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Vincent Hare and their tender was accepted. The City of Hankow was upright but stuck on a

rocky bottom a couple of hundred yards from the beach. They secured the services of two
coasters, Clara from the S.A.N.F. and Swazi from the Thesen Line, to assist in taking off the

heavier cargo. On 31 December Kennedy and two others were taken out on a fishing boat in
calm weather to access the salvage of the cargo. While on board a heavy swell came up but

they could not return to shore as the rigging for a bosun’s chair had not been completed. They
spent an extremely uncomfortable night in the forecastle and by morning all the aircraft which

had been stowed on deck had been swept away. At considerable risk, Vincent Hare pulled

himself along the aerial wire in the bosun’s chair to rescue his colleagues. The salvage work
went on for more than six months and they were able to salvage all ten Crusader tanks. (Fig.

4.49). This was an incredible feat as they each weighed 18 tons and had to be loaded

individually onto the deck of the Swazi which was brought alongside at considerable risk. Off-
loaded in Cape Town, the water-damaged tanks were thoroughly overhauled by engineers

before being shipped on to North Africa. All of the £2 500 000 in banknotes was salvaged and
Eveleigh Hare’s younger sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Brooke, a teller in the Standard Bank, was

given the task of reconciling them. Betty married Teddy Hare in August 1943. Teddy was given
compassionate leave from the army when their daughter Carol was born in 1945. Their son

John was born two years later.

In February 1947 Will G. Hare bought the historic farm, Geelbek, a Cape Dutch manor house
built at the southern end of the Langebaan Lagoon, some 50 miles north of Cape Town. (Fig.

4.50). However, he found that the sandy soil was ill-suited to agriculture other than as sparse
grazing for sheep. He had always been a heavy smoker and his health deteriorated so his sons

took turns to stay for a few months to assist with the farm-work. Will G had to return to the

city for treatment, and the farm was sold when he died in December 1950 at the age of 67.
Many years later Geelbek, dating from about 1860, became a focal point of the West Coast

National Park. During restoration the shape of the historic gables were simplified.

The Fifth Generation:

When Neil and Teddy returned from service with the SA Forces after WW II they took back
the operation of the Mowbray brickfield, while Desmond and Vincent focused on their building

company D & V Hare (Pty) Ltd., based in the brickyard. Their widowed mother, May Hare,