From the General Botha Old Boys Association Muster List

In 1945 Twiggy joined the General Botha training ship and completed his training there in1946. He then joined the Union-Castle Line as a Cadet in 1947 and worked at a wage of eight pounds per month. Later as a third officer he earned forty-five pounds and five shillings per month He did some thirty-seven trips with the Union Castle Line. The Castle ships he sailed on were: Riebeeck, Rochester, Rowallan, Carnarvon, Llangibby, Roslin, Dunnottar, Kenya, Rustenberg, Drakensberg and Warwick.

He married Jill in1954 in the U.K and left the Union-Castle Line in January 1955.

He worked at various jobs while in the United Kingdom and even dabbled in car racing with permission to race at Silverstone (17.09.1955) and Brands Hatch (09.10.1955).

In1959 Twiggy, his wife Jill and two year old child, immigrated to New Zealand on the Ten Pound scheme on the Rangitoto. His first job as an unskilled worker for the Heretaunga Dairy Company in the Hastings area was organised prior to his arrival in New Zealand. Laterthe family moved from Hastings to Auckland and was completed with a fourth child.

In April 1961, Twiggy joined the New Zealand Navy research ship Tui and travelled extensively around the Pacific. He was just about to take his First Mate’s Exam when he saw an advertisement from Air New Zealand recruiting Flight Navigators. He finished work as second mate on the Tui on 6th July 1966 to commence a flight navigator’s course with Air New Zealand on the 11th of July 1966.

He enjoyed flying and when Flight Navigators became redundant in 1972 he retrained as a Flight Engineer still with Air New Zealand.

During this time he made the most of his opportunities with travel to many places. He completed the Honolulu Marathon in 1979 and the Manitoba Marathon in 1980.

He was divorced in 1984.

After retiring from Air New Zealand he purchased TeAroha, an 86ft long kauri schooner with a beam of 24 ft and twin masts. It could sail in the right winds. She was built in Totara North in 1909. He ran this with partners from 1984 – 1986 as a cargo transporter from Auckland to Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf. It carried cars, tractors, animals, food supplies, kauri trees, building-materials and some very lucky intrepid passengers. He loved the sea-faring, the company and the variety that came with it.

He then worked as a Flight Engineer in 1989 with Air Malaysia and was with them until 1992.

I met Twiggy in 1995 and in 1998 we left for Fiji on his 40 foot steel ketch, Jananna. He celebrated his 70th birthday off the Australian coast above Airlie Beach, up in the air on a flight in a Tiger Moth.

After four years of sailing in the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic and the Caribbean, we returned to New Zealand and settled in Whangarei. There we had great enjoyment back on land, landscaping a large garden, socialising and catching up with family. Twiggy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years ago so we moved nearer to town and a smaller, more manageable property with a lovely view of the Whangarei harbour.

His two daughters and I were with him at the end.

Happy sailing Twig.

Margie