The first Botha Boys to go to sea as cadets in Merchant Navy shipping did so with a South African Company, The Thesen Line.

They were:
D. W. Rudd ( Cadet No 11 )
I.L. Green ( Cadet No 13 )
J.W. Andrew ( Cadet No 18 )
L.A. Fourie ( Cadet No 56 )

Who were all apprenticed in January 1924