sport especially
tennis and remembers Mr Castle who coached soccer. All the boys were scared of him as he was very
strict and tough on discipline, however his bark was worse than his bite, he had a good heart and all the
boys respected him. Cedric recalls some camps whilst in the prep school and one camp in particular where
he got up to some mischief with Jason Benater and was suitably punished by Mr Castle. Jason and his
brother Lee are now Cedric’s brothers in law.
Cedric was average academically and loved to go home and get involved with electronics.
high school was very different from the prep, a big open space but he eventually settled in and began to
enjoy it.
He was a member of Benedict house and went on the grade 8 camp. It was a bad year for discipline in his
group and Cedric remembers the headmaster a Mr Murphy, the wrestler and a dictator of note. Mark
Reeves was head boy that year and Br Anthony came back until a new headmaster, Mr Frielick was
appointed. It was a difficult time for the school and Cedric experienced two more headmasters, Mr Boswell
and Mr Davies before he matriculated.
Cedric enjoyed the hockey, tennis and swimming but was not a member of any 1st team. He had acne and
was teased quite badly. He now really enjoys his sport and cycles, runs and swims on a regular basis.
There were not any cultural activities in those days but Cedric helped backstage with the lighting for some
school plays.
Of the teachers he remembers Mr Egan who came from the UK, he was obviously unsure of himself and
the boys used to make fun of him. There was an incident when one of the boys caused a minor explosion
destroying half a desk, Mr Egan got such a shock and fell off his chair. The boys got quite a shock too as
they were only expecting a spark and not such a big bang. There was a Mr Cotze who was very strict.
Heather Joseph taught him Art in the prep school and he recalls that she was a nice, genuine person whom
the boys could talk to up until matric, she always had time for them.
For the matric Dance most of the boys invited girls from the Rosebank Convent and Cedric recalls that his
partner ended up with 7 distinctions. The after party was held in Bryanston and there were a number of
boys rather the worse for wear the following morning. Cedric still cannot understand the need to drink so
much which is still prevalent today.
There were only two classes in his matric year. It was a tough time for Cedric as his mother was diagnosed
with leukaemia before his final exams and died a month later. The teaching staff were amazingly supportive
of the family and without their help he would not have coped.
After matriculating, Cedric joined Motorola and was sent to the technikon and for training in house and
overseas. After 8 years with the company he left and joined his father in the hotel business and the
Formula One Hotel Group. He is currently the CEO for Ecomotels a new more price conscious group of
hotels based near OR Tambo Airport.
Cedric married Marianna in 1998 and has two children, a daughter at De La Salle and a son in grade 10 at
St David’s. There was no doubt in his mind that his son should attend St David’s whatever the cost.
Cedric is a member of MOBS and can remember donating a brick for some fundraiser whilst he was a pupil
and is happy to assist MOBS when he can.
JLE April 2014

Interview with Paul Edey 1995 – 2006
Paul Edey was appointed as college headmaster during 1994 to start in January 1995. He had
previously taught at St John’s College and King Edward VII School, where he was a viceprincipal.
The search for a new head to take over from P Davies was led by Tony Frost, head of
human resources at Lonhro,and a colleague of the chairman of the board,Terence Wilkinson.
1994 had been a difficult year for the school with the board conducting a survey which had
resulted in the headmaster, Paul Davies, stepping down. The deputy head, Gary Norton, acted
as head for eight months with Paul Davies continuing to live at Mary Knoll for 7 months and only
moving out in the December of 1994. The school was battling financially and had endured a
succession of lay headmasters in the college following the last Marist Brother, Brother Timothy
Mc Krindle ( (1967-81) South Africa was in a state of flux with the first free and democratic
elections resulting in Nelson Mandela coming to power in April 1994. The relationship between
the prep school , which was thriving and successful and the college which was battling for
numbers was poor
Paul’s biggest challenges were to win the confidence of the prep school and the parents to
encourage them to send their sons to the high school rather than local rivals St Stithians and St
John’s College. In 1995 sixty four boys were admitted into grade 8 and split into three classes.
Some of the top prep boys had been awarded scholarships to rival senior schools, but for the
first time in many years the numbers were up in the college. The school wrote the Transvaal
education department matriculation examination (TED) and the results were generally
undistinguished. There were 267 boys in the High School in 1995 with Michael von
Guilleaume,head boy and Jeremy Wickens, deputy, leading a small but very talented matric
group.
Although Anglican, Paul made doubly sure that the Catholic ethos remained and strengthened.
The numbers picked up from 1996 with a small but stable staff of 18 with some very strong
teachers such as Lesley Henning (HOD Maths), Belinda Marais (HOD Afrikaans), Richard
Girdwood (English and senior housemaster) and Rod Smith, former headmaster of Sandown
High School. We were very fortunate to have a very successful rugby team in 1995 with the side
winning 18 out of 19 matches and going on a very rewarding tour of Australia to round off the
season. Of interest was the fact that the touring squad had 5 boys in it from Jabulani Technical
High School in Soweto whose tour was paid for through the fundraising efforts of the St David’s
community. 1996 was a very weak year academically but the numbers were increasing and
things were looking up.
Rick Wilson was appointed head of the prep at the beginning of 1996. He took over from the
very successful and charismatic Greg Royce, who had left in the middle of 1995 to become
headmaster of St Peter’s Preparatory. The senior school suffered a blow at the end of 1996
when the loyal and hardworking deputy headmaster Gary Norton left to take up the headship of
Oakhill School in Knysna. Pete Geldenhuys, Andrew Brownlee, Greg Lamb and Richard
Girdwood, all four housemasters left during the course of 1996. In one year the entire college
management team apart from the head and bursar had left. Malcolm Williams, an old friend and
colleague of Paul’s from Wits and King Edward’s, was appointed as the deputy head during

1997. A number of other colleagues from the King Edward’s days joined the staff with Simon Fry
      and Stuart Foulds coming in as the heads of department of History and English respectively.
      Teresa Vroom became the librarian.
      Critically, at this time Kevin Brewer became chairman of the board and together with the school
      management team and the support of the Marist Brothers an exciting development plan was put
      together for the school. Under the leadership of Bill Carter and Gerrit Wessels of the
      architectural firm Taljaard Carter, this was to result in the complete redevelopment of the school
      over the next decade. The development plan covered a 10 year period. In 1997 the grade O
      block was built and the high school pavilion replaced the long serving zozo hut from which tea at
      sports fixtures had been served. For years the long suffering mother’s committee, under the
      extremely capable leadership of Mary von Guilleaume, had complained how the cream scones
      and cakes had gone sour in the heat of the summer. These developments were followed by 6
      new classrooms, the redevelopment of the quadrangle, the amphitheatre and the Champagnat
      hall. Two new libraries, a music school and a design and technology centre were to follow in
      quick succession when the astroturf and the new car park were developed the school was
      almost unrecognisable from its rustic appearance of the mid 1990’s. The school borrowed R12m
      with an unsecured loan from Standard Bank after Br Jude and Kevin Brewer went to see Myles
      Ruck. It has to be noted that there was some uncertainty over tenure as the land and buildings
      belonged to the Marist Brothers and all major capital projects over R500 000 had to be
      approved by Rome.
      Over the next seven years the numbers in the senior school increased to 500 and there were
      now more applicants than places. Scholarships were offered to top children which culminated in
      2001 when Garth Horsten, Kyle Wales, Jean Paulo Peirera were in the top 50 IEB matrics for
      that year. The sport showed steady improvement under the leadership of Graeme McMillan with
      cricket in particular able to compete against the top state and independent schools. Hockey was
      driven by Malcolm Williams and the school had reasonably good rugby sides. The prep was
      also very strong in athletics, soccer and swimming., this began to have important spin –offs for
      the college.
      Father Brewer died in 1999, the boys adored him, he was always on the sports field or
      backstage providing support to the boys, but he hated authority and didn’t like headmasters!
      The school was now being headed up by non-Catholics and there was a lot of talk about ethos.
      The brothers started the pilgrimage to France and Rome in order to give lay school
      administrators and teachers a feel for, and understanding, of the Marist ethos and charism.
      It was comforting to have brothers at the school as a buffer against the board which became
      increasingly secular. The school was now being run in a far more business-like manner, but it
      was essential that the Marist ethos be maintained, something which was quite difficult given its
      location in the richest business centre on the african continent.
      Kevin Brewer had had the time and energy to really set the school development plan on its way
      and at the same time to keep a close eye on the finances. He was followed as chairman by
      Tony Reilly, Eric Annegarn, and Tony Chappel. Certainly the board and PTA had some very
      strong people like the Brocco’s, Emmanuels, O’Shea, Busschau, Van Linden families and
      Trevor and Glenda Anderson played a major role. The characters on the staff were Anderson,
      Ansell, Joseph, Castle and Marais.
      Paul was made executive head (CEO) in 2002 which was motivated by Kevin Brewer. Paul had
      been head for 7 years and had started looking around elsewhere to further his career. With
      numbers around 1,100 the school had to think about where it was going next with the building
      having largely been completed. Hence the idea of a super head to deal with the CIE, brothers,
      and JOCASCO and to build up the Foundation office. In the first year of the new headship there
      was no deputy, or clarity on Paul’s role. It was a difficult period for Paul and his great friend
      Malcolm Williams, who was appointed as head of the high school as the new roles were
      established. Malcolm was studying for his Master’s in Education and initially had no deputy until
      the appointment of David Smith to the role.
      Paul seldom interfered with the prep school and only when there was flack did he get involved.
      The prep probably got limited value from the new structure. The philosophy behind the
      appointment of a non teacher in the CEO role was that Mike Greeff brought experience of
      strategic planning, HR, and financial skills with him. He was adept at handling the non- teaching
      aspects of school administration.
      The admin staff Paul recalled were the bursar Malcom Smit, the charming and efficient pair of
      June Anderson (college secretary) and Lindsay Van Heerden, head’s secretary, Genny
      Carvalho, Audrey Williams, Mary von Guilleaume, Sister Mary Ryan and Willem van der Merwe
      and his great team on the grounds George Ndlovu, Big Julius Shivambu, Thomas Ramutsindela
      and of course the long serving Phineas Selima and Julius Shibambu (Zimbabwean) who had
      worked in the brothers dining room for years, deceased who worked for the school for 45 years.
      Paul mentioned that the book written by Margeurite Poland “The Boy in You” about the history
      of St Andrew’s College sold for R450 per copy when it was published in 2008 and a limited
      edition of 100 leather bound copies sold for R5000.
      Paul is currently headmaster of St John’s College.
      JE 2016

Interview with Alfred Lamberti – 1951
Alf first came to St David’s in 1941 at the age of 9. He had been boarding at St Joseph’s Convent in
Krugersdorp from the age of 4 and, unfortunately he didn’t receive much in the way of basic education at
Joseph’s, his parents spoke Italian and he therefore found school rather difficult.
Alf admits that he was quite a naughty boy and was always up to all sorts of tricks. Alf had to repeat
standard 8 as the brothers advised his parents that he would fail his Matric as his Afrikaans was not good
enough, so Alf was sent to an Afrikaans family on a farm in the Krugersdorp area for 6 months to learn the
language. As Alf’s father was Italian he was interned during the war in Koffiefontein and was unable to pay
Alf’s school fees. The brothers allowed him to stay at the school as his father promised he would repay
them once he was released and could find employment. He was a shoemaker but then became a tailor,
together with his brothers, initially as a cutter then designer and worked for Stanger and Co. making air
hostess uniforms for a big contract.
Alf remembers that St David’s when he first came to the school had just opened, wasn’t really finished and
there were holes in the walls. Brother Alban was in charge of his dormitory which had a flat roof outside.
The boys were not allowed radios so they rigged up a copper wire aerial connected to a crystal set with ear
phones.
There was a line of pine trees separating the school from its neighbours by the swimming pool. Some of the
boys decided to make a hidey hole where they could go and smoke in peace, they dug a hole under the
fence and scattered the sand on the roadway. Br Alban spotted it but gave them a day to fill in the hole
thinking they wouldn’t manage it in time. The boys set to and filled the hole with pine needles and topped it
off with sand, however, after the first big storm the needles collapsed and the hole opened up again but Br
Alban didn’t pursue the matter any further. Sometimes Br Alban would have to punish the boys but noting
the marks from recent canings would hit a pillow with his cane and tell the boys to act as if they had been
caned.
The brothers were extremely strict disciplinarians and on one occasion, Br Thomas who taught Maths
asked Alf to write something on the board, Alf made a mistake, Br Thomas aimed for Alf’s head, missed
and his fist hit the board but then he caught Alf from behind.
Volunteers were asked to plant kikuyu grass on the rugby field and cricket oval and they became known as
the “Labour Gang”. One advantage was that on a Sunday the gang was told to sit at the big table next to
the kitchen and they were fed bacon, eggs, toast and marmalade whilst the other boys got the usual fair of
unappetising mealie meal porridge. During the war years there was no bread available and the boys were
given a type of biscuit that was full of weevils with which the boys set up races.
As the school did not have a projector or screen, on some Saturdays the boarders would form a line and
head for the shopping centre which housed the Odeon bioscope via Dunkeld. Unbeknown to the brothers,
the boys would steal items of food from the shops on the way. Eventually the school did acquire a projector
and screen and the “Labour Gang” was allowed to choose the movies but they weren’t very popular as they
preferred action and cowboy movies whilst some of the other boys would have liked movies with girls in
them. The “Labour Gang” under the guise of repairing fences would go into neighbouring orchards and
collect fruit which they then shared with the other boys.
Sport included rugby, although they couldn’t play much until the grass had grown, football, cricket, tennis
and swimming. The brothers had designed a canvas contraption with ropes attached with which they walk
along by the side of the pool dragging a boy along – swimming lessons! Everybody had to participate in
sport, Alf was very competitive and enjoyed running. He also tried his hand at boxing and lost a fight
against Norman Morgan managing three rounds loosing on points.
Alf remembers Br Edwin who was the headmaster in 1950, there was something wrong with his neck and
he had to learn to drive a car using the mirrors as he couldn’t turn his head to see. The brothers he
remembers are Br Alban, Br Edwin, Bartholemew, Clement and Thomas. There were new brothers coming
all the time as they were swopped around between the various schools – Koch Street, Observatory and
Inanda. Inanda and Obs were very competitive.
On Champagnat day a mass was held at St David’s.The boys had dancing lessons but girls were not
allowed! Of his contemporaries Setty Risi is his cousin, Steve Muller was his optometrist and Ray Metcalf
who was Rhodesian used to stay with Alf during the holidays and he remembers Charlie MacAdam,
Norman Morgan and Itoro Baroni.
Just across the road was the Polliack property with a beautiful and lavish garden with an amphitheatre and,
after Bubbles Schroeder was murdered there, a group of boys decided to assist the police and went to look
for the missing handbag and shoes. They turned the amphitheatre in the garden upside down but then Mr
Polliack must have let the dogs and out and they had to run for it over the split pole fence, they all made it
but for one unfortunate rather overweight boy who caused the fence to collapse under him.
Alf was lucky not to be expelled after all these exploits but there was one important rule – you didn’t squeal
on your pals.
Alf managed to get a third class Matric and went to Wits University to study engineering but battled with the
Maths and failed the first year. He then went and found a job and attended Technical Trade School
studying industrial chemistry. He qualified, was awarded a diploma and began his first job as a laboratory
assistant at African Glue Industries. There were quite a few houses on the property, tennis courts and a
pool and Alf and his wife moved in with their birds and rabbits. Eventually they found the smell too much
and moved back into town into Hillbrow and his wife, a qualified nurse worked in the hospital. Initially they
were going to adopt a child and bought a house to qualify but then had two children of their own – Pia and
Mario. Sadly Mario died at the age of seven in a car accident outside a noviciate in Germiston during a day
of prayer. Alf’s wife never got over the loss of her child and after 57 years of marriage died of cancer. Alf
remarried but sadly his second wife died of Aids which she contracted whilst treating patients at the
pharmacy where she worked. His daughter, Pia is a Doctor of Linguistics working at the University of
Johannesburg, she is a single mother to Sophia. Alf, a devout Catholic, he and his wife both visited
Lourdes, feels that his mission in life is now to ensure that his granddaughter becomes a Catholic.
JE October 2014
Maristonian 1949 p61
Maristonian 1949

Interview with Leonard O’Haughey – 1967
Len came from the Rosebank Convent, which he attended for grades 1 and 2, to St David’s in 1958 going
into standard 1. He, very soon after his arrival, earned the nickname “Chick” as within a couple of weeks
he came down with mumps but the boys thought he had chickenpox – hence the origins of his nickname
which has stayed with him ever since. Len was a day boy and cycled to and from school.
Of the teachers he remembers Mrs Kempster as being a battleaxe and the boys were terrified of her; Br
Andrew (Drac) who coached cricket and loved you if you played the game; Mrs Buchan who taught History
in matric; Br Andrew the acting headmaster whilst Br Anthony was away. The boys gave Mrs Buchan a
terrible time and one day she walked out of her class, Br Andrew then took over and made all the boys line
up with Rohan Erleigh being first in line to receive 4 whacks of the cane! There was Mrs Janusch; Mrs
Knesovitch who he didn’t get on with, Miss Owen who was young, blonde and beautiful then from standard
7 onwards there were a variety of teachers including Br Liam; Br Bosco (now Mario); Mrs Buckle; Mr
Pretorius; Br Andrew. Mr Drummond-Bell who used to constantly tell the boys to “Stand together boys” and
as a result Len and Derrick Schoombie are called the “Marist Boys” when playing golf together.
Len felt that the school was good for him. His parents had very little money and the brothers let his mother
pay whatever she could afford at the time. It was never an issue for him whilst he was at the school. The
families of his pals Derrick Schoombie and Anthony Rezek were also very good to him and he remains
friends with both of them to this day.
Len remembers spending a holiday helping with planting up the fields when the property next door was
acquired..
Len played a lot of sport and never really worked at the academics but had a lot of fun. He was an altar boy
and commented that he never experienced anything untoward with any of the brothers in all the time he
was at the school. Len played one game of 1st team rugby but played mainly for the 2nd team; played
cricket from standard 8 to 10 and became involved with athletics as a runner. He was secretary of senior
soldality and a senior officer in the cadets, was made a prefect and was awarded scrolls for athletics and
cricket. He recalls partnering Ronnie Van t’Hof in the school’s tennis doubles championship against Colin
Dowdeswell and Mike Raymond who were very good tennis players. All Len could do was serve and leave
the rest to Ronnie. It was one of his greatest triumphs.
Len was always vying against authority and his son James followed in his footsteps. Both his sons James
(1996) and Deane (1998) came to St David’s from grade 0 until matric. Len won the cross country event in
1967 and his son won in 1995 but didn’t compete in matric and so didn’t carry on the family tradition. Whilst
Paul Edey was headmaster, James was captain 1st team rugby and always in trouble, a rebel and Len first
met Paul when he was about to expel his son.
Len took the girl who eventually married Mike Smith to the matric dance wearing white socks! He received
his prefects scroll that evening.
Len believes that St David’s was good to him coming as he did from a disjointed family and other families in
the St David’s community were very kind to him. He recalls that the high school went into a bit of a decline
and, when Paul Edey took over as headmaster in 1995 it started to turn around.
After matriculating, Len having come from an Irish Catholic family decided to become a priest and studied
for 6 months until he became churched out. He then studied to become a chartered accountant with
Deloittes and ended up living in Baltimore with his wife for 18 months where James was born. On his return
to South Africa, Len got involved with forestry from 1981 until 1994 with Hunt, Leuchars and Hepburn. He
became managing director of the timber facility and, when he was retrenched, he started up in opposition to
them in a mining support business called Trimrite. He built a chipping plant which is the first process in
making paper and developed export markets including the US and Japan. On his visits to Japan he often
met up with Marstao Ushimbubo a former St David’s pupil.
JLE June 2015

Interview with John Daly – 1962
John , having been previously expelled from Dunkeld College, came to St David’s at the age of 5 on the
recommendation of a friend of his father, Eddie Rohan Irwin whose son Richard was a pupil there as he felt
the disciplined environment might help.
In those days Johannesburg ended at Bompass Road with the number 2 bus terminus. There were only a
few houses north of Bompass including the Rondavel’s tea garden, Sandown Farm, now Sandton City,
which belonged to the Edmonds family and Guy Edmond was chairman of Standard Bank. John
remembers playing tennis there in the veld.
Hyde Park was a swamp and the boys used to play cowboys and indians there. Hyde Gate was vacant
land and was used by all the ox wagons as a turning point when delivering their loads of fruit and
vegetables. John’s mother used to go there to buy the family supplies from Moonsammy, the vegetable
man. Manie Fryer eventually bought the land and drained it.
The soccer fields at the school were initially gravel, then came the concrete, tennis courts and the bicycle
shed which was enormous, accommodating the boys’ bicycles as there was no transport. There was
however, a municipal bus which ran once a day with Ben the driver who was a huge man with a handlebar
moustache. The pupils were dropped off at their homes. A swimming pool was built and there were 4
classrooms for the grades, 10 classrooms in all but no chapel. On occasion one of the boys would ring the
school bell as a prank signifying the end of the day and all the boys would knock off early.
John’s gardener used to take him to school on the carrier on his bicycle until one day John took it upon
himself to take the gardener’s bike leaving him behind. His father then bought him his own bicycle and at
the tender age of 5, John rode to school alone. The journey used to take him through the grounds of some
private homes on the way.
John recalls that in the prep school they had lay teachers until standard 5 with Mrs Brick teaching the
grades, Mrs Brophy – standard 1, Mrs King – standard 2, Mrs Batten – standard 3, Miss Brophy – standard
4 and Mrs Kempster, who was an institution, teaching standard 5. John’s cousin, Mrs Schaafsma also
taught at the school.
The Brothers taught in the high school and, although John and many other boys were not Catholic and
included Jews, and Chinese, they were accepted as it was, at that time, the only boys school in the area
with St Stithian’s opening much later in 1951. It was a full day, every day with academics followed by sport,
the boys were never on the streets with all after school activities being compulsory with the Brothers
participating.
John experienced three headmasters whilst at St David’s, initially Br Edwin who was appointed Brother
Provincial and was followed by Br Benedict and then Br Anthony in 1960.
Manners were exceptionally important and the boys were brought up in an environment which
encompassed religion, sport and studying with the non-catholics having Scripture lessons. There were
many non-catholics in John’s class.
Mr Drummond- Bell led the school choir and produced the annual musical which was usually “HMS
Pinafore”. Singing lessons were included in the curriculum.
The Moni’s were the most prominent family in the school at the time and pupils such as Terry Rosenberg,
Richard Hartdegen and many other boys who did very well in their chosen careers. There was a pride in
the school held by the day boys and boarders alike. It was all very primitive and there was a bursary fund to
assist those families in need. School fees were reduced by the number of boys in a family.
John played provincial tennis and was also involved with debating but didn’t play a team sport. He and
Terry Rosenberg played 1st team doubles at the Wanderers. In his last year, the school won the tennis
league and knockout and Ray Bischoff became a Springbok for swimming, the first Springbok for the
school. The school role stood at 600.
A very sad event was when Paul Barrenbrug was killed near the school entrance. His brother subsequently
became a Marist Brother.
John remembers that Mr McGill-Love, who owned the farm next door, didn’t have any children and used to
come to the school in the afternoons to watch the children play sport and in particular cricket. He left the
property to the College when he died and part of the land, now the “Inandas”, was sold in 1980 which
became quite a controversial issue.
John didn’t go into a restaurant until he was 15, in the 60’s and then went to one in the Carlton Centre and
then at the age of 17 to the Golden Spur Steak House which had opened in Rosebank. Hamburgers were 2
shillings and 6 pence. Blairgowrie, Bordeaux and Hurlingham were farmland. John remembers certain
things at the time, like his father flying in a Junker, a trunk call to Durban was a big thing. His grandfather
built the first house in Illovo in 1896 and had the only phone. Cars were all black, Thrupps was the major
shopping centre, Anstey’s was a fashionable place to have tea and Doctors visited you at home. It was too
dangerous to go into town at night as there were highwaymen in Saxonwold!
Life revolved around balance and the Marist Brothers were very involved in the family’s lives.
After he matriculated, John didn’t go to university but worked and studied, eventually becoming an
evaluator and appraiser and recently passed yet another exam. He has always been self employed and
initially worked with his father, originally in property development. He is the father to 3 daughters and has 6
grandchildren with the boys living in Cape Town so none have been pupils of St David’s.
JLE March 2015

As the oldest in my generation of cousins, my Judu would insist that I say a speech at
important family functions. If I did not meet my Judu’s high standards of public speaking, he
would not say a word to me. If I spoke well, he would walk up to me, give me a kiss on my
cheek and whisper in my ear, “you talk just like your Judu”. So Juds, here it goes. Once
again I will try talk just like you.
Good afternoon Reverend Fathers, and all of Nassey’s Humrees and Darlings.
My name is Gaby Simaan, Jnr, a grandson of an icon and legend of the South Africa
Lebanese community.
Nassey Simaan - The head of the Simaan family, husband to Agnes. Father and father in
law to Gabe and Jane, Antoine and Kathy, the late Linda Rose, Andy and Shirley, Marie Lou
and Saki. The grandfather of Gaby, Jeanine, Karen, Deirdre, Warren, Sean, Samantha,
Gareth, Candyce, Jason and Luke. The great grandfather of Nicholas, Gabriella, Cristina,
Connor, Mathew, Taylor, Daniel, Jessica, Meagan, Troy, Joshua and Jonathan. Sister to
Louise. Nephew to Aunty Isabel. Friend and mentor of hundreds . On behalf of Nassey’s
children – I have been honoured with the task to pay tribute to the great life of Nassey
Simaan and the impact that he has left behind.
Born on the 5th April 1922, in Bethal, Nassey was the oldest child of Gibran and Rosy
Simaan. Nassey grew up in Bethal, where his father owned the local Cafe. At the age of 16,
his father, who he always spoke so highly of, passed away. Nassey was sent to boarding
school in Uitenhage. That is when our family’s tradition with Marist Brothers schools began
and Nassey learnt to speak English. When he matriculated in 1939 he had been awarded his
school honours blazer, after receiving colours in athletics, rugby and for being a prefect. He
was also awarded the title of Victor Ludorum due to his athletic achievements. He
represented EP schools in athletics and rugby.
It was Nassey’s dream to go to university to study law. Unfortunately with his father’s
passing, the family was struggling financially and he needed to start working in order to
support his mother, sisters Dorothy and Louise, and his brother Ramsey. This was
something I only learnt this week from aunty Louise. With all the stories my grandfather told
us, not once did he mention, how he had to give up going to university for his family.
With the war breaking, Nassey joined the army and was deployed to Europe and Northern
Africa as a wireless operator. He took advantage of being sent to all the different countries
by visiting as many churches and religious sites as he could.
The first time my Gran met Judu was when she was working in the OK Bazaars as a cashier.
They were introduced by Judu's best friend at the time - Freddy Michael. Freddy was
actually going out with my Gran at the time and subsequently got engaged to Gran. Nassey
felt that he was far more deserving of this young Lebanese gem. He suddenly developed a
passion for shopping at OK. It was not long till my Gran gave into his relentless charm and
called off her engagement. As only Nassey could get right, he convinced Fred that it was
the right thing and God’s will. The 2 remained close friends. My grandparents were married
for 64 years!
My grandfather followed a career as a travelling salesman. He was known in the motor spare
industry as “King of the road” With a charm second to none; he had friends and contacts in
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every town you can think of. The family originally lived in Mayfair and later moved to
Buccleuch, where my grandparents stayed for 35 years. My grandfather struggled
financially. Things were tough for the family. When they saw a strange car coming down the
long drive way, it was more than likely the sherriff. The sons would grab the family’s
precious belongings and run to hide them by the river so the sheriff could not reposess them.
Judo told us how, my dad would hide in the bushes and shoot the sherriff’s car with his pellet
gun to deter him from coming back. Sometimes there was no money for bus fare for the
children to get back from school. The boys would have to walk home - All the way from
Inanda to Buccleuch. Despite all these hardships, my grandfather made sure that money
was found for his children to receive a top class education at a catholic school. He kept his
family together, entrenching the highest morals and values in his children. The reason why
the Simaan family is so close and strong today is all because of our leader – My Judu.
One of Nassey’s greatest accomplishments was his role as the Marist Inanda’s first team
rugby coach. During his 3 year reign, the school enjoyed their greatest success with records
that still stand today. His players from this era all say how there were no superstars in their
team. They were a small bunch of very average rugby players. Nassey focused on the
weakest, smallest and scaredest players in the team. It was through the self confidence and
motivation that my grandfather instilled in them, together with his immense knowledge,
strategy and love for the game, that they were able to achieve what they did. Not only did
Nassey’s loud voice assist the boys in the matches as he marched up and down the
touchline, but his athletic abilities too. Apparently more than once, Nassey’s wing would get
the ball with a gap in the defence. Nassey would be in line with the wing. With a cigarette in
his mouth, Nassey would take off at the same time the wing broke, and sprint down the
touch line screaming instructions. By the time the wing made it to the try line, Nassey was
already there waiting for him. Last year, my grandfather’s most successful team had their 40
year school reunion. They invited him as their guest of honour. Nassey’s rugby talents and
passion for the game was passed onto my dad Gabe. Judo spoke with such pride of my
dad’s rugby achievements. His favourite story was about my dad kicking a penalty over from
the halfway line, into the torrential rain and howling Cape wind, to beat Marist Brothers
Rondebosch by 1 point. He loved telling me that my father would have been a Springbok, if
he did not discover women and put them before the game.
Nassey was a founding member of The Sandton Bird Club. He organised many trips away
for the club. The members have many fond memories of these well organised trips. Besides
the Birds, Nassey‘s entertainment was the main attraction of the trips. If he did not have
everyone listening to his stories and jokes, he would be singing for them in Arabic or
Afrikaans. Last year they celebrated their 25th anniversary. Nassey was invited as an
honouree member. Although he had not been active in club for some time, he insisted on
saying a speech and entertained his old and new members late into the evening.
We all know how religious my grandfather was. He was a true warrior and defender of our
catholic faith, the Maronite Church, the priests, and Our Lady. His love and commitment to
Holy Mary is unmeasurable. His knowledge of our faith and the bible was immense. It ever
we had a question about the bible; Judu would be the first and only person we needed to
ask. Once I even heard a priest ask Judu for clarification on a verse in the bible. Nassey was
on the original Maronite parish council that advocated for this church to be built. Despite the
criticism they endured, they stuck to their dream and after much perseverance, the
commission to build this church was granted. For many years after this church opened, Judu
3
occupied this exact space on this alter. While Father Mardi was giving his sermon, Nassey
would walk around the perimeter of the church to make sure everything was in order. At the
same time he would be counting the number of people so that he could monitor that the
church’s attendance numbers were growing. It stressed him out and he would call for an
urgent meeting with the priests if he picked up a negative trend in the numbers. When it was
time in the service for the announcements, there would be a sudden change in the mood of
the congregation as Nassey Simaan made his way onto the altar. Everyone sat up and the
silence grew even greater. You never knew what to expect, except that there would be no
mincing of words. Judu felt nothing to tell the people to stop being stingy and instead of
wasting their money at the casino to rather donate it to St Charbel’s Helping Hand. Judu
would often take the opportunity of this time on the alter to talk about how great our lady is
and share stories of miracles she performed in Lourdes, Fatima and the best village in
Lebanon, where his father was born – Maghdouche. Nassey was the greatest ambassador
of Our Lady. He had no mercy on anyone you dared to mention a negative word about her.
He would say : “how can you really love Jesus if you are not prepared to honour and praise
the person our Lord loved and was so close to when on earth – his holy mother?” The best
way that we can honour Nassey today is by glorifying Our Lady!
Judu tried to go to church every day. Even when on holiday in Mauritius, Marie Lou, Saki
and my Gran would travel an hour to get to the closest catholic church. They would sit
through the French service cramped in the small church, suffering with the December heat.
Nassey’s first words when he got back into the car.”What a lovely sermon!” Sakie would
pack up laughing, my Gran would look down and gently shake her head and Marie Lou
would explode “How can you say that! Since when did you learn to speak French?” Every
day at 3 pm, something on Judu would start ringing. It was his alarm to remind him to say his
Novena. Nassey was an apostle of the Divine Mercy. He is responsible for it being practiced
by so many in this parish and the Rivonia Catholic church. I could talk for hours on what
Nassey has done for our church and our Lady. Apparently there will be an article in the next
Arch Diocese newspaper, honouring Nassey and his role in the church. This article was
written and planned before his passing. It’s such a pity that he will not get to read how he
has been honoured and thanked by our Church, but I am sure he has now been thanked
directly by God, Jesus and Our Lady.
Judu was so proud off all his children’s success. He visited my dad and Andy’s offices daily.
He would make his way round the office, greeting and kissing all the ladies hello. It was not
enough to simply say hello. He had to ask them how their family’s were and then had tell
them a story, which typically was about Lebanon or the best travel agent in the country –
Marie Lou, the best importer of motor spares - Antoine or his grandchildren . Once Andy
called all his staff in due to his companies escalating phone bill. They were all warned with
their jobs to stop making so many personal calls which was costing company thousands.
When the bill was even higher the next month, Andy dug deeper to find the guilty person.
The culprit – Nassey... Calls to Lebanon!
Judo drove my poor uncle Antoine mad with his shopping list every time Antoine was going
to Europe or China for business. Eventually Antoine needed to book an extra day on every
trip to try and find Judu’s rare model trains or catholic books that were not available in SA.
With the amazing son that Antoine is, no matter how busy he was, he always did his best to
come home with what my Judo had asked for. If Judo heard someone could not find
something in the shops, he was quick to offer Antoine’s services – don’t worry, my son
4
Antoine will get it for you overseas. Marie Lou being the youngest was always her father’s
baby. They had an extraordinary bond. Judo would often say to Mars, God has taken my
beautiful daughter Linda away from me, but has blessed me by giving me you. Mars, you
proved just how true these words are with all that you did for Judo when he got sick.
Judu loved visiting his family in Lebanon. After his first trip, he returned with the title deeds of
the properties his father owned in Lebanon. We thought that the land had been lost and
taken over in the war. You can imagine the excitement of my family’s re found wealth in our
homeland.
After his second trip, Judu returned with more documents. This time it was transfer papers.
My Judu had given all the land away to his cousins in Lebanon. He felt they needed it more
than we did. When Andy took his family to Lebanon a few years ago, his cousins took Andy
to see the properties. They felt so guilty they even offered to give some of it back. Such was
the massive charitable heart of Nassey Simaan.
On one of Nassey’s visits to Andy’s office, he asked Andy’s secretary where Andy was. She
explained to Judu that Andy was in the boardroom, trying to close a deal with the executives
of a leading financial institution and under no circumstances could be disturbed. Judu
ignored the instruction and walked into the Boardroom unannounced. He was wearing his
shorts, long socks and sandals. In his hand was a tray of Koeksisters. Hello everyone he
shouted. Shut up! I am his father. I am selling koeksisters for St Charbel’s helping hand.
Only 50c. Where’s your money? Is that all you have! My son said you are rich. Thank you
my Humree. Bless you. By bye dad! And out he walked with money for St Charbel.
On the 25th Aug 1985, my grandparent’s lives were shattered with the sudden death of their
daughter Linda Rose. After 28 years, Judu still mourned for her bitterly. And like my Gran,
never even got close to healing this wound and loss in their lives. When Judu was diagnosed
with Alzheimer a year ago, the only consolation I could find in this dreadful disease and turn
of events was that possibly this painful memory and loss could be wiped from Judu’s
memory. It never happened. At least now Judu is with aunty Linda. Not only is he with her in
heaven, but the urn with Linda’s ashes, has been placed next to Judu, in his coffin.
The last year has been very tough on my family. Watching a loved one getting so frail is
devastating. On behalf of my gran and family, thank you to all the people who were so kind
to him during this time. A very special thank you to Marie Lou, Sakie and my mom Jane.
They sacrificed so much of their time to help Judu in every way possible. Jane was Judu’s
nurse during the day while granny was at work. Her patience and kindness is remarkable
and a true reflection of her love for Nassey. Sakie, the family is totally in awe with what you
have done. You have been a pillar for Mars and granny. You could not do enough for Judu.
Whether it was taking him to the doctor, dressing him, or getting out of bed to go to Judu’s’
house when he could not turn on the TV, you did it with a smile and with such kindness.
When Judu was still well, Marie Lou and granny would prowl the shops in Sandton City
every Saturday afternoon. Sakie was left to watch sport with Judu. Although they were very
close, Judu and Sakie did not see eye to eye on which team to support. Judu was a die hard
lions and Man united supporter. Sakie – Sharks and Liverpool. When the Sharks were
playing the Lions, the common result was the Sharks would win. As soon as the Sharks
started leading, Judu would turn off the TV. Despite Sakie’s pleas, Judu refused to turn it
5
back on saying it was rubbish. Sakie then got his revenge with the soccer, as soon as
Liverpool went a goal down against Man U Sakie turned the TV off.
Judu, I can just imagine the chaos in heaven since you left us. You,walking around with
aunty Linda, greeting all your old friends and family. Hello my Humree! Come give me a kiss.
How’s mommy and daddy? Bless you darling, bless you..... Who was that Linda? We all
must expect our prayers to take a little longer to be answered as Jesus and Mary’s time has
been consumed by Judo in the last few days. Telling them all his stories, singing for them
and getting the answers and clarification to the questions he had planned for them.
Judu we are going to miss you so much! The Simaans are so grateful for the family that you
have created. The Lebanese community is so grateful for their legend, and I am sure God,
Jesus and Our Lady are so grateful for what you have done for our faith. We love you Juds.
Watch over us always.

Interview with Nick Pruim – 1984
Nick attended St David’s from grade 1 to matric and absolutely loved the school. He was a day
boy as there were no longer any boarding facilities. In 1982, the headmaster was the infamous
Mr Murphy who was a part-time wrestler. He was watching a TV programme called “Nite Owls”
about what people in SA do at night. Mr Murphy was televised walking into the ring masked and
wielding a hammer. He called an assembly the next day to explain himself and said he would no
longer compete as a wrestler. Apparently Mr Colia and some other masters checked up on him
and found out that he continued to wrestle. Mr Murphy also supposedly played rugby for Ireland.
He was replaced in the third term by Brother Anthony a previous headmaster who, together with
Brother Timothy was a strong headmaster. Mr Freilich then took over in 1983.
One of Nick’s sons goes to SACS and they saw Willy Castle at the water polo there. He
remembers Heather Joseph, Trudie Elliott, Glenda Anderson, Darryl Boswell, Colia, Ross
Howard, an Australian and Finlayson who recently taught his son at SACS. He still sees Adrian
Franklin who was vice-head boy, Reece Carr, Jason Goodall, Garcia (85), Peter Wharton-Hood,
and Craig Brewer.
He remembers one of the first black pupils at the school, Solly Mapanya whose father was a
well known businessman. The boys all gathered around him on the soccer field, now the astro
turf, in amazement. He is godfather to one of Nick’s daughters.
He remembered Gary Beuthin, 3 years above him who was expelled but allowed back by
Murphy and was expelled again a couple of months later. He was bright, sporty but a
psychopath.
Nick played 1st team rugby in standard 9 and part of matric and then dropped to the 2nd team
which he really enjoyed. He also participated in A team swimming, water-polo and tennis.
Academically he achieved a reasonable matric with university entrance. He was head boy for
his year with Adrian Franklin and Greg McLeroth as deputy head boys.
He recalled his last day as having mixed feelings. He learnt to tease and be teased there was a
certain feeling between Marist boys. Being a small school they had to work hard to do well in
sport, pull together. There were then only 280 boys in the senior school. Discipline was at times
harsh with corporal punishment but also respect. He never forgot getting 6 of the best from Mr
Murphy for mimicking a teacher in class.
After leaving school, he lasted 1 year at varsity, worked at the stock exchange for eight years as
a trader then travelled for a year. On his return he opened PD’s in Illovo and turned it into
Stabella in the Thrupp’s Centre. In 1994 he went to Cape Town and opened a place in
Greenmarket Square, Peitit Pains which was a great success, ran it for 13 years and sold it in

2006. He also got involved in the cleaning business and had a contract to clean Cape Town for
      8 years and in that time Cape Town won the cleanest city award. He realised that he had got
      involved in too many things, fishing being one of them. He then sold the shop, got out of the
      cleaning business and concentrated on the fishing industry with which the family has been
      involved with for generations. They have their own boats and buy in lobster to export to Japan
      and China. He also has an interest in renewable energy which is a long-term project and is busy
      with a wind farm.
      Following on from working with communities at school, he buys fish from local communities and
      assists with advice regarding equipment etc. The company also assists the subsistent fisherman
      with paperwork and not charging registration fees for forming co-ops. Better equipment helps
      them get up to a certain level and the company, Calandria, in turn gets a better quality product.
      For the small quota holders, they no longer give one lump sum but pay monthly in advance so
      that they can plan their lives better bringing financial stability. The company also pays the
      salary for one school teacher at Paternoster and usually gets involved in all the small towns they
      deal with and try to employ people in most of these towns in their operation.
      Nick has 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys.
      There was a reunion 5 years ago with a dinner at the school and he would definitely attend
      more reunions.
      JE October 2011