1944 - 1963 (18 years)
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Family |
Hazel Currie, b. 5 Jul 1908 |
Married |
1935 |
Children |
| 1. Neil Ivan Thompson |
| 2. Derek Arthur Brian Thompson, b. 6 Sep 1944 |
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1908 -
Birth |
5 Jul 1908 |
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Father |
Walter Clement Leopold Currie, b. 20 Dec 1875, Groenfontein farm, Fish River Randt, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Mother |
Ethel S Emms, b. 18 Jan 1875 |
|
Family |
Joseph Thompson |
Married |
1935 |
Children |
| 1. Neil Ivan Thompson |
| 2. Derek Arthur Brian Thompson, b. 6 Sep 1944 |
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|
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Name |
Derek Arthur Brian Thompson |
Birth |
6 Sep 1944 |
Gender |
Male |
1820 Lineage |
Yes |
Death |
Feb 1963 |
Bashee River bridge, Encobo, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Cause: Murdered. |
Person ID |
I1364 |
master |
Last Modified |
25 Jul 2021 |
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Event Map |
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| Death - Cause: Murdered. - Feb 1963 - Bashee River bridge, Encobo, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
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Notes |
- CRIME
Transkei tragedy
The darkness before dawn at the Bashee River bridge road camp near Engcobo in the Transkei was pierced by the sudden glare of fire. From the flickering shadows a group of Tembu armed with pangas. axes, assegais and a shotgun, watched until the doors of the two caravans they had set afire burst open and five whites - the Grobbelaar family of four and motor mechanic Derek Thompson - stumbled out into the uncertain light. As the Tembu fell upon them 54-year-old Norman Grobbelaar fired three revolver shots into the attackers. As the family were overwhelmed Grobbelaar threw his arms around his elder daughter Edna (15) in a last attempt to save her. But the gang hacked the family to death, then chopped up the corpses. The killers vanished into the bush, leaving their victims lo be found soon after by bridge-builder Douglas Bridger who, tipped off by an African about the impending tragedy, arrived too late to prevent it. Immediately over 100 police launched a search for the murderers by helicopter. Land Rover and on foot.
Poqo, or tradition?
Why did it happen? First reports from the murder scene blamed Poqo, the Bantu terrorist organisation claimed to be responsible for the Paarl murders, the march on the Great Place of the premier designate of the Transkei, Chief Kaiser Matanzima, and the battle at Queenstown station.
But Police Commissioner John Keevy held that it was almost certain that there were no political motives behind the murder. First theory pointed out that the murder followed the traditional Tembu method of settling grievances: a new road was being built over Tembu farming land, and this was resented by them. Disturbed local residents recalled that similar events had taken place in the area for some time and that threats of murder had been made.
Reaction. On first hearing the news the South African public took a different view. The Stock Exchange immediately took a drop, reflecting the feeling of many that the murder presaged a time of political trouble and violence in South Africa's budding Bantustan. While residents of Engcobo were flashing off a telegram to Justice Minister John Vorster. asking for more police protection, citizens in far-off Krugersdorp decided to form a home guard.
This week Keevy reversed himself and stated that there were indications that some of the Bantu in police hands were indeed of Poqo, With nine Bantu already detained and a number held for questioning, the investigation into the murder was continuing. The Bashee Bridge murder went somewhere beyond mere crime and the nation's reaction, following on months of sporadic though meagrely successful sabotage attempts, was a symptom of a growing puzzlement about race relations.
NEWS/CHECK
15 FEBRUARY 1963
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