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Skonk Nicholson
James Mervyn Nicholson (6 February 1917 – 27 February 2011), better known as Skonk Nicholson, was a rugby coach and school master at Maritzburg College. He is often credited with having trained large numbers of provincial and Springbok players, and was an iconic figure of schoolboy rugby in Pietermaritzburg, and indeed, South Africa. History James Mervyn Nicholson (the "Skonk" nickname came later) was born in Underberg, Natal, on 6 February 1917, and grew up on the family farm in that district. In due course, he was sent to the Durban Preparatory High School (DPHS) in Durban, from whence he proceeded to the Durban High School (DHS). His father was a great friend of the legendary DHS Head Master, Mr AS "Madevu" Langley, and so young Mervyn (as he was then called) was sent to DHS, rather than to Maritzburg College, which was also a family school, but the fierce-yet-friendly rival institution of the Durban school. He enjoyed a remarkably successful stint at DHS, and matricu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal
Underberg is an administrative town in a dairy and cattle farming community in the Mzimkulu River valley of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated at the foot of the 1,904 m Hlogoma Peak ''(place of echoes)'' in the foothills of the southern Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal. Underberg was established in 1917 when the railway from Pietermaritzburg reached the area. It is an important commercial centre for the region's farming industry providing many of the support services. It is also a trading center for people who come down the nearby Sani Pass from Lesotho. The town also houses provincial offices of the ministries of Social Welfare and Transport, a clinic; as well as the municipal library. The Underberg School offers pre-primary and primary education. Churches in town include the Catholic Church, Congregational Church, The Underberg Baptist Church and Highlands Church International. Tourism is the second biggest industry in the area, next to farming. The area surrounding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1917 Births
Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's Desert Column. * January 10 – Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition: Seven survivors of the Ross Sea party were rescued after being stranded for several months. * January 11 – Unknown saboteurs set off the Kingsland Explosion at Kingsland (modern-day Lyndhurst, New Jersey), one of the events leading to United States involvement in WWI. * January 16 – The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million. * January 22 – WWI: United States President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Germany. * January 25 ** WWI: British armed merchantman is sunk by mines off Lough Swilly (Ireland), with the loss of 354 of the 475 aboard. ** An anti- prostitution drive in San Francisco occurs, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izak Van Heerden
Izak van Heerden (August 1910 – June Bath, p 172) was a South African rugby union coach, and player, remembered for his successes with the Argentina national team and the Natal Province team for his unconventional, fast-moving style. His tactical innovations have had lasting influence on the game of rugby.Bath, p 62 Biography Van Heerden was born in Utrecht, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1910. Van Heerden qualified as a teacher in Pietermaritzburg at the Natal University College (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal). While there he had moderate success playing at loose forward for the University team in 1934. He then became a school master at Durban High School, where he taught Afrikaans. He coached the school rugby team with such success that he soon gained wide attention for his skills. During World War II, Van Heerden served as a gunner in North Africa, where he was taken prisoner at Benghazi along with another well-known Durban High School schoolmaster and rugby coach, Bill Pay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Nel
Philip W. Nel (born March 29, 1969) is an American scholar of children's literature and University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. He is best known for his work on Dr. Seuss and ''Harry Potter'', which has led to him being a guest on such media programs as ''CBS Sunday Morning'', NPR's ''Morning Edition,'' ''Talk of the Nation,'' and CNN's ''Don Lemon Tonight.'' Background Philip W. Nel was born on March 29, 1969, in Massachusetts. He received his B.A. from the University of Rochester in 1992, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1993 and 1997, respectively. He married Karin Westman on May 24, 1997. In response to the question of why he writes about what he does, Nel told ''Contemporary Authors'', "To study children's literature is to be reminded of why reading (and re-reading) is fun, but it is also to see how complex and interesting supposedly 'simple' books really are. And that's fun, too." Career Nel began his teaching care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian McIntosh
Ian McIntosh is a Zimbabwean rugby union coach. He served as head coach for the Springboks during 1993 and 1994. McIntosh grew up near Bulawayo. McIntosh never played for his country as a player but became acquainted with coaching in the 1970s under the tutelage of the then Welsh Rugby Union coaching director Ray Williams. Teams Coached National He later took charge of the former Zimbabwe national rugby union team, although his biggest achievement to date was taking charge of the South African national side. The year before the 1995 World Cup he was sacked as national coach following a series defeat to the All Blacks in New Zealand in mid-1994. In October of that year, Kitch Christie George Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie (31 January 1940 – 22 April 1998), was a South African rugby union coach best known for coaching the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He remai ... accepted an offer to take over from McInto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butch James
Andrew David "Butch" James (born 8 January 1979) is a South African former professional rugby union player who represented 40 times and was a member of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His usual position was fly-half, though he also played inside centre. James retired at the end of 2013 and joined the Varsity Shield side as backline and kicking coach. He has taken up amateur mountain biking and has now completed two Absa Cape Epics. The Untamed African MTB Race takes 1200 riders through the scenic Western Cape region of South African each March. The two-person team stage race covers approximately 700 km and has 15 000m of vertical ascent. Early life James was born on 8 January 1979 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and was schooled at Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. Although his first names are 'Andrew David', he has been known as 'Butch' since his grandmother gave him the nickname as an infant. Sharks career James played for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pieter Dixon
Pieter Dixon (born 17 October 1977 in Harare, Zimbabwe) is a Zimbabwean-born South African rugby union footballer, who plays hooker for Bath. He was educated at Maritzburg College, and was captain of the South African Schools' rugby team in 1995. He is the nephew of Vintcent van der Bijl, who represented South Africa at cricket in the 1980s. After previously playing provincial and Super 12 rugby in South Africa, Dixon signed for Bath for the 2005–2006 season. He made an immediate impact when scoring a try in a Powergen Cup game against Bristol. Dixon is said to be a mobile hooker with good set-piece skills. His scrummaging is renowned and his lineout work garnered him praise whilst in South Africa and now in the Aviva Premiership. Dixon signed a two-year extension to his contract during January 2008, taking him through to end of the 2009/10 season. Bath Rugby announced in December 2009 that Dixon had signed a further two-year extension to his contract, along with extensions f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeremy Thomson
Jeremy Roy David Thomson (born 24 June 1967) is a South African former rugby union player. Playing career Thomson represented at the Craven Week tournament for schoolboys and was selected for the South African Schools team in 1986. He made his provincial debut for in 1989 and in 1992 he joined . He returned to Natal and continued to play 152 matches for the union. From 1998 to 2000, Thomson played for in London, England. At the end of the 1996 season, he toured with the Springboks to Argentina and Europe. Thomson did not play in any test matches but played in four tour matches, scoring one try for the Springboks. See also *List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 648 *List of South Africa national under-18 rugby union team players Below is a listing of all rugby union players that have represented the South Africa Under-18 (South Africa Schools) side since 1974. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joel Stransky
Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former rugby union player. A fly-half, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. Early life Stransky was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to a family from England and Czechia. He was raised in Reform Judaism and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He was educated at Maritzburg College where he was coached by Skonk Nicholson, a well-known figure in schoolboy rugby. After his military conscription in Pretoria, he returned to Natal to study at the University of Natal. Playing career In 1990 he was part of the team that beat Northern Transvaal to win the Currie Cup for the first time. He then moved to Italy where he played for L'Aquila during the 1991–1992 season, and for San Donà in 1992–93. Between 1993 and 1996, he won 22 caps for his South Africa. In 1995 he was part of the first South Africa team to play in a R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Oxlee
Keith Oxlee (17 December 1934 – 31 August 1998) was a South African rugby union player who represented South Africa in 19 tests between 1960 and 1965. He amassed 88 career test points, breaking Gerry Brand's 27-year-old South African record and setting one that stood for 20 years until it was surpassed by Naas Botha. Oxlee set a record for most points scored by a South African player in a test against the British and Irish Lions of 16 (5 conversion and 2 penalty kicks in the 4th test on 25 August 1962) which lasted until 1981. Oxlee was also the first player ever to win 100 caps for . Early life Keith Oxlee was born in Johannesburg on 17 December 1934 and educated at Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal, matriculating in 1952. Rugby career After his selection for Natal in 1955, Oxlee eventually set a provincial record of 102 matches at fly-half, broken only in 1998 by Henry Honiball. He represented Natal in the wind-battered 1956 Currie Cup final again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank. In 1979, the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously. History The award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of captain or below and for warrant officers. The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915, to 71 officers, and 27 warrant officers. Although posthumous recommendations for the Military Cross were unavailable until 1979, the first awards included seven posthumous awards, with the word 'deceased' after the name of the recipient, from rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
