Alfred Shaun JEFFARES [619]

  General Notes:

Shaun was very much liked by his sister in law Di Wilson, the article below relates to the picture of Shaun and the farm boys.

THERE is a remarkable wealth of stories in a book to be published by Shaun Jeffares and one in particular descibes one of the more novel ways the game of Rugby took root in South Africa.
Jeffares was born in 1906 at a small village called Komgha on the borders of Transkei. He then moved to his father's farm in the Orange Free State where he grew up until 1920 when he moved to Ireland where he was educated. Qualified as a solicitor (Trinity College Dublin) he practised in Madras India, returning (1964) to Ireland in his retirement.
The picture taken by his aunt in 1915 shows Jeffares explaining the rules to his fellow players in what must certainly be the earliest game of multi-racial rugby, taking place, as it did, 33 years before the word apartheid acquired its evil connotations.
Below is an extract from his book "Black and White Memories":
From my personal point of view one of my father's greatest achievements was his introduction of rugby to the farm, although it involved him in a minimum of effort since all he did was to give me the ball and an outline of the rules. The result was probably the first multiracial seven-a-side rugby football in South Africa! I enlisted all the Xhosa and Basuto boys of a suitable age, which was the same as myself but allowing a margin of two or three years either way. Rugby was to them what water was to the proverbial duck. I think I must have been about nine when we began it and we kept it up until we left the farm.
Our field was on the open flatground between the farmhouse and the kraals. We had no goalposts so we dispensed with kicking of every kind. The pitch was marked out for each game with odds and ends like old tins and piles of clothing to give all approximate outline. To us a try was called igoldi and the game itself irugberi. Our rules were extremely nebulous but they served their purpose and we had many hours of fun from the game which all the Bantus loved. They shed their blankets (if Basuto) and other formal clothing and played in what was known in Africaans as sert-reims which could be translated as G-strings, while I had to stick to my shirts and shorts.
Most of my playmates were quick and elusive and I must have been much the same because I acquired my then Bantu name or the only one I knew of. It was the Basuto word litori being the name for meerkat, a sort of ground squirrel that was particularly brisk and fast on its feet But they had an advantage over me in that they had a shirt and shorts to get hold of if all else failed whereas for me it was like getting hold of eels!.

Alfred Shaun Jeffares usually known as Shaun Jeffares (14 August 1906 in Cape Province , South Africa - 29 October 1997 in County Wexford , Republic of Ireland )[1] was a South African-born Irish cricketer . A left-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler , he played on first-class cricket match for Dublin University against Northamptonshire in July 1926, a match that also featured the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett .[3] His brother Edward played cricket in India .
Ref: Wikipedia

Alfred Shaun aged 14 was a passenger on the Edinburgh Castle departing East London South Africa arriving Southampton 30 August 1920. He is recorded with Caroline Anne Jeffares aged 46 taken to be his mother and siblings Elenore aged 11 Mary age 7 and Derek aged 3.
Ancestry.

Alfred Shaun aged 44 and his wife Antoinette age 37 were a passengers on the Chusan departing London's arriving Bombay 15 September 1950. Their last address is given as Ballykelly Drinagh IRL, Shaun is recorded as a barrister.
Ancestry.

Alfred married Mary Annetoinette "Anne" ELWORTHY [618] [MRIN: 183], daughter of Percy Ashton ELWORTHY [544] and Bertha Victoria JULIUS [542], in 1937. (Mary Annetoinette "Anne" ELWORTHY [618] was born on 15 Jun 1913 in Timaru N.Z. and died on 29 Sep 2001 in Wexford Ireland.)