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- Written by: Dianne Dever
I am the niece of a '19 year old lad' from Manchester England who found himself in a war and a country I am certain he had little knowledge of. He tragically lost his life in January 1943 and is buried in Stellawood Cemetery, Durban. His name is Bernard Vaughan Healey, born to impoverished parents who had 7 children to feed and clothe. His childhood was miserable and before he had a chance at making a better life for himself, lost that life at such a young age. He was buried thousands of miles from home and of course no family members ever visited his grave. He has been long forgotten, his parents and siblings all long dead. I never knew him, being born 15 years after he died.
But because of the fantastic work you all have done, including those who tend and care for the graves, Bernard Vaughan Healey has been cared for more in death than he ever was in his short sad life.
He is 'at peace' in a beautiful corner of the world being watched over by angels who at the least deserve heartfelt thanks and praise for the dedicated work you all do. I will always think of you all with gratitude and praise.
Yours sincerely
Dianne Dever
Manchester
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- Written by: Alta Griffiths
When the eGGSA branch first started on Project S (the transcription of the whole of the letter S in the 1984 South African Voters' Roll, 296 668 names and addresses) we were simply just going to type forever!! You must know when the S's first arrived at my desk, I sommer put the computer off for 2 weeks, not knowing where to start. eGGSA's initial plans for handling the transcriptions were also put to bed and we had to come up with a new approach. The simplest for us was to approach anybody with even the remotest interest in the S-surnames, family and friends were also not safe.
The first of the S's were typed with the start of the Soccer World Cup in 2010. In the first quarter of this year we set ourselves a deadline for completing Project S by the end of December 2011. We typed right through the Rugby World Cup and today we won the S-CUP!!! The transcription of the letter S is now complete - 31 days BEFORE the deadline!!
Read more: 1st December 2011 - GSSA Voters Roll Project - Letter S compete