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HERBERT Terry

Herbert Terry TERENCE RONALD6 HERBERT (RONALD HAROLD5, HAROLD4, JAMES BROADBENT3, JAMES BROADBENT2, THOMAS1) was born 7 February 1942 in East London South Africa. He married ANTHEA RUTH WOOLRIDGE 7 October 1967 in Durban South Africa, daughter of PERCIVAL WOOLRIDGE and FRANCES HUNT-PINKER. She was born 7 July 1939 in Durban South Africa. Terry is the son of KATHLEEN NORAH7 FLEMMER (MARIUS TOGER6, HANS CHRISTIAN5) born 12 August 1914 in East London South Africa, and died 31 October 1972 in Cape Town South Africa. She married RONALD HAROLD HERBERT 5 April 1940 in East London South Africa, son of HAROLD HERBERT and EDITH HARROP. He was born 13 November 1912 in Wallasey Cheshire England, and died 23 November 1988 in East London South Africa


PERSONAL HISTORY WRITTEN IN MAY 2002


Name: Terence Ronald HERBERT Birthdate: 7 February 1942 Birthplace: East London, South Africa Parents: Ronald Harold HERBERT: Kathleen Norah HERBERT (nee FLEMMER)
Siblings: Timothy: Stephen Wilfred: Angela Patricia: Patrick Austin Married: Anthea Ruth WOOLRIDGE: Durban: 7 October 1967 Child: Son: Matthew Christopher Ronald HERBERT (born 25 March 1971)

I lived my early life in East London, initially in the family home, St Anthony, on the banks of the Nahoon River with my cousins Nolan, Athalie and Rosalie Flemmer (children of Oswald and Dorothy Flemmer) and twins Brian and Margaret Flemmer (children of Owen and Heyla Flemmer). Our fathers were serving in the armed forces. My father was captured at Tobruk just before I was born and spent the rest of the war in prisoner of war camps in Italy and Germany. He returned to East London in 1946 to take up a position with his previous employer, Royal Insurance Company, and we moved into a house in Carter Road. I started my schooling at Christian Brothers College.

We moved to Cape Town within a short time (probably two years at the most) when my father was transferred to the Royal Head Office. We lived initially in Rondebosch and I went to Marist Brothers for a short time. My father was able to acquire a house in Fish Hoek, where there was a new development aimed at providing reasonable accommodation for returned servicemen. We lived at 48, Second Crescent, which was then the end of civilisation as far as Fish Hoek was concerned - beyond our house was only sand dunes and scrub. Initially I went to school at Star of the Sea convent in St James at first, but at the age of seven was required to leave. I subsequently attended Fish Hoek Primary School.

In about 1951, my father was transferred to what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to take up a position as Manager for the territory in Salisbury (now Harare). We lived initially in a rented house in Belvedere before moving to 3 Cambridge Avenue, Newlands. I attended St Georges College where I failed to complete my education by choosing to leave school in 1957, the year before writing my A level Oxford Examinations. Although I had sufficient subjects to attend university, funds were not available for this option and I started work in the Magistrate's Court in January 1959 at the age of 16.

At the end of 1961 my father was transferred to the Head Office of Royal Insurance in Liverpool. I had been offered a chance to join the Rhodesian Army and to attend Sandhurst Military College at the completion of my military training in 1960, but decided instead to further my legal ambitions by moving with the family and working in the courts in England. On arrival I found that the legal system was completely different and that I would have to serve what was essentially an apprenticeship for five years, for which my family would have to pay. I joined Royal Insurance instead.

My father returned to South Africa in 1963 with the rest of the family. I elected to stay on in England, expecting to be transferred in due course to the Caribbean or South America, which I had indicated as my preferred options when discussing my future with the company. Instead I was transferred to South Africa in 1964, to a position in Durban. I met Anthea there when she joined the company in 1965. We became engaged in 1966 and were married in Durban on 7 October 1967, by which time I had resigned from Royal Insurance to join insurance brokers, Glanville Enthoven in Cape Town because there seemed to be little chance for any worthwhile advancement with Royal.

We lived initially in a flat at 9 Beaurette, Derby Road, Kenilworth, before moving to a rented maisonette at Handley Cross, Rosmead Avenue, Kenilworth. Our son Matthew was born on 25 March 1971 while we were living there. We subsequently moved to the first house that we bought, at 7 Heerengracht Road, Bergvliet in 1972.

By the end of 1973 it was clear that there would be little chance for advancement within Glanville Enthoven. When a management position became available in Durban with Institutional Insurance Brokers, part of the large Schlesinger Group, I applied for this and joined the group at the end of December 1973. We sold the Bergvliet house and bought our second house in Cherry Place, Berea, Durban. At the end of 1975 I was transferred back to Cape Town as Manager and we purchased our new home at 15 St Catherine Road, after the sale of our Durban property.

The Schlesinger Group withdrew from South Africa in 1976 and Institutional Insurance Brokers was sold to Bowrings. I resigned and joined Guardian Insurance Group as Production Manager in the Cape Town Branch in June of that year.

In 1981 I was offered an opportunity to run the Guardian company in Zimbabwe. I accepted this offer and took up the position of Deputy General Manager in August 1981, some three months after Zimbabwe gained formal independence. The intention was to establish my abilities at this level of management with a view to my returning to South Africa at general management level. I declined to do this in view of the political situation in South Africa, where, it seemed to us, the probability was that the unrest would develop into a civil war. Since the Zimbabwe company (renamed as Lion of Zimbabwe Insurance Company) was to be sold, once the accumulated reserves had been transferred out of the country, I was offered a transfer to Australia in early 1987.

We left Zimbabwe on 30 April 1987 for London where we were to apply for entry visas to Australia. This turned out to be a lengthy process and we finally arrived in Australia at the end of July where I took up the position of State Manager for New South Wales in Sydney with GRE Insurance Ltd. We bought a house there at 9 Cocupara Avenue, Lindfield which was close to the office which was in Chatswood on the North Shore.

In 1988 I was offered the position of General Manager for Australia and we moved to Melbourne where the Head Office was situated at the end of the year, buying a house in Elsternwick at 8 Sherbrooke Avenue. The Australian company was sold in early 1992 and I declined to continue my employment with the Guardian Group. I established my own consulting company, Ghanesh Solutions and also joined the Board of OAMPS Ltd a small but international specialist broker and underwriter. I was elected Chairman of the company in 1995.

Following the peaceful transition of power in South Africa, we left Australia at the end of 1996 and returned to Cape Town, buying our current house at 8 Quarterdeck Road, Kalk Bay.

 

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