Our History of Live and Love

168 Pages·2010·12.35 MB·English

OUR HISTORY

of

LOVE and LIFE

By
Marjory and Craig Stacey
th
Marjory and Craig at home on 8 January, 2004 -
The day of our Golden Wedding
- ii i -

Contents
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. v
FOREWORD ................................................................................................................... vi
PREFACE ........................................................................................................................ vii
FOREWORD TO THE FIRST REPRINT – DECEMBER, 2004 ........................ ix
FOREWORD TO THE FIRST REVISION – MAY, 2010 .................................... ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... x
1. March to December, 1938 - To England and Back Home .............................. 1
2. January, 1939 to May, 1952 - An Overview ...................................................... 23
3. Craig remembers the years prior to May, 1952 ................................................ 28
4. Marjory remembers the years prior to May, 1952 ............................................ 42
5. June, July and August, 1952 - Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban ...... 54
6. September to December, 1952 - England & Cape Town .............................. 61
7. January to May, 1953 – South Africa, England & Australia ........................... 64
8. June to December, 1953 - Planning the Future ............................................... 66
9. January, 1954 - Our Wedding and Honeymoon .............................................. 71
10. January, 1954 to November, 1958 - Bloemfontein.......................................... 78
11. December 1958 to June 1981 - Cape Town ..................................................... 88
12. June, 1981 to 2009 - Johannesburg .................................................................. 103
13. We reflect and look to the future ..................................................................... 124
Annexure A – Golden Wedding Message ................................................................. 129
Annexure B – Travelling Locally & Overseas ........................................................... 131
Annexure C - A message of love and thanks to Marj and Craig ............................ 149
Annexure D – Ian Reid‟s Odd Ode ........................................................................... 151
Annexure E – Craig‟s Testimony ................................................................................ 152
Index of Persons............................................................................................................ 155
Family Trees
- iv -

FIRST IMPRESSION - D ECEMBER, 2004
FIRST REPRINT - MAY, 2010
FIRST REVISION - May, 2010

© 2004 Craig and Marjory Stacey All rights reserved
- v -
DEDICATION
We, Marjory and Craig, dedicate this work to our much beloved parents

MARJORY FRANCES TREVOR RATCLIFFE
th th nd th
15 April 1900 – 26 April 1953 22 May 1891 – 15 February 1960

IRENE BOOTH GEORGE SAMUEL JEGGINS
th th th st
24 October 1893 – 17 July 1974 4 June 1886 – 31 October 1959
whose love, devotion and guidance
we shall always cherish .
- v i -
FOREWORD
By Reverend Gerard Sharp,
Rector of St. Michaels Church, Bryanston

Craig and Marj Stacey are, and have been an integral part of the St. Michael‟s Church
community for many years, and it is a great honour for me as their present Rector to have
been asked to write a brief foreword for their book “Our History of Love and Life”. This
history deals with family, with commitment and love, sentiments that I hold very dear to
my heart as a priest, because it speaks of the very fabric of our Christian life.
When two people fall in love and the odds of distance are stacked against them, as in the
case of Marj and Craig, then it can only be true love, which was meant to be, that can
survive such odds - Craig in the most southern end of Africa and Marj at the other end of
the world in Australia.
Such then is the story that will unfold as you read this love story enacted by George Craig
Stacey and Marjory Elizabeth Hackman. They meet as children, keep their friendship going
throughout their teen and young adult lives, and finally commit themselves to each other in
Holy Matrimony as mature adults. This happened fifty years ago when a lamp began to
shine brightly in the lives of Marjory and Craig, the lamp of their mutual love. They then
shed that light, not only on their lives but as the story shows on the lives of their children,
their families and their friends. It is a story, that as they tell it, they look back on with
gratitude and satisfaction, because nothing can match the treasury of common memories,
of trials endured together, of differences faced and overcome together, as well as quarrels
and reconciliations.
I commend to you this “History of Love and Life” between Craig and Marjory with the
words of Helen Keller the blind novelist when she writes: “All that we love deeply
becomes part of us.” Which I believe is true of these two lovers.
- v ii -
PREFACE

We, Marjory and Craig, believe that we have a very special story to tell and hope that this
narrative will become an important part of the Stacey and Hackman family folklore.
Some of our readers will have heard the broad outlines of this story, but we are now
opening up the deeper and more private details using the extensive records that we have
retained.
Originally the scope of this narrative was intended to have been a brief history covering the
almost sixteen years of our personal lives and experiences from our first meeting in 1938
up to the time of our marriage in 1954. However, for the benefit of our beloved children,
and at their specific request, we have extended the scope of the original narrative to include
random memories from the early years. We have also referred in some detail to the early
years of our fathers‟ lives because we find in them the seeds of our own futures. In
chapters 5 to 9 inclusive we recall many of the details from the time that we met again in
June, 1952, and the events that took place over the next eighteen months. In chapters 10,
11 and 12 we recall memories of our family life over fifty-six years up to January 2010.
The preparation of this history has been an enriching and an uplifting experience for both
of us. We have spent many hours reading through the numerous letters that passed
between us throughout the years from 1940 until our marriage in January, 1954. So much
took place during these years in both of our lives, and it has only been in the reading of
these letters that we have been reminded of many incidents, of moments of great pleasure
and moments of sorrow.
We believe that we have achieved in large measure that for which we had hoped. Now we
enjoy great satisfaction as we reflect on those times, on the dreams we dreamt, on the plans
we laid down, on the promises we made to each other. We have so much for which to be
thankful and thus it is that we want to share many of our precious moments with our
present families and our friends and those families and friends to come.
We find that because of the development of this narrative from simple beginnings to the
more detailed history of our families, it is desirable to provide simplified family trees of the
Hackman and Stacey families. We hope this will lead to a clearer understanding of the
often involved relationships to which we have referred in the text. We regret that some of
the early details are missing, but Brian has uncovered amazing historical details from his
examination of records on the Internet. The family trees have been included after the
annexures at the end of the text.
This history represents a joint exercise of memory between us. Our children and their
families have also contributed in large measure, each providing their own memories to
broaden and enhance the basic facts that we had initially presented in our first draft of the
narrative. Every new day new memories come to mind and we find we have omitted
important facts. However, we must draw a line and accept that a history of this extensive
nature cannot ever be complete. We can only apologise for any significant facts that may
have been overlooked.
- vi i i -
Craig has been responsible for the typing and general presentation, whilst Marjory has been
the constant editor, supplementing, deleting and correcting the text. At times, the joint
nature of this narrative has made the identification of specific information and particular
events to either Marjory or Craig rather difficult to convey. Those portions of the text that
apply personally to either MARJORY or CRAIG have been titled accordingly to assist the
reader. As the actual writer, I feel there are times when my interest appears to be
paramount. Then again, many times the use of the pronouns may not always give an
immediately clear indication of the interested party. We ask that you, our reader, will
sympathise with us in this difficulty and that this shortcoming in editorial expertise will not
diminish your enjoyment of our story.
We are confident that our wider family circle and our friends will both enjoy and be
intrigued whilst reading and remembering this
OUR HISTORY
of
LOVE and LIFE.