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Much of the coastal area south of Simonstown in the Cape Peninsula was out of bounds and you could not go there without a permit. This was because of the large number of British ships that passed by. Many stopped off at Cape Town for supplies and repairs.

As a schoolboy I remember staying in a holiday cottage in this restricted area as we had a permit. We saw the army dropping off Zulu troops at one-mile intervals along the coast both sides of Cape Point. These troops were armed only with spears. They would spend the night there sitting around fires guarding the coast. If German submarines dropped people ashore, they were being there to catch them. I do not know if anyone was ever dropped off, but after the war it was discovered that a German spy had been operating from a nearby farm and had sent coded messages about ships movements to the German submarine.

There was little activity or bombing from the air over the Cape Peninsula, but black out systems were in operation. There were searchlights ready in case there was an attack.

An American ship was bombed off Cape Point. The Captain grounded the ship so that its cargo of ammunition and supplies could be salvaged.

There was a lot of troop movement in the Cape Peninsula — Australian, American and British. The trains were full of Royal navy personnel. My father joined the army and went to North Africa and Cairo. My uncle joined the Royal Navy.

Rationing

There was no actual rationing in South Africa. But there were restrictions on certain types of food such as meat when there were shortages. There was no cream. The only time that white bread was available was when soldiers brought it off British ships from England. There was no wool for knitting, except from Argentina — this was very rough. There were no toys as these had come from Japan before the war. It was the same for new cars, which previously had come from Britain or America. Fireworks were not allowed.

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