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The Ayris Family

Two personalities whom I much admire are Les and Betty Ayris. In June 1940 Les signed up in

the sportsman’s regiment, The Second Anti Aircraft Unit and headed North, leaving Betty
pregnant with Maaike who was born whilst father was fighting in the desert. Les was then 32 and

was the third oldest in the regiment. He is now the oldest. He shared a tent in the desert with
Benny Osler, Springbok fly-half and captain.

In 1943 when Les was in Cape Town on an officer’s course they bought a house, ‘Carmen’
overlooking the sea just above ‘Mills’ Pool and below the Bible Institute.

Les and Betty’s sporting achievements started in 1923, when at the tender age of 16 he played in
the Province Water Polo team, he then held his place in the team until 1938 and swam for

Province for much of this time. Lynda told me recently that her kind helpful father used to make
a point of keeping his toenails sharp! Betty was also a successful sportswoman, representing

Western Province in both Swimming and Hockey. For ‘relaxation’ they both played golf. Les
started at the Metropolitan club in 1926 and is now playing at Mowbray, believe it or not. He is

‘only’ 91 and is no doubt one of the oldest players in South Africa and proudly pulls his own

cart.

Some Fishing Memories

I turned 6 shortly after the beginning of World War 2 and during the war False Bay was a
fisherman’s paradise. The excitement and anticipation of heading out in a high-speed 16 footer,

the Edna, which would take off over the oncoming swells if pushed, was terrific. Then one could

also attempt to race against the SAAF Crash Boats from Gordon’s Bay. On many occasions
Giffie Gomez, Dad and I would have fascinating and successful fishing trips. Giffie is still

involved in the Kalk Bay fishing community as readers of ‘A Traditional Way of Life’ will
know. Herk and I take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the professional fishing

community for their help and friendship to the van Diggelen famiy over many years. From my

teenage years I well remember two good fishermen and two good friends, Goff Jennings and

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