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 50th anniversary celebration, as his
predecessor did on the occasion of the 40th anniversary in 1997.
Yours sincerely,
Don’
(Note: Sole did not go to the 50th anniversary of the IAEA and I have no
further information).
Dear Tom and Pieter
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to read your blog concerning Lydia Andrews - and have a tiny addendum to your story.
Harry Andrews was Ambassador in Washington D.C. when Boet and I arrived there in April 1949 - Boet's very first post, sent there straight from Cape Town where, during the parliamentary session he had been interviewed, accepted and put to work right away. Within three weeks he was told to get himself to Washington - as a cadet just turned 23 - he saw the Union Buildings for the first time ten years later!
It took almost three months before Boet and I together were summoned to appear before Harry and his wife and be presented in the sacrosanct atmosphere of the official residence - were given a cup of tea and then dismissed - mission accomplished! Boet said Harry never bothered to greet his staff in the embassy, but made a marked exception when it was female staff! Of course he was then replaced by Gerhard Jooste - enough said!
The sequel came years later when we were in Finland. In that country President Kekkonen gave an annual dinner for Heads of Mission, including those who covered Finland from Stockholm, Moscow and Bonn - about 150 in all. After greeting the President we took our places at the very long u-shaped table, as indicated on the place cards given us earlier.
I quote from my diary: " One year at the President's dinner, I found myself sitting next to a charming Pakistani ambassador from Moscow. In the course of conversation I found he could give me news of Princess Catherine Abassi, a lovely English girl married to a Pakistani prince in their diplomatic service whom I had known in Washington D.C. He was also able to give me news of the daughter of one of our own ambassadors who had fallen in love with and married a Pakastani diplomat - a cause celèbre in apartheid South Africa at the time! My dinner companion told me that Lydia's husband had unfortunately been caught up in the division of Bangladesh and Pakistan. For safety's sake he had sent Lydia and their daughter to sit things out in London.
Our animated and long conversation - between a South African and a Pakistani - at this dinner, caused much interest and astonishment at our section of the dinner table, and afterwards people wanted to know what we had been chatting about for so long! The expectation was always that no social intercourse was possible between a white South African and a person of another colour. The amusing sequel to this was the following year when once again we were all assembled at the President's dinner table. I suddenly heard someone calling from several seats beyond mine. "Mrs Malan! Yoo Hoo! How are you?!" It was my friend from Pakistan who had spotted me and was calling to greet me - again to the amazement of other diplomats who couldn't believe their ears! Such small and apparently events could feel like a major victory!"
I am happy to know now that at least the daughter of Lydia and her husband is apparently well and flourishing - and that Lydia's husband got through their national crisis. I guess Lydia is about the same age as I am - if she is still alive.
Many thanks to you both for all you have done to keep our stories alive!
Cheers from Dot Malan