Michael Alan Harmel was born to Irish immigrant parents in February 1915 in Johannesburg. He was an intellectual and revolutionary and became a radical socialist opposed to racism while studying at Rhodes University in the 1930s. After graduating from Rhodes with an MA in English literature, Harmel worked in London for the British Communist Party's newspaper The Daily Worker. He returned to South Africa in 1939, and immediately joined the Communist Party of South Africa. At the early age of 25 he was elected to the Johannesburg District Committee where he served as a District Secretary. After the dissolution of the Communist Party in 1950 Harmel worked tirelessly towards reconstitution of the Party and was a prominent member of the underground Party collective. Publicly he devoted most of his time to journalism. He was on the editorial board of Liberation, and also worked as a correspondent of The Guardian, Spark and New Age. Harmel also collaborated in the formation of the South African Congress of Trades Unions (SACTU) and was a founder member of the Congress of Democrats. He was one of the first to be banned under the Suppression of Communism Act which he defied and for which he was arrested. In 1959 Harmel became the first editor of the Communist Party's new journal, The African Communist". He wrote countless articles for that journal, largely under his pseudonym, A. Lerumo. He was also one of the commanders of Umkhonto we Sizwe. While tutoring in Marxism-Leninism to new recruits of the Communist Party, he played a leading role in drafting this Party's new programme.

In 1962 Michael Harmel was one of the first people to be placed under 24 hour house arrest for 5 years. Subjected to repeated state harassment he was instructed by the Communist Party to go into exile in London where he continued editing and producing The African Communist. While in exile, Michael Harmel continued his full-time work in both the MK and the Communist Party. He also played an important role in the shaping and work of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, as well as the establishment of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Communist Party Harmel wrote a book containing the history of this party and entitled: "Fifty Fighting Years". It was published under his pseudonym A. Lerumo and translated into many languages.

Michael Harmel was sent to Prague to become the Communist Party's representative to the journal World Marxist Review. He worked and lived in Prague with his wife and daughter until his death at the age of 59 on 18 June 1974. He was survived by his wife Ray Harmel (1905-1998), his daughter Barbara, and his granddaughter Lisa.

Glenn Moss was born in Pretoria in 1952. He obtained a BA, BA (hons) and MA at the University of Witwatersand, where he served as Wits chair of the National Union of South African Students (Nusas), and president of the Students Representative Council, in addition to a number of other student leadership positions.

Detained under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act in 1975, he was the first accused in the Nusas trial of 1976. He subsequently worked as a legal consultant in the defence of political trialists for a number of years, and was a founder editor of Work in Progress and the South African Review. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he was managing director of the Ravan Press publishing house, and served as chair of the Independent Publishers Association and as South African representative on the African Publishers Network (APNET).

Following South Africas first inclusive democratic elections, he was seconded to the Central Statistics Service (subsequently Statistics South Africa), where for 13 years he played a central role in transforming the Department and its outputs.

His latest project (2012) involves a book on the politics of the 1970s.

Colonial Secretary at the Cape, 1818-1824

Samuel Evans, 1859-1935

Born in Wales, he took up the profession of journalism. In 1883 he was appointed to a post in the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, where probably because of his ability as a shorthand-writer in both English and French, he became private secretary to Sir Edgar Vincent, financial adviser to the Khedive of Egypt. From 1886-1889 he acted as chief controller of the Egyptian coast guards service and later when Sir Edgar became governor of the Imperial Ottoman Bank at Constantinople, he accompanied his chief as inspector-general of that bank, travelling extensively in Asia Minor and Persia. From 1892-1896 he managed the Turkish tobacco regie.

Samuel Evans' association with the Witwatersrand began in 1896 when he arrived in Johannesburg. Two years later he joined H Eckstein & Co, becoming a partner in 1902 and retiring in 1909. During the 2nd Anglo-Boer War he served on the staff both of Lord Roberts and the military governor of Johannesburg. After the war Evans helped to organise the gold-mining industry and in 1909 he became chairman and managing director of Crown Mines Ltd. He was a pioneer in applying scientific methods of hygiene to the mining industry and was largely responsible for the establishment of the S A Institute for Medical Research. He also helped to found a gold refinery and a branch of the Royal Mint soon after the end of World War I. He was a strong advocate of gold as a medium for currency, retaining his interest in economic matters throughout his life. Another field of interest was education and he was closely associated with the Council of Education and the University of the Witwatersrand. He was one of the first to recognise the importance of aviation.

The Malaboch war resulted from Chief Malaboch's refusal to pay hut taxes to the Transvaal Republic Government (ZAR), and his resistance to be moved from his traditional area of Blouberg. The Boer Campaign following these developments in 1894, led by Commandant-General Piet Joubert, was essentially a punitive action against Malaboch. He was taken prisoner and tried on the 2 August 1894, where he was found guilty but was never sentenced. He was kept prisoner of war until released by the British forces during the Anglo-Boer War in 1900, after which he returned to his people. He died in 1939.

John Bruce was an Edinburgh historian (1745-1826) who was befriended by Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Secretary of State for War. Through Melville's influence he was given several posts, including that of patent of King's Printer and Stationer for Scotland, Keeper of State Papers Office and Secretary for Latin language and historiographer to the East India Co. (See D.N.B.).

He compiled several valuable works, including some which were privately printed for the confidential use of members of the government.

Joane Pim was born in 1904 in Johannesburg, South Africa, of Irish-English Quakers, Howard and Rosamund Pim. Her father was a prominent figure in South Africa in accountancy, philanthropy and art. Her preliminary schooling was at St. Andrews School, Johannesburg, and later at the age of fourteen, she went to England, where she attended St. Stephens in Folkestone, followed by a period of two years in Paris studying singing and French.

She returned to South Africa and spent several years of enjoyment with no fixed occupation and then became interested in horticulture and the maintenance of private gardens. She subsequently worked in an architect's office to learn draughtsmanship and worked with a professional horticulturist. She was ill for three months and went to England to recuperate, where friends suggested that Brenda Colvin, P.P.I.L.A., President and Founder of the Institute of Landscape Architecture, Great Britain, and leading landscape architect of the day and who is still one of the active leading landscape architects in Europe, would welcome a pupil. From that day on she had no other thought and her one desire was to qualify as a landscape architect.

During the war of 1939-1945, she was occupied in other fields and only started to practice in 1946, being accepted by the British Institute in 1947.

She was appointed Consultant to the Anglo-American Corporation in 1952, which position she held until her death, and entrusted with the landscape and garden planning of an area of virtual desert, 24 miles square, the layout or rehabilitation of fourteen mines and mine villages under the control of the Corporation and the landscaping of a town designed to accommodate 30 000, the plan of which had already been approved.

This appointment proved to be the forerunner of many others and her interests covered a wide field. Her landscape developments covered all Provinces of the Republic, Zambia, Rhodesia, Botswana and Swaziland. In 1954 she was appointed as Consultant to the Harmony Gold Mining Company and other mining groups. Travel by air and road averaged 48,080 miles per annum and schemes were planned for six different climates.

She was twice guest lecturer at the International Federation of Landscape Architects Congress in Zurich. In 1963 she was invited to address a similar Congress in Israel. She was a part-time lecturer in the Architectural and Town Planning Department at Witwatersrand University. She lectured in Pretoria and was instrumental in starting a degree course in Landscape Architecture at Pretoria University, as well as lecturing at the University of Stellenbosch and the Pietermaritzburg Architects' Forum. She contributed to many landscape Architectural journals, her most important publication being her book, 'Beauty is Necessary' published by Purnell & Sons (S.A.) (Pty) Ltd. Cape Town, in 1971.

Her other interests were Youth Clubs, of which she was also founder and chairman, as well as horses, dogs and photography.

Miss Joane Pim died suddenly on 27 November 1974.

Francis Napier Broome was the Judge President Natal and M.P.

The Commission was appointed by the Governor-General, G.B. van Zyl, to report on housing, health, welfare and recreational facilities in Durban, on the respective responsibilities of the Government, the Provincial Administration and the local authority and to make recommendations.

Joost de Blank was the Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa from 1957 to 1963 and was known as the "scourge of apartheid" for his ardent opposition to the whites-only policies of the South African government.