The Cadets who Returned to their Alma Mater

It would have been quite remarkable had the General Botha escaped the exigencies of war. Soon after Japan entered the conflict in December 1941 the well-organised clockwork routine of the Training Ship was disrupted, causing the Captain-Superintendent and Board of Control to be confronted with serious challenges. Sinkings due to enemy action off South Africa's east coast made an attack on the shipping in Simon's Bay a distinct possibility and there was concern for the safety of the cadets. The first precautionary measures were taken in March 1942 when cadets left the ship after their evening meal to spend the night in the accomodation at their sports field on Red Hill, overlooking Simon's Town. After landing at the Town Pier they faced a long trudge up the steep, stony bridly path before reaching their dormitory. The ascent was made even more tiresome for the first year cadets who were called on to ease the lot of their seniors by providing an assisting push for most of the way up.

Anticipating the worst, the Board of Control made arrangements for the construction of additional buildings on Red Hill to provide classrooms and Galley facilities. A while earlier, the Board had agreed to make this Ship available to the British Admiralty should this be considered necessary. The agreement was implemented in July 1942 when the Royal Navy took possession and the Ship's Company had to evacuate the Ship and continue their training on Red Hill. At the time, no-one realised that this evacuation marked the end of an historic era. Four years later, when the Admiralty returned the Ship to the Board of Control, its condition had deteriorated to such an extent that it was no longer suitable for further service. The General Botha had now been transformed into a stone frigate - and would remain one.

With the country's manpower answering the call to arms, the six years of war resulted in frequent changes of staff. Some, who had retired, returned and did valuable service for as long as they were needed. The austere conditions then existing on Red Hill might have contributed to the short stay of the younger personnel. The post of Second Officer was particularly vulnerable. Of the six vacancies that occurred during the war, four were filled by former cadets. In the sequence of their respective appointments these were:- Bernard Grindley (308) John Martin (previously mentioned), Geoffrey Bodley (794) and Harold Pinn (709). Only Harold Pinn remained for more than five or six months. He was still there when the General Botha moved from Red Hill to Gordon's Bay in April 1948.

It is interesting to note how intertwined had been the paths of some of the former cadets who subsequently joined the staff. Three of these, Nankin Casely and Storm were on the Ship in 1942 and experienced the move to Red Hill. Nankin and Casely were seniors (in fact enjoyed the rank of cadet captain) while Storm (in his first year) was a junior. They started their sea-going careers as apprentices on the four-masted barque "Lawhill" - Nankin and Casely in 1943 and Storm the following year.

Norman Casely (1157), who had an extra-masters qualification, joined the staff of the Granger Bay Academy in 1963 after having completed a course of study at the Bible Institute. Prior to that he had been the Lecturer-in-Charge at the Nautical Academy in Durban. Norman's other interests included astronomy and optics. He painstakingly ground the lenses for a telescope he built himself. Later, after his appointment as Nautical Surveyor and Examiner, the Department of Transport in Durban was to benefit from his ability and talents. Because of their long association in their carefree younger days, Casely (a Senior Lecturer) was able to talk to Nankin (the Captain-Superintendent) in more familiar terms than other staff members. On entering Nankin's office one morning, Casely noticed his superior on his knees, hands clasped, before a panelled wall. Casely, with a mischievous smile on his face, apologised, saying "I'm sorry to disturb your prayer." However, the contrite attitude had been misinterpreted. The kneeling was not in penitence but because an electrical plug, low down on the wall, was in need of attention.

Bill Storm (1263) had his roots in Bloemfontein in the heart of South Africa's hinterland, so he might easily have chosed to make his career in agriculture or even mining. However, when he joined the Staff f the General Botha in 1975 he had gained a reputation of being an excellent seaman - one who had in fact, the rare qualification of Mate, Square-rigged. His experience in steamers included command of the Safmarine vessels "SA Trader" and "SA Van der Stel". The Van der Stel was designed for lifting and transporting cargo items in excess of 100 tonnes. No heavy lift ever came aboard without Storm's presence on deck to supervise the safe handling of the load. Nor was he a stranger to instruction. In the late 1950's he was, for several years, Nankins assistant at the Nautical Academy , Cape Town, and just prior to his appointment at Granger Bay, he was in charge of Safmarine's school for training the Company's deck crews.

The influence of his early roots came to the fore in the years when he was employed ashore. His home (much of which he built himself) was on a small holding some 30 kms. From Cape Town, where he raised chickens and grew vegetables. The early crow of the cock provided his reveille call, so that in spite of the long distance he had to travel each morning, he was always the forst of the staff to arrive at the Academy. Witnessing this arrival, the uninitiated could have been excused for thinking the fowls had been roosting in Bill Storm's car, for he was known to have a love for our feathered and four-footed friends.

During the final years of the General Botha eight of the eleven academic staff were former cadets. Four of these, Simon Pearson (2312) Kieron Cox (2344), Roger Pawley (2400) and Terry Purdon (2402) were a younger breed, who elected to join the ranks of their former mentors. Their association with the General Botha began when they joined the Academy as cadets at Granger Bay and continued when they enrolled in later years for semester courses leading to their various certificate of competency examinations. With this background and subsequent experience, they were a noteworthy asset to the staff complement.

But it seems that when a group of former cadets of any age are found together, even though this occurs in the more formal precincts of a staff room, there are bound to be some lighter moments. The design of the staff room chairs provided an ideal object for a wily prankster. The loose, deep-cushioned seats were supported by rubber straps, instantly removable for easy replacement. The pattern of seating was predictable, so that the selected victim's chair could be doctored by releasing the ends of the straps on one side. Evidence of this action was concealed because the cushion was kept in place temporarily by its friction against the sides. But this state of equilibrium was immediately destroyed by the weight of the victim, who was in free fall until he reached the floor - fortunately not too far below.

There were times when staff room chatter turned to the exploits of those present during their term as cadets. One such incident was particularly ingenious in its planning and execution. The cadet acquired from his father, a medical practitioner, a life size human skeleton. During darkness this was hung in the enclosed wheelhouse of the Academy's launch "Davy Mc Donald". The Quartermaster on duty made a routine inspection of the craft alongside the quay at regular intervals during the night. On this occasion the beam of his torch showed the skeleton - realistically animated by the movement of the "Davy Mc" at its moorings. The hurried departure of the Quartermaster from the vicinity of the craft was watched with delighted amusement by the originator of the ruse and several of his cronies from a concealed vantage point, and were then able to remove the skeleton before the Quartermaster's next inspection. Recounting his experience later on, the Quartermaster said he was certain he had seen a real ghost.

Not only did former cadets occupy the staff room, they were in the Board Room as well, The first to be appointed to the Board of Control was Aubrey Matson (66). He was among the initial draft of 75 cadets who joined the Ship in 1922 and was appointed to the Board in 1946. Some ten years later James (Flam) Johnson (695) did duty as a member, when he substituted for the representative of the S A Navy during this members brief absence. While he was Port Captain in Cape Town, Stan Franklin (99) was a board member for several yearsduring the 1960's - representing the Railways and Harbours Administration.

A veritable take-over of the Board Room by former cadets occurred in the late 1980's. In the chair was Arthur Bluett (1455), the only former cadet to have been appointed Chairman. Assisting him were Ted Page (1375), Jim Buchanan (1398), Frikkie Bester (1808) and Dave de Wet (2044). Jim Buchanan and Frikkie Bester had also been on the staff - Jim as Chief Officer until 1969 and Frikkie as a Senior Lecturer until 1983. However, even this string representation was unable to prevent the General Botha from losing its status as an autonomous instution in 1990, when its functions were taken over by the Cape Technicon. Nevertheless, the service of former cadets to their Alma Mater is oa proud one, and certainly in keeping with its motto "Honour and Duty."

We will have a brief look at the origins of the General Botha and its dying moments in the final article in this series.

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