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Extracts from Interviews:-
4. Alexandra talks to Patricia in South Africa
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Those four years were John's happiest because, as I say, he was given back his human dignity. He died three weeks before he was 18. A young master took seven of them up the mountain. The weather was treacherous. Julian, who was the pastor, phoned up the school and said, "Don't let the master take the boys up the mountain. I can see the weather's not good." But they had already left.
Suddenly, the heavens opened, mists came up and tremendous rain and wind. Two of them got separated. They tried to go down the way they'd come up, but everything was a raging torrent by then because of the tremendous rain. It was about 3.00 p.m. The master realised it was pointless. They could be passing right by the missing boys in the mist and not find them. He decided to go down to look for help.
By then, the search party was already organised. Miracle number one. They set off - doctors, police, everybody. Nobody knew which way to go. It was pitch black. Not a star. No moon. And they got to them at quarter past one in the morning. Drenched, of course. John was lying there, and his best friend Timothy Wells with him.
They thought John was asleep, but when they examined him, they found that he had gone. It was a very cold night. The spot they found the boys at was right in the teeth of the wind. The other boys were taken to the hospital and treated for shock. Julian came to see Eddie at his desk and told him the news. Eddie had to go and identify John at the mortuary. That was terrible for him. He'd already had to see a full-term, still-born son that I had before John. I wanted to do it with him, but he refused to let me come.
We have photographs of John two hours before he died. Happy as happy could be. A grin from ear to ear. Look what I'm doing! I'm having a scramble up the mountain. Fairly steep, but no danger. He was so happy to be doing this, and the master told me that John had said, "I'm going to tell my parents when they come to see me again, what a wonderful thing you've done for us today."
Unbeknown to us, the African paper interviewed the boys in hospital. It splashed all over the headlines. The boys said that John tried to follow the master. Then his hat blew off and he fell and hit his head. But we were told by the other papers and by the people in the police station that John had died of exposure and that was very easy to accept. Three weeks after John's death and the funeral for him had taken place, we had made our statement to the police. But because it was a sudden unexpected death, there had to be an inquest. Eddie and I didn't take part in it.
At this time, our daughter was living in a flat with some other girls and one of them wanted to go to a fortune teller and my daughter went with her. My daughter didn't want to, but her friend pushed her in. I believe there was a crystal ball. My daughter Peggy didn't want to take part in this and so was totally uncooperative.
Yet this woman did tell her interesting things about her life, health and her boyfriends. Then she suddenly said, "You've had an accident in the family lately. You've lost a sister."
Peggy was so upset by then, she snapped at her, "I've never had a sister."
The woman said, "I see a tree."
That made Peggy prick up her ears because where the boys had stopped to eat lunch, there was one lonely tree in the saddle of the mountain, and they went high up to the Tower of Babylon. That's where John died.
Peggy said, "Is the tree on a mountain?"
The woman said, "Yes it is. And it's not a sister, it's a brother and his name is John. He was met by a paternal grandmother and grandfather (those are Eddie's parents) and by his maternal grandfather (my father). He's very happy, but he wants you to pray for him. It's important that you know and believe what the boys said about the accident. That was the truth."
So when Peggy came back and told this to Eddie, we decided to go to the inquest. We asked that the medical report be read slowly. There it was. John had died of a broken neck. The boys' report turned out to be the truth.
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