The Idler, Thursday, July 7, 2011

Rugby's quiet Caterpillar

 

THE STORY of the photographer who fell out of a Harvard and parachuted into the sea off Durban in 1950 continues to refine itself. It seems we've been misspelling his name over the past few weeks.

 

He was Stan Jee (not Gee), and I get this from his son Clive Jee, who says he has greatly enjoyed the revival of a story he had not heard mentioned for a long time.

 

Meanwhile, several people have told me Reg Sweet, one-time doyen of South African rugby writers, had also been a member of the international Caterpillar Club, membership available to all – including Stan Jee – who have parachuted from an aircraft.

 

Reg was shot down over the Mediterranean during World War II. He baled and was picked up by a naval vessel. Apparently he wore his Caterpillar lapel badge every day, though I never noticed it. Being a self-effacing type – though eloquent enough about other people on the rugby field - he never talked about it.

 

Reg died only a couple of weeks ago (I hadn't been aware of that either) at a very ripe old age. What a career he had as a rugby writer, covering the game at every level.

 

He was able to capture that something which is the very essence of rugby – grit and determination in the face of adversity. Having been through the mill himself in the war, he knew.

 

Memorable one

 

ONE OF REG'S more memorable pieces was when he described that match against Northern Transvaal at Loftus Versveld when Natal hooker Keith Parkinson stayed on until the final whistle, with a broken arm.

 

Substitutes weren't allowed in those days, not even for serious injury. You could feel the agony, the gritted teeth as Reg described Parkinson's dangling arm being lifted over his prop's shoulders by his teammates, so he could scrum down. Amazing stuff it was, like something from All Quiet on the Western Front. Reg called for a striking of medals for this kind of thing. The rugby administrators instead changed the law (eventually) to allow substitutions.

 

 

More nonchalant

 

PARKY (who went on to become President of the Natal Rugby Union and a national selector) gives a more nonchalant account. He says his arm snapped in a freak collision with one of the Northerns players and the ref blew to stop play.

 

Keith Oxlee was Natal skipper that day and ran up.

 

"You're not going off are you?

 

"Er, er ..."

 

"Good chap, you'll play on."

 

But I suspect there's a bit more to it than that.

 

Banana landing

 

BACK to parachutes – John Jamieson, of Leisure Bay, remembers the incident, mentioned by another reader, when photographer Pat Smith was saved by a banana tree that broke his fall as he came down with a malfunctioning parachute.

 

It was at the Nelspruit Air Show and John – who lived near Smith in Johannesburg – had gone with some friends to watch.

 

Smith jumped from his aircraft but the parachute "Roman candled", forming a bubble at the top. When he deployed his reserve chute, it wound round the strings of the first and also Roman candled, forming another bubble.

 

"This did reduce his speed to a degree, but not sufficient to save him from death or crippling injuries. We saw him go down feet-first into a banana plantation on the far side of the landing strip. A section of the crowd rushed across expecting to see something gruesome, but instead saw Pat walking towards them. The bananas cushioned his fall and he was uninjured."

 

Shudder!

 

Smith apparently had quite a party at the flying club that night. And who would begrudge him?

 

 

 

Cool plates

 

IN BRITAIN they've disallowed the personalised car registration, BOLLOCKS, which no end delights Garry Wrightson, of Umhlanga.

 

"In South Africa we are a bit more enlightened. I have my yellow trans-am registered as BOLOCKS ZN.

 

"Third world country? I think not!"       

 

 

Tailpiece I BOUGHT my son an iPad, my daughter an iPod. The wife got me an iPhone and I got her an iRon. She wasn't overjoyed, even after I explained it can be integrated with the iWash, iCook and iClean network. This opened the iNag reminder service and totally wiped out the iShag function.

 

Last word

 

The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty-five years ago. The second best time is today.

James Carvillee