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Les Heaney September 1997 Les Heaney was killed along with one of his employees
early in September 1997 in an accident which occurred in Illovo,
Johannesburg, whilst erecting a cell phone antenna system. Les was one of the most avid supporters of all facets
of black powder shooting and was one of the most colourful characters at the
various shooting events. His
accomplishments included more than a hundred medals, Springbok colours and
several South African records to his credit. Les was Chairman of the Durban Deep Black Powder Shooting
club and one of it’s founders and over the past two years has contributed
endless hours to assisting new black powder shooters in getting going. Always ready to offer advice and share information, Les
will be very sorely missed by our members.
Les is survived by his wife Wendy and two sons, Guy and
Robert. - Steve Gillvray. |
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Les Strange October 1997 Les Strange, a committee member and founder member of the
Durban Deep Club, died in hospital early in October, 1997 after an operation to
remove a growth which had been causing him severe head pain for several
months. Les was Managing Director of “Creative Forms” and was the
holder of several international awards for advanced form design. Les had only been shooting black powder for two years, but was
extremely enthusiastic and had been a regular sponsor, and great supporter of
the Durban Deep Club. Les is survived by his wife Jackie, and his two young
daughters Katie and Morgan. - Steve Gillvray. |
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Barry Berkovitch 25th July, 1998 The
sudden death of Barry Mark Berkovitch on July 25, 1998, at the untimely age
of 61, robbed the gun world - not only in South Africa but far beyond our
nation’s confines - of a rare and, indeed, unique man. He was one of a kind, and his place will
not easily be filled. Hunter,
soldier, raconteur, humorist, historian, collector, writer, publisher - he
was all of these, and a fine practitioner of each. When
it came to historical firearms and firearms history, Barry was a Renaissance man
whose interests and activities were not confined to one narrow speciality -
in his case British military firearms - but embraced a wide variety of
associated and non-associated subjects. Like
all good Renaissance men, he also had an incredible variety of contacts, not
only in South Africa but around the world; he seemed to know everyone in the
gun world, and a good few beyond it. Barry
came by his knowledge honestly. He
never made a great fuss about it, as some people do, but he was a deadly
serious researcher. In all the time I
knew him - and that goes back to our first meeting circa 1955, in Ted
Whitehead’s workshop at the back of Wm Rawbone and Company - he always had
two or three lines of inquiry going, some of which he committed to print and
some of which he just enjoyed knowing. Like
all good researchers he tackled his self-imposed task with a combination of
two essential qualities. The
first was a rock-like intellectual honesty; his friendship with a certain
collector was seriously damaged when that worthy sent him a manuscript of a
firearms book, which Barry proceeded to criticise quite extensively - not out
of sour grapes but because the facts were wrong. The
second was a single-minded determination to get the facts, and get them
right. In the late 1970’s he wrote a
book on early Cape gunsmiths for the Stellenbosch Museum; publication was
delayed, and delayed again, and yet again as Barry discovered new facts and
insisted on adding them. The result
was a book which I do not believe could be produced by anyone else alive
today. He was made an honorary
curator of the Museum, an honour I suspect he treasured very much. Barry’s
interest in our past stemmed not just from intellectual interest but from the
fact that his family was part of it.
His grandfather served on commando during the Second Anglo-Boer War, a
fact of which he was proud. His
father was a hunter and a soldier too, who rose to be a sergeant in the Cape
Town Highlanders (inevitably acquiring the nickname of “Mac”) and, in due
course, Barry not only became a hunter but wore the kilt as well, and also
earned his three stripes. When
Barry went on the reserve he maintained his links and in due course became a
much-loved life member of the warrant-officers’ and sergeants’ mess, and at
his memorial service there were glengarries and balmoral bonnets to be seen
among the yarmulkes and fedoras. Among
Barry’s many accomplishments, his greatest was probably his prime mover’s
role in the establishment of the South African Muzzle-Loaders’ Association in
1958, the founder members of which were a small group of enthusiasts who
started meeting in the Hout Bay dunes in the mid-1950’s to fire a variety of
front-loaders. Today, 40 years later,
it is called the Historical Firearms Society (though incorperated into SAAACA
Gauteng) and is still going strong. It
was an esoteric pastime in those unreconstructed days, when you could barely
give good-quality Martini-Henrys away and people who actually fired
muzzle-loaders were considered slightly touched in the head. But they (and particularly Barry) persevered; an important early breakthrough took place
in 1964 when, for the first time, private citizens were allowed to buy black
powder and keep it at home. Barry
collected, bought, swapped and used a variety of weapons, their vintage
ranging from ancient to very modern, but muzzle-loaders and black-powder
shooting remained closest to his heart.
The Historical Firearms Society promoted interest in this field,
leading to the founding of the National Union for Black Powder Shooting,
which became a full member of the international committee speaking for the
muzzle-loading associations of 18 different countries. One
of Barry’s principal weapons in this regard was the journal of the Historical
Firearms Association. Barry edited
the journal, collected and edited material for it, wrote for it himself and
published it. It was not famed for
its high literary quality and tended to sport intriguing Berkovitchisms;
nobody gave a damn one way or another, however, because its aim was not to
make Barry look good but to spread the word (as accurately as possible,
needless to say). And
the word was good; Barry had a nose for digging out the rare and interesting,
which would duly appear alongside contributions ranging from strange
adventures with stranger firearms to reports on how the latest replicas
functioned in the field. In
between all this - not to mention earning a living at the firm of Todwil
Sheraton, where he worked for many years - Barry undertook numerous other
activities. Among
the earlier ones was the founding of the Fort Knokke Militia, a “private
army” (very private - it numbered about half a dozen at full strength) with
various of his old cronies such as Norman Wahl and De Vries (otherwise known
as “Yskas”) van der Merwe. Attired
in vaguely 1820’s-type uniforms, complete with stovepipe shakos, and carrying
slightly anachronistic Martinis, the Militia performed at all sorts of
venues, carrying out genuine old-time drills and evolutions, the climax of
which was firing a small artillery-piece which Barry had acquired somewhere
or other and mounted on a pair of wheels which had started life under a
fish-hawkers’ cart. In
1984 he and his ebullient wife, Eve, launched Firearm News, with Barry as
eminence grise and Eve as editor. The
partnership ended three years ago with Eve’s tragic death of cancer, after
which Barry sold the newsletter to his friends Nico and Christel Venter, in
whose capable hands it is still going strong. Another
enterprise in which Barry was a prime mover was the Cape Sporting Rifle Club,
of which I am proud to have been a founder member. It started off in the 1970’s with a very practical purpose,
namely to provide hunters with year-round practice to keep their eye in for
the season. The
rules were few. You used a sporting
rifle and sporting ammunition (factory or hand-loaded) and no fancy stuff;
you did not lie down or kneel, but fired standing on your hind-legs; and you
had unrestricted freedom to pull your fellow shottists’ legs when they
disgraced themselves. Through
various circumstances I eventually drifted away, but after Barry’s death Nico
Venter invited me along to a memorial shoot.
I went with some trepidation, not knowing what heresies had crept into
the rule-book during the intervening years, only to find that members (now
swollen to many times the number of the originals) still used sporting rifles
and ammunition, still fired standing on their hind-legs and still yanked one
another’s chain at the tops of their voices. Barry
had his hand in various other enterprises as well. One of the most laudable was an air rifle club he started in a
southern suburbs scout hall in 1981, the aim of which was to introduce
youngsters to shooting and in the process turn them into responsible shooters
who would endanger their fellows or disgrace our oldest pastime. Another was as an executive member of the
Friends of the Castle Military Museum, inter alia putting his vast knowledge
at the disposal of curator Natie Greeff. When
Eve died, his multitude of friends mourned with him, not only for this small,
cheerful, courageous woman but also because of the immense shadow of sadness
it cast over Barry’s life. He took it
very hard, and grew gaunt and quiet.
After many months, however, he began to knit his life together again
with the tenacity that marked all his activities (not to mention the loving
support of his son Mark and daughter Diane), and in February 1998 he married
again. It
was a love-match, and Barry and his wonderful Freda seemed set for a long
pull. But Barry’s health had been
deteriorating for some time, and less than five months later he died, quite
suddenly. One
could go on like this at some further length, but I think the point has been
made, We should not mourn Barry’s death but celebrate the fact that he was
given 61 years of life and that we were privileged to know and feel the
impact of this very special man. - Willem Steenkamp |
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JANNIE ENGELBRECHT 7th October 1941 -
23rd October 1998 Jannie was a club member of the SA
Cartridge Collectors Society for the past 20 years and club secretary for the
past six years. He was an enthusiastic cartridge
collector, avid bird watcher, employment contact, dedicated husband, father,
father-in-law and grandfather, and a good friend to many. We most remember Jannie, however, as
a loyal and trusted friend - who will be sorely missed. On behalf of all of Jannie’s friends
the world over, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife Janet, and the
rest of his family. |
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Leon Ferreira. 12th July 1945 - 2nd September 2002 It is with deep regret and sorry that we have to advise of the
passing to Higher Service of Leon Ferreira.
Leon died on Monday, 2nd September 2002. Although he suffered from sugar diabetes,
Leon was a very active person who regularly attended society gatherings and
meetings. Leon was born in
Johannesburg on the 12th July, 1945 where he matriculated in 1962. After qualifying as an electrician in 1965, he furthered his
studies to the level of an electrical engineer in April 1970. In September 1971 he was appointed as a
lecturer. In 1978 he was senior
lecturer at the Germiston Technical College where he retired as assistant
deputy rector. As a family man, Leon married Maureen on the 3rd
September 1966. Out of the marriage,
a son and daughter were born. As an avid and dedicated collector and re-enactor, Leon
endeared himself to many collectors and other interested people through his
enthusiasm and love for his hobbies in life.
The centenary of the Anglo-Boer War was a major event for Leon and the
sight of the oldest Seaforth Highlander at many gatherings will be sorely
missed. He attended many activities
and was always prepared to share his knowledge to those who were
interested. As a weapon collector,
his interest started as far back as 1966 when he acquired his first
muzzleloader. The Association extends their deepest
sympathies to Maureen, Craig, Colleen and their families and trust that the
many fond memories that they have will help them in their time of grief. Maureen and Leon would have celebrated
their 36th wedding anniversary on 3rd September, 2002. |
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Herb Woodend, M.B.E. 29th July
2003 Herb Woodend passed away on the 29th
July, 2003. We all knew that Herb was
very ill with cancer and many of us contributed to the fund to pay for his
treatment in the USA. Alas it was not
possible to stop the disease from spreading and devastating his body. Herb was passionate about firearms, not only in his
work as conservator of the Enfield Pattern room but also privately. He fought hard against the restrictions
that the British government put on the private possession of weapons,
including things like machineguns and cannons. Herb was extremely aware that the banning of these
weapons even from the hands of collectors would mean that a very important
part of our heritage would be lost.
Alas he has been proven right.
He did his utmost to keep the Enfield pattern room, with its truly
unique collection of weapons, from being dismantled. Herb was probably the only person in the world who
could be called an expert on that humble part that makes machineguns
function: the link. His collection
was unique. With him an enormous amount of knowledge and
experience is lost. He was a
passionate man, a fighter. He just lost his last battle. I will miss him. We
will miss him. - Jas van Driel (Federation of
European Societies of Arms Collectors) |
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EUGENE
KAPP
24 September 1947 - 16 June 2003 Eugene was born in
Humansdorp and finished his school career in Bloemfontein. Thereafter, he attended
Technikon and University, in Bloemfontein and Pretoria respectively, studying
electronic engineering. Much of his
in-depth knowledge in this field, and his knowledge on computers were
self-taught. Eugene was
self-employed, being the major shareholder in a company that designed,
manufactured and installed electronic vehicle testing equipment that is in
use at many testing stations around the country. Eugene married Bets
in 1970 and 10 years later, his pride and joy a daughter, Monique was born. In the same year, 1980, he was diagnosed
with muscular dystrophy. In 1994 he
was diagnosed with chronic lymphocyte leukaemia, later, melanoma, a type of
skin cancer and prostate cancer. From boyhood, Eugene
had an interest in things that went "BOOM". Since 1992 he has been an active
participant in metallic silhouette and brought home quite a few medals in his
time. Due to his enquiring mind and,
of course, his interest in reloading, he qualified himself as a keen
ballistician and was always happy to share his knowledge. The dedication to
his sport stood him in good stead during his annual hunting trip with those
"hand cannons" he so loved.
To my knowledge never lost an animal – an achievement many who hunt
with rifles can't say. His wit and special
sense of humour was often displayed during his active participation on the
Forum's “e-group”. He was indeed
passionate about his firearms, his sport and hobby, and of course the right
to legally practice this, without (unjust) interference. A great man has
passed and will be sorely missed. He
is survived by his wife Bets and daughter Monique to whom we extend our
condolences and deepest sympathy. - J. van Rooyen |
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