Jack Brown

My great grandfather Frank Brown was miraculously of a handful survivors in the battle of Delville Wood, where the South African infantry was wiped out in WW1. Cannon fodder.

In fighting in the trenches it was documented some soldiers were awake more than two weeks, a living hell. The returning soldiers were many insane of “shell-shock” Frank Brown apparently not, but he had a leg amputated. He had fought in the boer war too, and my grandpa in WW2 as a medic they called him Jack.

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Other forefathers fought for the boers and my father and brother fought in the border war. My father was technical support and my brother infantry, machine gunner.

In those days marriage of Afrikaans families and English were basically not acceptable. But of my grandfather (I was named for) as very English with two sons and the daughter all three married Afrikaans and including a Jew. Today it wouldn't lift an eyebrow but still today white and black marriages might be frowned on. That will change it always does.

On my granny's side was Irish blood they fought on the side of the boers, one man had been the only to escape from a kraal, such as an ambush a trap as the story to Piet Retief and Dingaan all the others were killed. A closely related folk hero was Dick King my granny had ancestors King as well.

On both sides granny and grandpa there were Keyes they said we are descended from a Lord Keyes I think. Well there's not much left of that we were commoners, teachers artisans and such. Honest hard working men, labourers and factory workers.

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Eustace Steyn was a great grandfather on my mother's side he was in the english concentration camps a child, very few children survived those concentration camps. This part of the family were voortrekker stock.

His older brother was notorious for a prisoner escaping from the English of habit, he and some friends swam and was hidden by a Russian ship's captain in the chimney. There was written a book “Die ses swemmers”, i.e. the six swimmers.

My Afrikaans grandpa was from a highly respected family but they came from the Cape only later, “Oupa” Jacques de Vos as engineer was legendary, Eustace himself was brilliant he was principal of a rural school at 17 and became head school inspector.

Talk of hybrid vigour. 

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There are some medals more than ten I'd say, Jacques gave them all to auntie June. She was my grandfather's only remaining child and she wanted those medals fanatically. They were Jacques's medals inherited from my father.

My aunt made a serious study of Frank Brown's life they even travelled to Delville Wood in France for the centennial and also Frank's birthplace in London etc. He lied about his age to unroll in the British army to get to South Africa he was a bugler and some time later amongst more fireman it was one of the medals.

My late uncle Nolan was just as much a legend was formally qualified in a number of trades he showed me his papers he was a mercenary too, in Zambia. I was terribly fond of him my dad's brother, as well as the family I have always felt welcome.

I should actually have said more about the women those stories are for another day. War is madness but with time wounds heal.