1. UP AND AWAY
Meeting Mamie, for Cecil, “the game” was on – but first, a tough job getting shot of girlfriend Iza!
He and Mamie had lots of fun but for an impoverished shipping clerk/storeman, courting was not easy – transport from Kenilworth to Camps Bay by train and bus cost money. Mamie had her own hairdressing business “Maison Faye” in Regent Road, Sea Point which she started after training initially with Edna at “Barends Hairdressers” (next to the Arthur’s Seat Hotel).
It was she who came up with the solution: Get married, go to Johannesburg (where Cecil’s father could not interfere) and get a job!!
Thus on 16 June 1937 (Mamie’s father’s birthday), they were married, with George and Beryl Stuart as witnesses, in the Magistrate’s Court during Cecil’s lunch hour. Mr. Armfield, had extended this in a seemingly friendly manner, but actually his girlfriend just happened to be Winnie Marks, a great friend of Mamie’s!
After the ceremony they strolled together through the Cape Town Gardens and then both returned to work. Upon his arrival back at the office, his father was standing peering at his pocket watch – all he said was “So it’s true”! Cecil, there and then, coolly and calmly, with no altercation on either side, handed in his notice.
The couple rented a flat for a month in Bantry Court with furniture borrowed from Mamie’s family who were most helpful and cordial. The trip to Johannesburg was planned and Mamie sold her business. With few possessions, they sailed on the Holland Afrika Line “Bloemfontein” to Durban and thence to Pretoria where Gordon had arranged a temporary partially furnished flat.
Cecil acknowledges that, in his estimation, no brother could have done as much as Gordon had. Thereafter they moved to a small third- or fourth-floor flat in Hillbrow assisted by Effie Anderson - originally from Camps Bay. Mamie got a hairdressing job almost straight away.
Through Effie’s husband, Barry, and David Phillip (Dewar’s whisky) an interview was obtained for Cecil at Moni Bros in Harrison Street – their shipping clerk had resigned giving just 48 hours notice. The job included clerical shipping work plus auditing for six bottle stores and he started immediately in October 1937. Italians to the left and right, paper piled high and virtually no co-operation made things difficult initially.
Of course, in those days, there were no calculators – one used one’s head to do figurework for stocktaking, gallonage reports for police liquor control, cashbook for monthly audit control – a substantial workload for one brain. His figures were never disputed.
It was not long before Mamie discovered she was pregnant!
By then they had moved from the Ismall flat to a boarding house at the suggestion of the Rothero’s who resided there. One unhappy incident arose which involved Bert Rothero (Cecil’s friend and Bill’s godfather!) who worked in the Moni’s Benoni bottle store. In the course of his duties Cecil detected some shortages which he unpalatably was bound to disclose which resulted in the dismissal of his friend.
Edna and Alf (Masson) visited from Cape Town and friends of the day were Les and Rita Hyde (also ex Camps Bay) – he was a dentist and had a small farm for keeping horses where Cecil and Mamie often went for lunch.
To the couple’s joy, William John (Billy, later Bill!) arrived on 9 August 1938 weighing in at 9lb 12 ozs. Out of the blue, “Lo and Behold” arrived none other than Norris W. Dent, complete with bottle of champagne, and visited Mamie in the nursing home.
Gordon was frequently around and on Sundays took the three on drives mainly to the zoo – Gordon’s birthday was, co-incidentally, also 9 August.
