Herbert Penny was a well known Cape Town Auctioneer, Estate and Financial Agent, who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves, the precursor to the present day

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...

Family and early life

Herbert Penny was born 11 January 1867 in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England. He married Carlotta Elvira de Conceciao Forssman (daughter of Chavalier OA Fossman of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

) and had two sons and two daughters. Penny descends from Richard Penny of Marchwood.The Peerage. A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe. Herbert Penny. (as found in Burke's Peerage

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Volume 2, p. 2614

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Career

Penny arrived in the Cape Colony in 1889 as a ship's officer in the Union-Castle Line, Union Steamship Company that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa. Prior to the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in October 1899, Penny served as a company secretary in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

(during the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched Raid (military), raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the emplo ...

in 1895), prior to his appointment as General Manager of a coal mine in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

, Transvaal. During this South African War, the mine was closed and Penny moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

at the time hostilities commenced. He joined the staff of a bank and later was Chief Inspector of the Harbour Board. He started his own business, Herbert Penny Pty Ltd., and "Penny for Property" Estate Agents, Auctioneers and Sworn Appraisers, of Lennons Building, 30, Adderley Street, Cape Town, in 1906.

Maritime interests and other activities

While having started his career by going to sea, Penny took a keen interest during his later life in the Cape region, in anything connected with the sea. Up to his death he was President of the Navy League of South Africa. He originated the scheme for the bronze Birkenhead Memorial plaque, which was erected by the Navy League in 1936 to commemorate the loss of the soldiers, sailors and civilians on board on 26 February 1852 at

Gansbaai Gansbaai (Dutch/Afrikaans for "bay of geese," sometimes referred to as Gans Bay or Gangs Bay) is a fishing town and popular tourist destination in the Overberg District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. It is known for its dense populatio ...

. The original memorial plaque can be found today at the foot of the Danger Point Lighthouse, near Gansbaai. During his ten years Honorary Secretaryship of the Navy League of South Africa, he initiated the formation of the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

of South Africa in around 1904 culminating in 1905 which ultimately led to the formation of the

. He was a member of the Board of Management, the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the Institute of Auctioneers and Estate Agents, Cape Province; and Chairman of other political and social institutions.

Philanthropy

In addition to his interest in the sea, he played a great part in helping various charitable concerns in the Cape. Among others, he was Founder and Chairman of the committee of the Sunshine Home for children at Belville

. He was a foundation member of the Boy Scouts' Association in South Africa.

Issue

His eldest son, Magnus Penny, fought in the First World War and gained the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in the service of the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

. He lived to the age of 90, passing away on 4 July 1984. Magnus Penny's eldest son, Errol Forssman Penny (father of

Conrad Penny Conrad Hugo Penny (born 31 May 1951) is a South African property broker and property valuer who has worked for Penny Brothers Brokers & Valuers for over fifty years. He is the founder and chair of Penny Holdings (Pty) Ltd. and the Managing Dire ...

), served in the Second World War with the South African Union Defence Force's

Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles The Chief Langalibalele Rifles (formerly known as the Cape Town Rifles and Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The Regiment was founded on 28 November 1855, as the Cape Rifle ...

in East and North Africa ( Western Desert Campaign) from 1939 to 1944 and went behind German lines on reconnaissance.

Death

Herbert Penny died 14 August 1938 at the age of 71 owing to heart-failure after a very short illness. The funeral in Cape Town was followed by a procession to the Woltemade cemetery in

Maitland, Cape Town Maitland is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Maitland is situated along a number of important transport networks connecting the Cape Town city bowl to the rest of the city. The most important being the railway line that runs through the mi ...

. The service was conducted by the Reverend Harold Beardmore, Royal Navy. The pall-bearers were Colonel A. Beck, Secretary of the Navy League; Lieutenant Colonel W.E. Puntis , Federal President of the Navy League; Mr R.H. Hawke, Mr D.K. Sloan, Nr T.E. Archer and MR T.A.F. Jackson. His wife, Carlotta Elvira de Conceciao Forssman died before him on 27 September 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penny, Herbert 1867 births 1938 deaths People from Cape Town Cape Colony people