I thought I'd finished with Vernon's story when he brought out photographs of his brothers. One was in the army with the Dukes at Tobruk. (Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh granted the CTVR the title "Duke of Edinburgh's Own", after it had formed a guard of honour for him during a visit to Cape Town. The nickname "the Dukes" appears to have come into use in the 1880s.) Another was with the RAF as an aircraft fitter and saw service in Somalia and Italy. Quite a contribution by one South African family to the war effort during WW2. People tend to regard South Africans as being tainted with racism but I never heard Vernon say anything that indicated anything other than concern for others. His comment about his medals - that he wouldn't wear awards he had been given for trying to kill young men from the Bismark that could have been his friends in different circumstances - was typical.

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