Harry Andrew’s daughter and the Pakistani diplomat: an Apartheid story

Contributed by Pieter Wolvaardt

An elderly gentleman visited Tom Wheeler (who compiled together with me and Werner Scholtz the diplomatic trilogy From Verwoerd to Mandela, South African Diplomats Remember) on 20 April 2007 at SAIIA in Johannesburg to buy copies of the History of the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, 1927 – 1993.  The person turned out to be Leon Cachet, former head of Swazi Air, who related the following story. 

While touring in an obscure part of Spain – in the mountains – he and his wife’s brother-in-law sat down at a street-side café for coffee. A devastatingly beautiful young woman with wonderfully deep tan was at the next table telling an obviously very wealthy man twice her age that she wished she knew more about her grandfather who had been a South African representative at the UN (or something).

Leon Cachet picked up his ears and said that he might be able to help. He explained that Don Sole (one of South Africa’s most senior diplomats) had proposed the toast at his sister’s wedding – or some relation. He indicated that he knew Don well and would make inquiries. The situation was so unlikely that the girl obviously thought he was a conman, but her wealthy companion gave Leon Cachet his card and requested an e-mail if he could find out anything. On the back he writes ‘Andrews’.

As promised Leon Cachet contacted Sole, who responded: ‘Of course I know who this is: Harry Andrews’. The rest of the story is that Harry Andrews who was very careful not to cross his NP masters, had a daughter who, while he was ambassador in Paris (1949-), decided against her parents’ wishes to marry a Pakistani diplomat. The Andrews disowned her in the interests of career and political correctness.

Sometime later said Pakistan gentleman turned up as a high-flying diplomat and the beautiful ‘deep tanned’ lass was the product of what was apparently a blissfully happy marriage. Leon-Cachet conveyed this information duly to beautiful young lady. (But it does not end there. It turns out that Leon Cachet’s mother-in-law is ex-MP Badenhorst-Durrant’s widow. We managed to find a reference to the latter in the book. Adding another strand.  But there is more: Sheila Camerer is also a daughter of  Badenhorst - Durrant. Is everybody in this country related to everybody else!?) I conveyed Tom’s story to Don Sole who replied as follows on 25 April 2007.

‘Dear Pieter,

Thank you for sending me the text of Tom Wheeler’s e-mail to you about Harry Andrews’ granddaughter.  You may be interested in the following supplementary information.

At the time I was second in command at the Paris embassy and knew Lydia, the ambassador’s daughter well.  Like many a young girl she was anxious to get away from the parental home to do her own thing.  She was also an only child.  She had qualified as a typist secretary and since I had many contacts at South Africa House where I had served for seven and a half years, she asked me to try to get her a job there.   

This I was able to do, but her mother refused to allow her to go to London.  It was after this refusal that on the rebound she became more and more linked with a young Pakistani diplomat who asked her to marry him which she did.   Her mother then disowned her, but her father was much more relaxed.  He was not greatly interested in ‘political correctness’.  He had been an outstanding ambassador in Washington [1945 – 1949] and was quite cynical when the N.P. government moved him to a more junior post in Paris in order to have their own man (G.P. Jooste) in the U.S.   In Paris he did no more than serve out his time until retirement.

Many years later when I was ambassador in Germany [1969 - 1977] Lydia and her husband looked us up and visited our home.  They were visiting her husband’s brother who was the Pakistani ambassador in Bonn.

Following Leon Cachet’s encounter with their daughter in Spain, I got in touch with her.  She is now living in Vienna and described herself as a health care practitioner.    I have said that we shall look her up in September if Dr El Baradei invites me, as one of the few surviving founders of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], to attend the 50^th anniversary celebration, as his predecessor did on the occasion of the 40^th anniversary in 1997.

Yours sincerely,

Don’

(Note: Sole did not go to the 50^th anniversary of the IAEA and I have no further information).

Swedish Sojourn

During a visit to Pretoria in 1992, the oldest retired Foreign Affairs diplomat, the 93 year old Mr Ted Eustace, then living in Zimbabwe, was interviewed by Rina Steenkamp for the Meintjeskop Courier.

Mr Eustace, who had postings in Rome, Stockholm and Kenya before the Second World War and later in Washington and Brazil, describes his experiences in Stockholm from 1937.

Our predecessors, Mr and Mrs Frans du Plessis, kindly stayed over for a couple of days, before their departure, to brief us on some important matters. I had not before been a Charge d'Affaires ad Interim. I needed to understand what our relations would be with our Berlin Legation, where our Minister, Dr SFN Gie, and his wife had been stationed for several years. He was also the SA Minister Accredited in Stockholm hence my title had "interim" linked to it. I also wanted to know how far we would come under the Berlin Legation. All these things were satisfactorily explained. Dr Gie and hs wife were most highly regarded and our relations with Berlin were not over complex.

The staff at the moment was limited to one secretary a Swedish girl, with an English mother who, in addition, was also the interpreter and general factotum. She had been on the staff for several years. Two Attaches were to arrive and proved to be Bob Kirsten, whom I had met in Pretoria and knew well, and Mr DC van der Merwe, who had been with me in Rome.

The really important thing for me to do was to meet a Mr Josef Soderquist, who ran an import/export company of his own in Gothenburg. He had been for 2 or 3 years the agent of both the Deciduous Fruit Board in South Africa and of the KWV - our big wine and spirits concern, with HQ at the Paarl. Mr Soderquist had close relations with the big Swedish shipping company "Transatlantic" that had a sizeable fleet of steamers that plied back and forth to Australia and South Africa. He had several times been to South Africa, and had brought parcels of deciduous fruit to Sweden to test and distribute to Swedish and Norwegian fruit importers. They, the importers, were both delighted with our fruit standards, and were anxious to import in big quantities, as Scandinavia badly needed more imported fruit for the winter months.

Mr Soderquist came to see me very shortly after my arrival in Stockholm. We got on very well together and made up our minds to make further approaches, both to the Swedish and Norwegian Governments, to get them to increase their imports of our fruit in a big way. Transatlantic was very co-operative, agreeing to increase their refrigeration holds in their ships when needed, for our fruit.

In our approaches to the two Governments, we also planned to seek permits for the import of SA wines and spirits. I was prepared to work hard on the problem of imports of South African products but both Mr Eric Louw , our Minister in Paris, and Mr Frans du Toit, our Senior Trade Commissioner in London, had warned me that I would have great difficulties.

Diamonds, gold, wool, mohair, and some other products were sold in London, and it was then the policy not to upset such sales. I had been connected in a small way with the early efforts to find markets for our platinum but, when we actually were ready to sell, it was found that using London as our selling market would get lots of support from at least one very important and big agency.

I tried to find out if Sweden would buy our periodic surplus of yellow maize, but was told over and over that, when importing such grain, only white maize was imported, as it was rated as the better grain for cattle feeding in winter.

Dr and Mrs Gie duly paid their official visit to Stockholm. It was their custom to come annually. They stayed at the delightful Grand Hotel, which is on a peninsula in the heart of the city. They had a very busy time, visiting most of the Heads of Mission resident in Stockholm, doing duty calls on senior members of the Foreign Office and holding two largish dinner parties, and a big cocktail party. We were included for the three parties. How kind they were and how knowledgeable he was. They gave us quite a lot of their time, telling of conditions in the Germany of 1937 and we recognised, both of us, that even if we did not see them often, we would be very glad to work under them.

Also in January, Irene and I were invited to a ball for the Royal Family given by an ancient association whose habit it was to show special courtesies to the Royal Family. The ball itself was very well done. The dance floor was somewhat overcrowded but all seemed to be really happy, even at a ceremony staged specially for Sweden's Royal Family. We knew nobody, as we were such newcomers but the newly married Eustaces were glad to dance together. I recognised that a waltz was about to be played, so rather grabbed Irene, to get to the floor before it was overcrowded. We had danced round the dancing floor a couple of times, when one of the dance officials touched me on my arm – “Sir, I don't suppose that you understood what was just announced in Swedish. This dance is being reserved specially for the Royal Family!" As can be imagined, we left the floor immediately and made our way back to our seats without very much fuss!

In February, Irene and I made an official visit to Oslo. It was, of course, mid-winter and Oslo itself was under a great depth of snow. Our Honorary Trade Commissioner looked after us in some pleasant detail and I visited the Foreign Office, talking over trade matters that affected both of our countries paid a short call on the British Minister, the Swedish Shipping Company, and we were invited to have afternoon tea with the Crown Princess.  That struck us as a bit unusual, but the Princess could hardly have been more friendly.

We grabbed a couple of hours away from duties to watch an incredible sight – a ski-jumping contest. Even in the intense cold our mouths were wide open at the simply unbelievable jumps. They seemed highly dangerous but we saw no accidents at all.

Here I must note that traveIling from Stockholm, at night, was the best of train journey that we had ever done in our lives - the de luxe Continental trains.

I gave an interview to a Swede who, over the phone, said that he wanted to get details on SA minerals. Actually, he wanted particulars on our chrome ore. I turned up our Year Book - a most useful reference book that should be in all our libraries. From this I gave him data and suggested that, if he did not know how to purchase some chrome, he had better consult his Swedish Legation in Pretoria. I forgot the matter, as he did not strike me as a businessman. A couple of months later the Transatlantic shipping people phoned me. They had been asked to book shipping space for a consignment of 2000 tons of our chrome ore. Should they agree to accept the booking? I told them I would give them an answer later in the day. I phoned Frans du Toit in London about the matter. He laughed at me, or the stupid Swede. True, our chromes had a high percentage of chrome in them but they also had a big percentage of iron in the ores, which, thus far, no one had been able to eliminate. Our chrome ores were, thus far, virtually of no value. I suggested to the shipping company that they refuse to book space for the load of ore. A Iittle later, the Stockholm University asked me to procure about 5 tons of the mineral for them to experiment with. I heard nothing more from them but had been advised that the 5 tons of are had actually been received by the University.

Another request for an interview was received, but from a much more important personage - a highly regarded Swede, who was actually the Honorary Netherlands Consul-General. Dr Uggla was his name. He had been a member of the Skandinaviska Corps - 350 Scandinavians who formed their corps and fought for the Boers during the Anglo Boer War, as it is called. Not long after, they took up duty in the Northern Cape. They were surrounded by the forces under Lord Roberts and had to surrender to a much larger force. There had been some firing, in which there were some casualties; but they surrendered and were interned or imprisoned. Some years after the War had ended, the United Kingdom had issued medals and decorations for all the Boer forces and these were duly distributed. But the Scandinavians were not included in the distribution. Dr Uggla asked me if I thought that, late though it was, I could attempt to get medals for the 132 Corps members still alive.

I promised to approach General Hertzog himself and, somewhat to my surprise, the General saw to it that the 132 medals were sent to me for distribution. Their addresses were carefully recorded. How gratif ied Dr Uggla was. I had two functions arranged, one in Stockholm and one in Oslo. My wife pinned the medals on the chests of the old ex-volunteers and on the bosoms of two old ladies, who had been nurses in the Corps. Drinks were served and a general confab resulted, about their decision to show the Boers that all of them felt that the Boers undoubtedly had "right" on their side.

A couple of months later, Dr Uggla came to see me to congratulate me on the Swedish Decoration that was about to be presented to me. He was dumbfounded when I told him, as I had to, that South Africans were prevented from accepting foreign decorations. He had a bit of awkward explaining to do to the Swedish authorities, for which I was sorry.

I had soon after my arrival called on the British Minister in Stockholm. He mentioned that the British Ambassador in Rome had sent him advice to expect me, as I had been posted to Stockholm. He and his wife were really very kind to us – fellow Commonwealth colleagues.

The Stockholm Harbour Master phoned me early one morning to say a steamer belonging to the Transatlantic Company had arrived that morning with a big consignment of SA fruit, but some 2000 trays of peaches and plums had been found to be inedible. The peaches when opened, showed a browning around the pips and the plums showed a skin that had small bladders on them. The

Harbour Master wanted to destroy the fruit. Had I any objections? I phoned Josef Soderquist about the matter. He assured me that he too had been warned by the Harbour authorities who, he assured me, were in the right. They must be allowed to destroy the fruit. I gave my consent, for what it was worth and let the Minister in Berlin know. I later heard that such plums and peaches had also been condemned in the London Docks. South Africa House and the DFB then consulted a science section in the Cambridge University about the problem. The fruit farmers in the Cape had made up their minds to cut down the period between picking the fruit and chilling it in the ships' holds. This period had been cut by 24 hours and that was the cause of the deterioration of the fruit.

March 1937

Our staff was increased by the arrival of Bob Kirsten and his newly wedded wife. I had known him in Pretoria. In May of the same year DC van der Merwe, from Rome, reached us and then we, more or less, made up a full team.

Irene and I paid our promise visit to Gothenburg to have further talks on fruit and wines with Mr Soderquist, and then I also got to meet the Chairman of Transatlantic, the shipping company that brought our fruit to Sweden. We had a further bit of real excitement -three days' yachting in the Soderquists' family yacht in the Gothenburg archipelago, sleeping on the island with a most interesting fishing family with two children, as is the Swedish custom. The husband had been a fisherman going with a smallish group of fellow fishermen to the East Coast of Canada, to catch cod, a fish that had good sales in Sweden. What remarkable and fine people they were, poor but proud with good reason.

We had that summer also to visit Berlin officially, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Hitler's Berlin was most interesting. There was a lot to admire but also much to feel highly nervous about. It was good to meet Dr and Mrs Gie again and my colleagues with whom I nominally worked.

The British Minister, Sir Michael Paloiret, approached me for help. They only had one child, a son at school in London who had just been hospitalised with a burst appendix. His condition was grave. Lady Paloiret had that morning flown to London. But the minister and his wife were to entertain the Swedish Crown Prince and Princess at a big dinner party that was to take place three days hence. Would I agree to agree to Irene,my wife, acting as his hostess at the function? Irene quite naturally agreed to help out.

The party started out, the guests all being offered the usual sherry and then they all moved  into the Long dining-room, arm in  arm.   Irene leading with the Crown Prince. When all were seated, soup was to be handed round a favourite soup in Sweden in those days - spinach with a raw egg floating in the middle of the plate. The butler started by leaning forward to place a plate of soup in front of the Crown Prince when a waiter passing behind him bumped the butler in his rear. The soup cascaded in part over the Crown Prince's chest and his decorations, and then on to Irene's wedding dress which she was wearing for the special occasion. The Prince reacted immediately, asking the people at his end of the table to carry on as though nothing had gone wrong. He then turned to the butler - "Please go back to the kitchen, get a bowl with warm water in it, plus a clean cloth and come in normally and without fuss, then wipe Madam's dress and my uniform". This was done without any fuss at all, so much so that the host, Sir Michael, noticed nothing wrong.

Irene thanked the Crown Prince with real gratitude for so ably tackling what could have been a real disaster. The dinner party went on completely normally which seems incredible. As Sir Michael did not onany occasion mention the mishap to Irene, we had both to conclude that he was completely ignorant of what had happened at the other end of his dinner table.

Irene was able to have her frock dry-cleaned and, as usually happens with a wedding frock, it was later worn on several occasions in our rather formal life. Pretoria agreed that our Legation should make periodic official visits to Finland. We had in mind that South African fruit should also be sold in Finland, and Soderquist had in fact been active soon after. I went to Helsink i, by air and on my arrival I made a courtesy visit on the British Minister. I was more than a little shocked when he refused to see me! I had by letter warned him that I would pay my visit. A couple of days passed when the First Secretary of the British Legation came to see me in my hotel. It seemed that the Minister had had second thoughts or had consulted London and had been told that in refusing to see me, he had behaved wrongly. His attitude was that he had been

acting as the representative for South Africa, particularly in trade matters. He had not been told by the Foreign Office that I would be operating in Finland in future. How could he condone my appearance officially in Helsinki? But theMinister and his First Secretary had put their heads together. I was asked to go to a drinks party, in the home of the First Secretary, where the Minister would meet me  as he wanted to do.

I duly went to the party and had an amiable talk with the British Minister who must have felt he had behaved incorrectly. Before leaving the party, however, in saying goodbye to the Minister, I mentioned somewhat casually that I would meet him again when I paid my next visit to Helsinki. He merely said "I look forward to seeing you".

I reported the     incident to my Minister, Dr Gie, and mentioned that I was not prepared to make much over the matter that had in part been wrong. Dr Gie agreed with me.

My next visit was to London to see how far the High Commissioner's Office could help our Legation with material for exhibitions, both in Stockholm and in Oslo. I naturally asked Frances du Toit for aid and he was most co-operative, warning that he felt such exhibitions should be of a general nature and that we should not pretend that they were Trade Exhibitions, for, apart from fruit and wines and spirits, we had very little that we could expect to sell in Sweden and

Norway. I opened the one that we held in Oslo. Our DC van der Merwe proved to be an excellent hand at setting up the good show on both occasions. We held evening parties at which we had a couple of hundred people wining, then very largely with KWV products, which proved very popular. Scandinavians need no urging to refill their glasses! I think in a country with a seven month winter, doubtless I would also have a different attitude to alcohol!

In the middle of 1938, I applied for home leave, which I was granted and I was glad that we could start our holiday at the end of the year and that we would not return to Sweden. It looked likely I was told, that we would be transferred to Paris. In most ways this pleased both of us greatly and I wanted the chance of working with Mr Eric Louw, the Minister in France whom I had met on several occasions

              

We left for South Africa from Oslo on the 1st Jan ury 1939. The North Sea, the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay were all rough beyond words. But thereafter we had bright sunny days in our 2000 ton cargo boat, which belonged to the Transatlantic Shipping Company.

New Year's Eve at the Royal Palace in Stolkholm

Ted Eustace continues ...

On our arrival at the Palace entrance, we were met by palace flunkies all dressed in very old-fashioned uniforms. They relieved us of our heavy overcoats and head- gear and took over our rubber boots and shoes. There were facilities to enable us to tidy up a bit and then we were requested to join queues of guests setting out to find the dining-halls that they had been allotted to. The strong light shone on handsome ceilings, walls and plush curtains and carpets. We reached our own dining-hall, to be even more struck by brilliant candelabra. But even more exciting were the huge tables with drinks of all kinds on them and then came the tables with highly shining silver candlesticks and other ornaments and Smorgasbord such as we had never dreamt of before.

We soon had drinks and piled up plates with truly marvellous foods which we all tucked into. We had chinwags with Swedes whom we did not know but all of whom showed friendly attitudes to us. The taste buds had a marvellous time. The atmosphere became cheerful and remained so throughout the evening. Soon after, we were encouraged to move on to the palace theatre a very fine hall indeed. To increase the excitement of the diplomatic representatives, we were due to sit in boxes, that were arranged very near the theatre stage and almost on the same level as the stage. The theatre was again lit by glittering candelabra adding -to the dramatic impact of the evening.

The orchestra provided a fanfare of a very exciting calibre and the King, with the Crown Princess and Prince, one on either side of him, entered from a handsome door at the back of the stage and proceeded to their thrones in front of the stage. They were followed by the Princesses and Princes, some from Denmark and Norway, as well as those of the Swedish Royal Family who filed into rows of special armchairs.

The orchestra then played he Swedish National Anthem and all sang with gusto, showing their loyalty to the King and the Royal Family. It was quite obvious that all loved the fine old King, whohad reigned over them for so many years.

Before going on to give details of the orchestral concert, I want to describe, as best I know how, the twenty or so regal personalities on the attractive stage. The King had on a light crown and a striking uniform with many decorations on his chest. The other princes too were most handsome in showy uniforms and decorations. But the very good-looking princesses were the real attraction of the Royal

gathering. Very specially beautiful frocks and jewels that made one almost gasp. 

Pride of place though, was certainly given to the Danish Crown Princess, in part because of her magnificent jewels.Her tiara, necklace, eardrops, pendant, bracelets and rings were all from the famous Danish Royal collection of rubies. She was very good to look at and, with those fabulous jewels, drew the eyes of all present. Don't get the impression that her jewels were possibly overdone. All the princesses were scintillating with many kinds of highly striking pieces of adornment, among which the diamonds were the most striking. The Danish Princess was outstanding with her fine frock and rubies, her regal looks, charm and dignity. She was the most beautiful sight. What the other princesses thought of the Danish beauty, I leave to others to guess.

After a short pause, the conductor of the orchestra rose and signalled for the evening's entertainment to commence. If I remember correctly they played largely from the most popular pieces of the Old Masters. Everybody seemed both to know and love such music. The performance took about an hour. When the conductor signified that the concert was finished, the audience showed how well they had enjoyed the performance and the Royal party stood up. The total audience stood

for a second rendering of the National Anthem. The King and his entourage left the stage and the Royal party was over. Our feelings were that everybody had had a most happy evening. All were most grateful to His Majesty for his gracious invitation to an occasion that was perfectly executed by a very gracious monarch.

On leaving the Palace, we, the guests, had another thrill. The Royal Palace was totally aglitter from the snow that covered the whole building itself and its surroundings. The floodlighting made the Palace sparkle in a truly enchanting manner. These buildings, on the edge of one of the lakes in central Stockholm, always show up handsomely. That wonderful night they looked their very best and gave the guests great joy.

From the Meintjeskop Courier October 1992

Ted Eustance - memories of another era

 Published in the Meintjeskop Courier , March 1992

  

The Meintjeskop Courier has received this very interesting contribution from our oldest retired diplomat, Mr Ted Eustace. Mr Eustace is alive and well (at the age of 93) and living in Harare

Introduction

I was born in King Williams Town at  the end of the Nineteenth  century.  I matriculated  at Fort Beaufort, joined the Standard Bank in Adelaide and worked in that branch of the Bank for four years. I then resigned and joined the Civil Service. At that stage, Pretoria was  relatively small and not the big and spreading city that it is today. I, on arriving in Pretoria, immediately set out to get a degree in the Extra Mural section of the Transvaal University College, taking a BA (Law). It of course meant a lot of hard work, attending lectures in the afternoon or after supper. While I was still studying for the degree, I somewhat stupidly joined the Pretoria Regiment, working hard at that too, going to three qualifying courses at Roberts Heights Military College. Such courses enabled me to get rapid promotion through the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain and Major. There was no doubt about it, I had real zest for army life.

My involvement in the Active Citizen Force was such that I got the Defense Department's permission and help to go to England in 1934 to get a wider experience of Infantry training and administration. In England I spent four and a half months with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who were affiliated to the Pretoria Regiment.

Just before leaving Cape Town to go to sea to England, I made a brief application to join the Department of External Affairs. Applications were invited in a notice in the Government Gazette. But during my spell with the British Army and then while I was rushing round England, I really forgot about the application that I had sent in.

Much to my surprise, I suddenly received instructions, not to return to South Africa but to go to Rome where I had been posted as a First Secretary in the Legation. I was most dubious about accepting the post as my interest in Army life dominated most of my thinking.  However to Rome I went and never regretted joining our Corps, for a moment. I served in various posts for 25 years. On being pensioned I returned to Rhodesia where I had been our High Commissioner and was placed on several boards of directors whose companies were of South  African origin. I am still on three such boards and had better confess that I have been a pensioner in this country for just on 32 years. I am not ashamed of that confession but wonder quite often  how I have lasted 93 years and how I now have the nerve to contribute data to the Meintjeskop Courier.

Rome

 When I joined the Rome staff in early October 1934, I found that we were few in number. The Minister, Dr A Heymans of Belgian origin, but who had been an eye surgeon in Pretoria for many years, myself, a Second Secretary, a first grade clerk, Piet Theron, and the really  splendid Italian interpreter, Dante Balboni.

Life in Rome was exciting and most interesting plus, strangely enough, very inexpensive. The Fascist government under The Duke Mussolini, was especially well run. I had absolutely no knowledge of Italian but set out, with Balboni, to see if I could learn the language the quick and direct way, by living with an Italian family.

Our advertisement in a daily paper brought in several replies which Balboni examined, and it was decided to lease a flatlet in a building next door to the huge British Embassy. I was to pay the rent in advance so, on a Saturday morning, Balboni and I went for a further visit to the owners of the building. Balboni and a domestic, whom we had not seen on our first visit, seemed to be having a real squabble, which I could of course not understand. However, he grabbed me by the arm and muttered, "You cannot live here". We turned away and I demanded an explanation. I had to drag this from him and his reply shook me badly. The previous evening, Mussolini's "Sex Police" had raided the property and had discovered that it was an unlicensed "Brothel". It seemed a major disaster and one that must not leak out. I immediately imagined  newspaper headlines reading "Young Diplomat rents quarters in Rome brothel". We were not daunted for long and another advertisement was placed in a newspaper. I succeeded in getting first class accommodation in the home of an Italian retired diplomat, who had until recently been the Italian Minister Plenipotentiary in Paris. There, I was completely happy and began to pick up good Italian very quickly.

Early in 1935 the Legation received a wrathful letter from the Bata Shoe Company in Zurich. It was agreed that Piet Theron, who had good savoir faire, should at once go to Zur ich to look into the complaint. On his return to Rome, Piet advised that the Company had  every right to stage the bitter complaint about hides and skins that they had received from Port Elizabeth. The bales, when opened had many foreign bodies in them to build up weight. Full details were sent to Pretoria and most fortunately the authorities took quick and correct action. An announcement was published in our Government Gazette, stating that in future all South African hides and SK~ns exported, would be liable to inspection before export, and that penalties for harmful exports would  be heavy. We advised the Bata Company and in due course received their  grateful thanks for the action we had  taken. .

In the beginning of 1935 the Legation was notified that a courtier from the Royal Palace wanted to meet Dr Heymans to discuss the formalities that would have to be followed, when the Minister presented his Letters of Credence from the King of Britain to his Majesty the King of Italy. The ceremony would take place on the morning of the 24th January and, following ancient practice, would be very formal.

In due course the South African party including Dr A Heymans, his lady wife, plus all the diplomatic staff and their wives, would be expected to go to the Palace, all dressed up in formal evening dress, the ladies all wearing three meter trains. A courtier from the Palace would escort them, the Minister and his wife, in a horse drawn and formal carriage, plus coachman and footman. The diplomatic staff, plus their wives, would be expected to accompany their Head of Mission and his wife, but would be required to use their own or hired cars, of good appearance.

The great day arrived. The South African party were ready at the appointed time, the court carriage arrived, plus a senior courtier and, outside the gates of the Legation, an escort of motor cyclists were ready to lead the way and look after the procession.

On arrival at the Palace, the whole party entered a special courtyard, disembarked, formed up behind the courtier and went through passages and formal rooms till they reached the entrance of the Presentation Chamber. There was a pause; a high, piercing fanfare of a dozen trumpets welcomed the South Africans. There was another pause, and a door opened into the gracious Chamber. Some distance from the door, on a raised dais and on their handsome thrones, sat Their Majesties in a formal pose.

 We were signed to by the courtiers and our ladies made showy, slow, full curtsies and the men made their bows.  There was another pause and then the courtier took our Minister up to the King's throne. A lady-in- waiting took Mrs Heymans up to the Queen's throne. They bowed and Dr Heymans formally handed over his Letters of Credence. His Majesty opened the sealed letter; pretended to read the missive and slowly handed it over to one of his officials. Again there was a pause and then the King bowed to the Queen, handed her down off the dais and they went to two halfmoon circles of chairs, near the one wall of the Chamber. When they had settled themselves, the courtier and lady--in-waiting presented the men and the women to the King and Queen, men to the King and women to the Queen. A few sentences were addressed to each visitor by the royal pair. The King and Queen  rose, the South Africans bowed or curtsied and the royal couple made their way out of a side door; and the ceremony was over.

The courtier escorted all of us out to the courtyard, at which we had arrived, said a few complimentary words to the Minister and Mrs Heymans and then we all entered the carriage or our cars. The latter were two fine looking Cadillacs that had been hired for the occasion. Mrs Heymans had kindly arranged to give us champagne in the Ball Room of the Villa Somalia, which was a truly wonderful room, with very fine doors, wonderful ceilings and all of the walls were covered in.the most marvellous tapestries imaginable. They were regarded as being on a par with the best tapestries in the Vatican Museum and, let me add, were merely on loan to the Legation.

This memory is especially vivid. Today such pleasant pomp and ceremony is seldom seen.  It is for this reason that I have attempted to describe the event.  The best of excitements and happy spells seem to last such a short time. My stay in Italy, of just over a year, came to an end when a cable from Pretoria instructed me to prepare to go to our Legation in Stockholm, as Charge d'Affaires. That did upset one matter that was most important to me. My fiancee and I had planned to marry in the near future. However, the arrangements for so doing were speeded up somewhat and we were married in Berkshire, just before I was due in Sweden.

My introduction into the South African Diplomatic Corps during my first year was both heartening and truly exciting. May the new entrants of today, with their much better qualifications, find their service really rewarding. My generation had to try to find the way and I believe that all tried hard to help our country.

A visit with Leif Egeland

Tom Wheeler 

 For those who do not want to move Parliament to  Pretoria, this story may provide another argument for keeping it in Cape Town. The value of meetings and  should not be discounted.

Peter Goosen and I flew to Cape Town in late 1994 to brief the Deputy Minister and the Director-General on the Department's ideas for a new AnTIs Control Policy In the plane I found myself sitting next to a young journalist from the London Financial Times. He mentioned that he was the grandson of Leif Egeland, a former member of the Department who at 92 was alive and well and living in Sandton.

The newshound instincts engendered by a spell as Editor of the Meintjeskop Courier were roused. Erna van Wyk de Vries and I arranged with Mr Egeland to  call on him at his home.

While moving with difficulty, his mind was sharp and  he was harnassing the most modem echnology to  keep in touch with his friends. His cellphone was as much part of his support system as his  alking stick,  in fact a hunting stick which doubled as a chair as he took us on a tour of his memorabilia.

The stories he told us of his service as South Africa's Envoy in Sweden and Holland and as High
Commissioner in London were fascinating. They showed what a critical role a talented diplomat can
play in moulding history and in building the most unlikely bridges between people and nations.
General Smuts chose Mr Egeland in 1943 as his Envoy to Sweden, because of his Scandinavian origins and because he spoke if not Swedish, then Norwegian One of the members of the diplomatic corps in Stockholm at that time was the first woman to serve in Lenin's post-Revolution Soviet cabinet and the world's  first woman Cabinet Minister, Madame Alexandra  Kollontay. According to Mr Egeland she was a  brilliant Ambassador in what was then considered one of the Soviet Union's most important diplomatic missions in those years. In one of their conversations the question of how to bring to an end the Russo-Finnish War, (the Winter War/the Continuation War) was discussed.
It was Mr Egeland who subsequently conveyed the message to the Finns that the Russians were prepared to accept reasonable settlement terms.

His role in initiating these negotiations is recognised by the commanding Finnish general in his multi- volume history of that war. Although the world was at war, Sweden was neutral and there was time for Mr Egeland to become a close friend and tennis partner of the king, Gustav V. He proudly showed us his gallery of photographs of the personalities from those, to us, far off days. Another highlight which is probably not known or remembered was the role Mr Egeland played in the
Italian Political and Territorial Commission at the Paris Peace Conference in 1948. None of the
Commissionsmade progress, except this Commission which was chaired by Mr Egeland. Needless to say many of the deadlocks were caused by the inflexibility of the Soviet delegation. Mr Egeland decided that as a gesture of goodwill, he would address the Soviets in their own language. He
assiduously learned the few words of Russian needed to invite them to put their point of view. The surprise on the face of the Soviet representative, Mr Vyshinsky, was palpable and there for all to see.

At the end of the Commission's work Mr Vyshinsky addressed the chair and concluded his remarks in Afrikaans, by saying, "Baie dank ie, mnr die Voorsitter". Mr Egeland's gesture had not gone
unnoticed and it had probably contributed to the success of the Commission's work. Such a good relationship was established between Mr Vychinsky and Mr Egeland that at the Third UN General Assembly meeting in Paris in 1946 and the first attended by Mr Eric Louw as a member of the
new government, Mr Egeland arranged for a photograph including all three of them. Mr Louw's comment on seeing the result was "But Leif, what will they say in Beaufort West?" - his onstituency.
Vignettes like these throw an interesting light on often dry records of conferences and diplomatic interchange and prove the point that successful chemistry between  people is as important as clever diplomacy in -the conduct of international relations. Erna and I felt honoured to have met a man who had contributed to the development of South Africa's diplomacy early in the history of the eparunent
We were sad to read that he had passed away at the age of 93 on 8 February 1996. Mcimjesi:op Couric</Kooricr Volumo L 1996

*Leif Egeland's book "Bridge of Understanding" contains many more fascinating stories of his
diplomatic career. Even then the signs of South Africa's practical approach to diplomacy were evident.
 
WHAT MAKES A GOOD DIPLOMAT? 
According to Sir Harold Nicolson the requirements of a good diplomat are: truthfulness, accuracy, loyalty, calm, . patience and good temper - to which Mr Egeland added: ability to converse in foreign languages, the capacity to mix with all and sundry and to treat them all as equals, the right kind of wife, a cast-iron digesti on and the quality of being able to evoke the loyalty and co-operation of one's staff. Leif Egeland: Bridges of Understanding 1977, p 146.

Ambassador Donald Bell Sole writes in his autobiography “This Above All”, September 1989 Accreditation in Berlin

Other military links of mine were derived from my accreditation to the Occupying Powers as Head of the South African Military Mission in Berlin.

First a word about the background to this.  On paper all Berlin is subject to the supervision and control of the four occupying powers - France, United Kingdom, United States, U.S.S.R. In practice, East Berlin is the capital of the German Democratic Republic and the three Western occupying powers have no authority there. West Berlin is a self governing city state over whose domestic autonomy the three Western powers exercise no supervision, but West Berlin is not part of the Federal Republic of Germany, even though it sends representatives to the German Parliament who participate fully but without a substantive vote. The three Western powers exercise exclusive rights over air access to West Berlin and only Air France, British Airways and PanAmerican operate flights between Berlin and the various West German cities. Air traffic control over all Berlin is exercised by the four occupying powers.

Not long after the German surrender in 1945, Allied powers, which were not Occupying Powers, were authorised to set up military missions in Berlin.  South Africa was one of the Allies which availed itself of this authorisation and a small military mission was established there which included a middle ranking officer from External Affairs who performed what were largely consular duties. The South African mission was first headed by a Colonel, but in 1948, after the advent to power of the National Party, the new Minister of Defence, F.E. Erasmus, was determined to get rid of General Evered Poole as Chief of the General Staff. He was accordingly' shunted off to head the SA. Military Mission in Berlin, the rank of head of mission being upgraded for this purpose. 

When the three Western occupying powers set up the Federal Republic of Germany with Adenauer as its first Chancellor and with Bonn chosen as provisional capital, the countries which had been represented in Germany by military missions stationed in Berlin accredited to the Occupying Powers progressively transferred their representation to Bonn/Cologne. There they set up diplomatic missions accredited to the Adenauer Government. South Africa in due course followed suit; General Poole was absorbed into the South African diplomatic establishment and transferred elsewhere. Allies were entitled to retain their military missions in Berlin and many did so, using these missions largely for consular purposes. In the South African case this also applied for a while but when General Poole was taken over by External Affairs, the Department of Defence had no further interest in the mission in Berlin and declined to bear the expenditure involved. The External Affairs officer attached to the mission for consular duties was needed more urgently elsewhere in Germany, so the office of the military mission in Berlin was closed. However, it was decided to retain the accreditation to the Occupying Powers - indeed they urged the South African and other Governments to retain that presence as a sign of moral support for the people of West Berlin and their local government. 

The post of Head of the Military Mission was accordingly vested in the South African Ambassador to the Federal Republic. However, when I arrived in Germany in February, 1969, I discovered that our Protocol Department had overlooked the need to provide me with credentials also to the Occupying Powers. Then the relevant file could not be found and several months elapsed before the credentials reached me.

This then was the background to my first visit to Berlin undertaken in the summer of 1969. The protocol of accreditation required calls on the three commanding officers of the American, British and French garrison forces but not on the head of the Soviet forces in East Berlin; he was merely, sent a copy of my credentials by the joint office of the occupying powers located in West Berlin. On the occasion of each of my calls, the commanding officers had with them their chief political aides from the French Foreign Ministry, the British Foreign Office and the U.S., State Department respectively. I was greatly impressed by the U.S. political officer whom I found to be a real expert on East-West relations, far better informed than Henry Cabot Lodge, then U.S. Ambassador in Bonn. After this first contact, I made a point of calling on him regularly, whenever I visited Berlin, for the remainder of his term, which was extended more than once. When he was finally transferred, I found that his successor was of nothing like the same calibre - I had lost my best informed source for my reports on the evolution and implications of Willy Brandt's Ostblok policy.

I always enjoyed my talks with the American and British garrison commanders and was given a lot of inside information on the problems of the American and British Forces in Germany. I was also initiated into the role of the garrison troops in Western Berlin. They totalled about 11,000; one saw nothing of them outside their barracks and exercise grounds. Their presence was not only morale building, but was designed to act as a deterrent trigger counter to any rush of blood to the head by  the Soviet command in East. Germany. The U.S. Commander told me, for example, that at the time of the building of the Berlin Wall, his predecessor had asked for authority from Washington to make immediately a deterrent show of force, which he was convinced would have induced the Russians to desist; but Washington dilly dallied for 72 hours and the decisive moment passed.

On my first visit I was also received by the RA.F. at Gatow and met three officers who had been trained in South Africa during the war - at Port Elizabeth, Oudtshoorn and Port Alfred respectively, and one who had liaised with our Dakota squadron which took part in the Berlin airlift, operating into Tempelhof from Lubeck.

The British O.C. who carne to Berlin a year later was an exceptionally interesting character. He was Major-General the Earl of Cathcart. He told me that he had all the papers of his ancestor, Sir John Cathcart, who was Governor of the Cape Colony, and was surprised to learn from me that in South Africa they would be worth a small fortune as Africana. This Cape Governor (after whom Cathcart is named) was a most colourful character, who served as an a.d.c. to Wellington at Waterloo and was ultimately killed at the battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War. He was the bearer of a rare document called a Dormant Commission, the existence of which was known only to Queen Victoria, the Secretary of State for War and himself; it entitled him to take over command of the British forces in the Crimea in the event of the British Commander being killed or incapacitated. I later sent the general a photograph, with brief history, of the Cathcart Arms Hotel in Grahamstown, South Africa's oldest hotel,       for the book which he said he intended writing about his ancestors.

Following my accreditation in Berlin, I made a number of protocol calls on city dignitaries such as the Oberburgermeister, the Speaker, the President of the Chamber of Commerce etc and thereafter I visited Berlin four or five times a year.  As already mentioned, the Germans have a saying: "Berlin ist eine Reise wert" which is very well justified. The first summer my children came over, we took them on a tour of the major cities of Germany and they were unanimous in finding Berlin the most interesting. Since South Africa has no relations with the German Democratic Republic I was not permitted to travel to Berlin other than by air and never, even surreptitiously, ventured into East Berlin. But Mrs. Diederichs, when her husband, then Minister of Finance, and I were busy with official engagements, went for a ride on the S-bahn (a metropolitan railway operated by East Berlin which runs through both sections of the city). She took a train at an S-bahn station in West Berlin, which travelled through part of East Berlin, and got off the train when it reached another station in the western zone. Her husband, when she told him of her exploit, was quite horrified.

Because of West Berlin's anomalous political status, difficult protocol problems arise from time to time. I recall one such example. The head of a consular mission is required to pay a courtesy call on the Mayor as head of the Government of West Berlin. When a visit of this' kind is paid, it IS normal for the flag of the country represented, the flag of Berlin and the flag of the Federal Republic of Germany all to be flying when the consular representative makes his call. The Soviet Government had long refused to allow their Consul-General to make the customary call on the Mayor as long as the West German flag was flying and the Mayor had refused to receive him without the West German flag being flown. After months and months of arguing a solution was found during one of my visits to Berlin. The solution was to arrange for the Soviet Consul-General to pay his visit at the same time as a visiting Minister from Togo, with the result that four flags were flown viz, the Togo flag, the Soviet flag, the Berlin flag and the West German flag, My comment was: "Such are the tortuous manoeuvres in conducting an Ostpolitik."

West Berlin has an aging population, the majority female, and from time to time is pronounced to be a dying city. But I found it a metropolis of astonishing resilience and I liked the West Berliners themselves better than the Rhinelanders ,among whom we lived.  It was also always exciting to be in West Berlin, not least because the city's population included a goodly percentage of young radicals, many of whom had "emigrated" to West Berlin to escape conscription. When I addressed  a meeting in West Berlin, I never knew what to expect. I of course ensured that when our Cabinet Ministers visited West Berlin,·they were sheltered from this sort of thing; but I did arrange "the unexpected" for some members of a group of South African University Principals. These had been visiting the Federal Republic as guests of the German Government and at a dinner I gave for them at the Embassy residence in Cologne, some of them complained that their programme (arranged by the German Government) had been rather tame and that they had had little opportunity of meeting German students. So I offered to lay on a 'visit to West Berlin. Two or three led by Sir Richard Luyt, Principal of U.C.T., accepted my invitation and got rather more than they or indeed I had bargained for, as far as the university students of West Berlin were concerned. The Principals thought for a moment that they might suffer physical injury.

In spite of being an enclave in East German territory, West Berlin maintains a sizeable export trade with South Africa; so I got to know a number of West Berlin industrialists. The city is also a major exhibition centre and from time to time we arranged South African exhibits there, usually in conjunction with 'the German South African Association, which had a strong branch in Berlin.

The South African Government still owns property In Berlin. This is the site of the former South African Legation, which was razed to the ground during the fighting in 1945. It is situated in the Tiergartenstrasse, formerly a thriving thoroughfare, but. now no more than a tarred road running through open land - for the whole of the area, part of the diplomatic quarter, was devastated during the war and there remain just a few isolated buildings, including the former Italian Embassy, that escaped major damage and which accordingly have not been pulled down. 

The City of West Berlin had plans to develop and re-activate this area, mainly as park land and for recreational purposes, and to this end was anxious to buy up as much vacant land as possible. I was accordingly approached with a request to seek Government approval for sale of the Legation site to the City. But while desirous of showing goodwill towards the City, I felt that on historic grounds, ownership of the land should remain vested in the South African Government. Although in the short and medium term it seemed out of the question, who could say that in the long term East and West Germany will never be reunited - in which case Berlin would certainly again become the capital of a re-united country. In these circumstances, the compromise arrangement which I persuaded both the South African Government and the City of West Berlin to accept was that the ground should be leased by the Government to the City for a nominal rental of 1 D-mark per annum, ownership being retained by the Government, and that the Government would be consulted by the City in the event of the City wishing to erect any permanent building on the site. The first year's rental was presented to me at a formal ceremony when the lease contract was signed I have kept the actual coin in my coin collection, having transferred 1 DM from my own account to the Embassy account. I also arranged for a small plaque to be erected on the road side at the site of the Legation identifying the land as South African Government property.

Protocol-wise I received from the City of West Berlin the finest treatment of any city I have officially visited as Ambassador anywhere in the world. A chauffeur driven car was always placed at my disposal; if Elizabeth accompanied me she was always greeted with a bouquet of flowers at the airport; a variety of entertainment was offered - the best available in Berlin - in the form of theatre, opera, symphony concert or cabaret; if I so desired, the protocol office was prepared to arrange all my appointments in Berlin, a courtesy which I appreciated but did not utilise, except in the case of' appointments with City dignitaries like the Oberburgermeister and members of his cabinet; if I brought a South African Cabinet Minister or other visiting V.I.P.'s to Berlin, the protocol office would make all the arrangements requested of then, with superb efficiency, excelling especially in providing charming escorts, speaking perfect English, when it came to showing the V.I.P. visitors the sights of the city. The whole public relations organisation established by the city was indeed outstanding, not least because it has to be, since the city is so dependent on subsidies from the Federal Government in Bonn.

One unforgettable memory of Berlin is associated in my mind with the Apollo space probes. One Apollo probe went badly wrong, it looked as if it might end in disaster and frantic efforts were made to get the team home safely. I was listening to the Voice of America, broadcast by the Berlin U.S. forces programme, on the radio installed in my hotel room, until the time arrived for me to go to the opera. The taxi driver who took me to the Opera House had his radio tuned in to a German version of the same programme. He told me that half of Berlin was listening in. The opera (it was "Tales of Hoffman") duly started bur my thoughts were far away wondering how the Apollo team was faring. Early in the first act there was a scene where one of the actors asked "Was gibt es neues?" (What's new?) His companion replied that the Apollo team had splashed down safely. At .this the whole audience rose in an ovation, clapping and cheering - and it was some time before the opera action could proceed.

Cultural Ties.

Public relations in the cultural sphere also took a sizeable slice of my time. In those days a cultural agreement was still operative between South Africa and the Federal Republic. It was later (after my time)suspended by the German Government as an act of protest the South African Government’s racial policies.

The agreement was administered by a small committee comprising officials of the two departments of education in Bonn and Pretoria which met annually in the respective capitals in alternate years. When it met in Bonn, I sat on the committee; when it met in Pretoria, my German counterpart was present. Each Ambassador also had a Cultural Counsellor on his staff. For most of my stay my Cultural Counsellor was Tertius van Huyssteen, who had taught German at Paul Roos in Stellenbosch. He did an excellent job, as did his wife Miems, but his successor, a retired University Professor, was a disaster.

The German Government had a considerable budgetary allocation for the promotion of cultural relations with South Africa, but we had practically nothing apart from the salaries and allowances of our Cultural Counsellor and his secretary.

Follow Up:  Sole took the story further in an article published in the South African Journal of International Affairs, Volume 11,Issue 2, Winter Spring 2004.

After the reunification of Germany, the South African government duly gave 12 months' notice of the termination of the contract. When funds were available it erected a new embassy on the site, a short distance from the new federal chancellery built by the German government following the move back from Bonn to Berlin. The site is accordingly immensely valuable - in contrast to the little that would have been received had it been sold to .the City of West Berlin in 1970.

In recognition of my role in preserving the site for posterity, my wife and I were invited to attend, at our own expense, the inauguration of the new embassy building on 14 November 2003. The inauguration ceremonies were on a grand scale with speeches by the South African ministers of Foreign Affairs and Public Works; the German Foreign Minister; representatives of the architectural team, and the builders. Music was provided by a quartet from Soweto, followed in the evening by a magnificent gala dinner for 400 guests at Berlin's top hotel at which the master of ceremonies was Tim Modise. No expense was spared to make the inauguration a most memorable event.

My wife and I were given a conducted tour and were delighted to find that the new building, in terms of the headline on an article on the subject in the Mail & Guardian of 19 December 2003, was an 'Embassy of Miracle and Wonder', a magnificent edifice which, as a showpiece, was comparable to South Africa House in Trafalgar Square, London. Designed by South African architects, it is a tribute to what South Africa can become in the course of the next two decades. It is light and airy with a number of African motifs. Considerable use has been made of African products and South African art and sculpture are well represented.

After the tour, I felt very proud to be a South African. I was also happy to present to the ambassador the original one Deutsche mark coin I had received for the first year's rental of the site 33 years earlier. Together with the symbolic key presented to him by the builders, it will form part of the embassy's archives.

Regrettably, as a professional diplomat, I experienced two disappointments. It would appear that, .apart from the administrative personnel, our South African diplomatic staff does not speak German- a matter which was the subject of critical comment to me by two top German official guests who chatted to me in their own tongue. I was also surprised to learn that, although Germany is our principal investment and trading partner in continental Europe, the Department of Trade and Industry has no representative on the staff of the embassy, other than a locally recruited German official. It is important, in my judgment, that the situation in each of these two respects be remedied as soon as possible, but the indications are that little or nothing will be done. 

Rome Letter 1940

Rome report - events leading up to the closing of the SA legation

CONFIDENTIAL

The Secretary for External Affairs

MEMORANDUM COVERING THE EVENTS ·LEADING UP TO THE CLOSING OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEGATION IN ROME JUNE 10-11l

Submit ted by Dr. H.M. STOKER, formerly

Charge d’Affaires a i. of· the. South

African Legation, Rome.

1. POLITICAL

As indicated in my confidential report of May 29th, the entrance of Italy into the war on the side of Germany had become a certainty. That is was only a question of days became increasingly evident. Until this time, some supposedly well-informed persons were still maintaining that there was still a good chance of Italy’s still holding off. I continued my contacts and calls. During the first week of June it appeared particularly from the Americans that they expected the crisis definitely from the 15^th June on. The British and French viewing it as a certainty, did not, however, commit themselves to me so definitely as to the date.

Knowing that it would probably be our last such occasion, we had invited for dinner on Saturday evening, June 8th, some of those with whom I had been in closest contact: Sir Noel and Lady Charles (British Embassy Minister), Rear Admiral Bevin (British Naval Attaché), Commander and Mrs. Thornton (Naval ..Text missing….Counselor of the French Embassy), Mr. and Mrs. Blake (American Consul) and Mr. Balfour (Director of Barclays’s Bank, Rome).

As examples of the state of tension which affairs suddenly reached by that Saturday evening, the French guests telephoned a half hour before dinner asking to be excused, as they were packing to leave , Rear Admlral Bevan and Mr Balfour telephoned to ask  if they mlght come in lounge suits as they had no time to ohange for 8: 30.

Lady Charles, on entering the reception room said to Mrs. Stoker “I do wish that you were certain to be leaving with us on our ship in a few days!"  Sir Noel mage occasion to speak to·me asideas soon as possible. He said that he had wanted to see me urgently as he had receIved some important information late that afternoon and that hewould take this opportunlty to tell me that the'B:rltish now considered war inevitable wlthin the next four days. During more general ccnversa tion it was apparent that the Americans still voiced thelr ambassador's views, which he had expressed, to me during that week previously, namely that that they expected events to shape not before the 15th June.

As a result, particularly of the information received from Sir Noel, . I despatched to you in the early hours of Sunday morning, June 9^th, an immediate cable to Pretoria, the contents or which are known to you.

Events, however, in reality, deve1oped at an unexpected tempo. On Monday morning, June l0th,,at about 11 a.m. word passed quIckly that the usual placard announcement that the Duce was to speakpublicly, were appearing all over the city. The hour' was to be 6 p. m. Rome time. This was the danger signal, for Mussolini himself had stated in an earlier speech that he would not speak in public again unless he had something of eminent importance to say. At 10 minutes before the speech of the Duce from the balcony of Piazza. Venetia, Sir Noel Charles te1ophoned me that his Ambassador bad just returned from the Foreign Office where the declaration of war had been handed him by the at once made sure that the declaration was specifically on the United Kingdom and France, and asked Sir Noel whether mention at aIl had been made by the Italian Government to the other allies or the other Dominions (which have no separate representation in Rome). He replied in the negative, and this was confiimed by Mussolini’s speech soon after. My position therefore remainded unchanged v Is-a-vis the Italian Government until such time as I should receive instructions from 'the Union Government.

Direct contact with the British was o£ course thenceforth impossible, save through the intermediary of the American Embassy ( protecting Power). Through the American Naval Attache, however, I secured an appointment with Sir Noel Charles for 10:30 p.m., to bid him good-bye, as I knew the British would be leaving w thin 24 hours for Ancona, there to embark on the ship which would take them to Lisbon.

As I was about to leave the Legation, your cable arrived, which had been despatched from Pretoria at about 4 p.m. that afternoon, in answer to my immediate cable of the previous day.

I instructed the Attaché, Mr Bruce, to proceed at once with the decoding. I asked him to telephone me if I were still at Sir Noel’s, if the contents required my immediate attention. He accordingly telephoned me and I returned to the Legation as quickly as the first night of black-out conditions in Rome permitted. The contents of your cable, although despatched from Pretoria before Mussolini’s declaration of war on Great Britain and France were fortunately stated in such a manner that I could react to them immediately and I realized that I must act quickly as barely 24 hours were at my disposal to proceed to Ancono, with the British.

By telephone I at once sought for an interview with the Italian Foreign Minister or Signor Ansaldo, permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

I succeeded in making the appointment at the Italian Foreign office for 12 midnight and after having changed to appropriate dress, the American Naval Attaché took me in his car to my destination. I was conducted to the office of the Foreign Minister and was received by Count Ciano who walked the length of the office to meet me. He was dressed in a dark suit and had a white flower in his button hole and apparently came from a party. He requested me to be seated next to him. I stated that I had come on instructions of my government and handed him the official letter requesting the passports etc. Attached to this were three copies of the names and addresses of the South African Legation staff and their families.

He read it through calmly and asked whether, since the contents made only mention of passports etc, and nothing about a declaration of war, it should be interpreted as meaning that diplomatic relations only had been broken off between the two Governments. I answered that I had been instructed only to request the passports. But I added that in my personal opinion there was no doubt in my mind but that the Union was at war with Italy and that I surmised th the Union Government had given the actual declaration to his Minister in Pretoria. I advanced this as my personal opinion since I felt that I had to give a clear and decisive answer to his question. I was reasonably sure that the Union Government would have informed mehad diplomatic relations only been broken off. I felt that my reply was the only correct one as my former Minister in Berlin had had a similar experience. Moreover, it was in general agreement with the spirit or the instructions contained in your Secret Circular.

I mention this part of my conversation with Count Ciano in particular for the reason that the following day the Italian newspapers carried an inaccurate report of my conversation with the Foreign Minister. The report is enclosed. Translated it reads as follows:

“Declaration of War on Italy by British Dominion

The Charge d’Affaires of the Union of South Africa ·last night informed the Minister for Foreign' Affairs . Count Ciano, that he has received instructions from his Government to request his passports and those of his staff, ad has added that such a communication must be considered as equivalent to a declaration of a state of war between Italy and the Union of South Africa.”

Any courtesies and arrangements for our departure were now biding in the hands of

the Italian Government.  Count Ciano himself then suggested that it might be possible for the South Africa Legation to leave at the same time as was arranged for the British, namely to leave Rome by train at 11 p.m. on Tuesday night June 11th for Ancona and to proceed on the same boat with them ·to Lisbon.

I immediately took this up and stated that I would appreciate it very much if such

arrangements could be made and added that I was sure that I would be able to make my arrangements connected with the closing of the Legation and the departure of the staff and families within the then remaining 23 hours. Ciano replied that he would see what could be done and said that he would inform me in the course of the morning.

After the exchange of a few more words I made ready to go. Count Ciano accompanied me to the door and after a mutual expression of personal greetings I took my leave.                        

With respect to the above interview I must state that the Italian Foreign Minister behaved throughout correct and courteous.

On returning to the Legation I at once informed all the staff members of the tentative arrangement and all proceeded to finish packing and close their affairs.

During my absence from the Legation contact had been established and an appointment made with Mr M.P. Hooper of the American Embassy and officer in charge. I proceeded by car to his house at about 1.30 a.m. and handed to him the official letter addressed to his Ambassador, containing the provisional request to take charge of Union Nationals, property and interests in Italy. We proceeded with the business which was completed the 'next day at about six o'clock p.m. at which time the American Embassy officials placed their seals on the doors of the Legation entrance.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE

               The aggravation of the political situation in Italy since the beginning of the second quarter in 1940, her increasingly hostile attitude, particularly toward England and the likelihood of her participation in the war on the side of the enemy, made it necessary to take a number of precautionary measures concerning the closing of the Legation in case war should break out. It was possible due largely to the full co-operation and able assistance of the Legation staff when war   actually did break out and depart from Rome on a day's notice.

The British and French Embassies had already established some considerable time before the outbreak of hostilities, informal contact with the Italian Protocol Division in regard to the number and the manner o! evacuation of the respective diplomatic and consular officials in Rome (there were about 200 British officials and their families to be evacuated) as well as with the American Embassy whose Government would act as Protecting Power in the event or war.

These contacts and the provisional arrangements that resulted therefrom had the approval of the Governments concerned. They had in fact already reached quite an advanced stage as is evidenced by the fact that before war was declared the British were already informed by the Protocol of their respective reservations on the diplomatic train, and that the British Embassy had already in their possession a oopy of the reply to the copy of their official letter to the American Ambassador concerning the taking charge of British interests etc. in Italy. The originals were of course exchanged the day the war broke out.

Moreover, I tried to keep myself as well informed as possible in this connection and the experience gained in Germany was of great assistance.

I was informed for instance that in the event of war with the United Kingdom each individual, including children, would be allowed to take two trunks (heavy luggage for the van) plus a reasonable amount of hand baggage and suitcases for the compartment. Incidentally, the South African Legation later was allowed the same baggage allowance which proved to be quite adequate and all the staff was in a position to take their personal effects and clothing with them.

Furthermore, drafts of the official letters to the Italian Government and to the head of the Mission of the Protecting Power in the event of war were already prepared some time in advance.  

      On several occasions, however officials of the American Embassy approached me informally ln regard to the arrangements we were making in the event of war and the name of the Mission which would be requested to take charge of our interests etc.  Concerning the latter part of the above question I informed them that I have received as hyet no information.

      On Monday morning June 10th Mr. Hooper of the American Embassy and officer in charge for the taking over of the British and French interests etc., telephoned me from the Embassy. He asked me if I knew whether the Union Government had made any approaches to the United States Government to act as Protecting Power in the event the event of war. I replied that I had no information on this point. He said that if it was the intention to ask the United States Government to act as Protecting Power, in the event of war, it would be of material assistance  to them to be informed of it as soon as possible. He even suggested that he visit me within the next three days to talk things over. Realising the immediateness of the crisis I determined to use my own discretion. I seized the opportunity. thus created and requested an immediate interview with him at the Embassy. There we discussed pertinent matters of interest and he readily assented to my suggestion to retain the servi ces of Mr. Balboni, office Keeper of the Legation, should the American Government be the Protecting Power. I have your authorisation for the retention of Mr. Balboni's services on the condition that the mission who takes charge agrees.  I am enclosing a letter from Mr. Hooper of the 24th June 1940 addressed to me at Lisbon.in which he specifically makes mention of being satisfied with Mr. Balboni.

Soon after my return from the Embassy to the Legation I was informed of Mussolini’s speech whlch was 'to take place at 6 p.m. that evening. As the banks in Italy close at 11.30 a.m. it was too late to withdraw the lire balance of nearly 5000 lire from the bank.  An unsuccessful earlier attempt had been made to transfer the bulk of the starling account by cable to London. Reference in this connection is made in my minute from Lisbon of 2nd July 1940 in regard to the May and June accounts of the Rome Legation.

Immediately after war had been declared on Great Britian , the British secret cyphers which had not been destroyed before were destroyed by fire. The Embassy was duly informed of the destruction.

Upon the entry of the Union into war against Italy the following materials were destroyed by fire on June 11th. (a) Union Cyphers and codes; (b) balance of blank passports; (c) Passenger and Goods Rail Warrants; d) Expenditure and general Revenue Receipts.           

Certificates of destruction are enclosed with, respect to a) to d).

 By fire was also destroyed the following:

(a) Consular Black List

(b) Contraband Control material

(c) Secret and confidential files.

Enclosed is a copy of a summary of items handed over to the American Embassy as Protecting Power. Enclosed herewith is a further receipt of Petty Cash received. 'The American Embassy was furthermore advised in writing, as the enclosed copies of correspondence show, about the following matter:

(a) passport and visa work

(b) payment to South African pensioners of non Italian origin.

(c) furniture of Legation staff.

 They were also advised of Mr. D. Balboni’s salary and of his monthly allowance for cleaning the Legation premises.

On June 11th, the Honorary Trade Commissioner for the Union o£ South Africa in Italy Mr. Viezzoli situated in Genoa was officially advised o£ the termination of his title and services.

I furthermore enclose herewith (a) Mr. Balboni's incremental certificate (in duplicate)

(b) the official reply of the American Ambassor in reply to my letter of June l0th, requesting him to take charge provisionally of our interests etc. in Italy.

(c) List o£ Archives and Index to Commercial Files. The files destroyed by fire are crossed out by red pencil.

(d) Library List.

The two sets of keys belonging to the big safe were handed to the Lisbon Legation for Safe keeping as well as the lower part of the Union's embossing seal. A receipt for those articles is attached. The rest of the embossing seal was placed in the big safe along with all the rubber stamps a sample copy of the latter is enclosed. The balance of the Consu1ar stamps were also taken over by the Lisbon Legation. Of this you have already been informed.

3. Departure from Rome

The Italian Government posted their guards outside the Legation all during the night and the next day.

On Tuesday, June 11th, at 12 o'clock noon, the chef of the Protocol informed me by telephone that the necessary arrangements had been made for our departure to Ancona and that they would 'call for us at 11 p.m. to proceed to the station. He also stated that they will call for all the baggage of the Legation staff at 5 o’clock that afternoon.

At 11 p.m. the cars placed at our disposal by the Italian Government arrived to take us to the station. There we were all given adequate and comfortable accommodation and breakfast next morning before reaching Ancona.  From the Ancona station to the ship "Conte Rosso” we were conveyed in busses and cars. Our accommodation on the boat were also comfortable. It did not sail however, until the 20th June and we were held incommunicado during the time, although ,treated very courteously. The ship was fully lighted after we left the harbour (where it was blacked out every night)' every night and painted with the Italian flag – and the word “Diplomat”. Our voyage was uneventful safe perhaps at Catania, off the Sicilian coast where we stayed for two days and a night.  We reached Lisbon on June 26th at 5 p.m. but due to overcrowded, refugee conditions were not put ashore until the following morning. Minister Pienaar met us on board on June 26 and handed me your cabled instructions, according to which Mr Bruce was to proceed to Washington and the ret of the staff to South Africa.

Mr. Bruce accordingly proceeded to the United States on July 31rd via the S.S. Nea Hellas, a Greek ship, and the other members of the staff sailed for the Union on June 30th on a Japanese boat.

I having received consent for 38 days leave proceeded to the Uni ted States with my family on theSS Nea Hellas on July 3rd, returning to the Union on the M. S. Challenger reaching Cape Town September 21st. I reported for duty In Pretoria on Monday morning, September 23rd.

Pretoria

27^th September 1940