Page 111 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

To augment war funds the S.A.W.A.S. held a big fair in the grounds of the Muizenberg

Pavilion. It was called the Seaside Splash and we girls who served the public were dressed

like nice flower sellers in long red-striped skirts with black cummerbands and straps over
white blouses. We wore wide-brimmed straw hats.

When the big convoys came in we used to help entertain the men. We would invite them

into our homes for a meal and a chat and a walk along the beach or the seafront. We would
also write letters to their families to say they were safe but we were not allowed to say

where they were.

I was teaching in Simon’s Town during the early years of the war until I joined the Special

Signals Services (Radar Unit) in July 1942. My classroom (today it is part of the Simon’s

Town Library) overlooked the naval dockyard so we had a bird’s eyeview of the naval
vessels but our motto was: “Don’t talk about ships or shipping”. Everything was very

“hush-hush”.

No journey on the Cape Town to Simon’s Town line – I boarded the train at Kalk Bay –
would be complete without the mention of Just Nuisance who would take up an entire seat

meant for three people. This Great Dane was the sailors’ friend.

These are some of my memories of life at Kalk Bay during the war years.

Paddy Harrison

Setting the scene

What was it like to be a teenager 60 years ago in the village of Kalk Bay and the hamlet of

St. James? A highlight in the social calendar of girls was to be invited to the end-of-year

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