One of Makhado’s elderly residents, Des’mond Cyril Allen, passed away on Friday at the age of 84. His son, Evans, supplied us with the following obituaryThe late Des Allen with his wife, Jean.:
Des was born in Malvern, Johannesburg and raised in Turffontein, Johannesburg. He had two older brothers (Eric and Aubrey), then a younger sister (Hazel), followed by a younger brother (Ray). At Forest High School, he played rugby and enjoyed being on the rifle-shooting team (the bull’s-eye was an easy target for him, so he took to shooting out the drawing pins holding the target). In matric, he was the cadets’ regimental sergeant major (and somewhat of a problem for the school, for growing a fine handlebar moustache). He and a shy Jean Margaret Alexander were in matric together in 1947.
At the end of his matric year, Des’s restless spirit took him to a friend’s farm near Grahamstown. His eldest brother, Eric, soon returned him home, to where the siblings took turns to care for their widowed mother who had been handicapped by a stroke. Des briefly tried selling typewriters door to door. He then became a trainee draftsman (which he enjoyed) at Steam and Mining in Johannesburg. His unlikely courtship of Jean (Alexander) spawned a rare, enduring mutual love and devotion spanning more than 64 years. Des married Jean in 1950 in St. Johns Presbyterian Church (Turffontein). This church was next door to Jean’s childhood home on land donated by Jean’s grandfather (“Honest” John Stevenson). The newlyweds lived in a tiny cellar in Turffontein and Des became an underground gold miner (on City Deep), cycling to work and working gruelling shifts, while Jean worked as a librarian. The hazards of underground conditions convinced him to become a winding engine driver (with the serious responsibility of hoisting men and materials in and out of the mine).
Des was the first of his siblings to father a child, son Evan (1951). Daughter Hazel was born in 1952. Desmond (1957) was a full-term stillborn son. Daughter Tracey was born in 1959. Shortly thereafter, the young family found themselves in Tanganyika. Des was the hoist driver on the shaft-sinking team for De Beers Mwadui (Williamson’s Diamond Mine). This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Des to pursue his dream of big game hunting. Always multi-talented, he set to work building a carport in which he rebuilt a derelict Land Rover for his safaris. In 1961, he was surrounded by a herd of stampeding elephants. With the five rounds in his Cogswell and Harrison .375 H&H, he dropped four elephants. His hunting partner stood shivering, unable to fire a round.
During this time in Tanganyika, the family managed to holiday at Lake Victoria and in the Serengeti National Park. All too soon the “Winds of Change” began and in 1961 Tanganyika obtained independence (Uhuru) to Tanzania. Des drove his young family in his rebuilt short-wheel-base Land Rover cross country during the monsoon season. They drove via Tsavo National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro, on to Mombasa, embarking on the final voyage of the Warwick Castle, disembarking in Durban.
Back in Johannesburg, Des returned to gold mining briefly, before pursuing a successful career as a warehouse manager for Dr Mackenzies Veinoids, then Whitehead Products, then National Bolts. Son Brian was born in 1965. Soon thereafter, Des’s brother Aubrey died of complications from heart disease in his early 40s. Not long after that, Des’s brother Eric died of a heart attack in his early 50s. Des decided Johannesburg had killed his older brothers, so he moved to Louis Trichardt in 1972.
Des and Jean first lived in Rissik Street, where Des did his usual and toiled at renovating and extending the house and outbuildings to pursue his love of woodwork and enable him to maintain his vehicles comfortably. After a number of years, Des proceeded to move and do the same to his home on Burger Street. Des turned his hand to several jobs and pursuits. His favourite pursuit was drafting house plans until an architect arrived in town and said the town was not big enough for both of them. He built and owned Hanglip Cafe until a fish-and-chips fryer fire all but bankrupted him. He eventually worked at the Provincial Hospital as groundsman, storeman, ambulance driver and finally as office worker along with Jean. Des suffered his first heart attack in 1987 (aged 58), resulting in early retirement.
Des enjoyed and was a good photographer. He was a voracious reader of all sorts, especially his Bible, and always on top of the news. He loved his crosswords and Scrabble. His extensive vocabulary fuelled his creativity and wit with the spoken and written word, punctuated by poetry during his emotional experiences. Des and Jean were raised thoroughly English speaking. Over the past 40 years, they learned Afrikaans and were active members of the AGS Church. They gave freely of their talents to the church and to the community. Des even preached in Afrikaans. He rejected all attempts to relocate him because he was attached to his community. Tragically, Des and Jean lost daughters Tracey in 1963 (almost four years old) and Hazel in 2006 (a day short of 54 years old). Only sons Brian and Evan survive. Des is also survived by his wife Jean, grandson John Mather (with four great-grandchildren) and granddaughter Trudy Mather (with great-granddaughter Tiffany) and granddaughter Lauren (Allen) Hathaway (with great-grandsons Abraxas and Maxwell) and grandson Brendan Allen.