John Clother Morkel (22 August 1928 – 4 July 2010) was a South African-born Rhodesian international rugby union player. He was born in

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 ...

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

and was the captain of the

Rhodesia national rugby union team Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...

and played as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

. After retiring from rugby he worked as a farmer in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

and later entered

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

an politics. He died in 2010 in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, South Africa after hip surgery.

Army career

After being educated at

South African College Schools The South African College Schools (colloquially often known as “SACS”) is a public English medium primary and high education institution situated in Newlands - part of the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of ...

, Morkel served in the

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 opposin ...

as a member of the

6th South African Armoured Division The 6th South African Armoured Division was the second armoured warfare, armoured division (military), division of the South African Army and was formed during World War II. Established in early 1943, it was based on a nucleus of men from the ...

after moving from training to be a fighter pilot in the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. In Egypt in 1943, he was selected as part of the Division's touring rugby team after a trial in Cairo which was held with the players taking part barefoot. They would play matches against other Regiments in the British Empire's forces based mostly in Italy but did tour the United Kingdom and finished their tour of duty with 19 wins and 2 losses. Morkel himself, would be attached to the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

and would visit

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Führerbunker The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ( ...

days after Hitler's death as a result.

Rugby career

After the war, Morkel attended

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

and captained their rugby team. Upon graduating, he played one season for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. In 1949, he moved to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

to work as a tobacco farmer on land that his grandfather had purchased in 1891. During that time, he became the captain of Rhodesia and led them to a 10–8 win over the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

whom were on the

1949 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa 1949 saw the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand rugby union team (the All Blacks, New Zealand national rugby union team). The All Blacks achieved a record of 13 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws, and they lost the test se ...

. He was carried off the pitch on the shoulders of spectators and said "It is not often Rhodesia does a thing like this." The win was the only time the All Blacks have lost to a non-Test rugby playing nation. For his performances, it was proposed that he would play test rugby for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(colloquially known as the Springboks) and captain them in their upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. However reportedly the notion of having a Rhodesian captain was not popular with the South African ruling National Party and he did not tour. The first and only Rhodesian captain of the Springboks would be

Des van Jaarsveldt Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt MBE (born 31 March 1929) is a Rhodesian-born South African retired rugby union player and former captain of the Springboks. He was nicknamed the "Bald Eagle" due to his pace on the wing and bald head. He became th ...

in 1960. Morkel would go on to captain Rhodesia thirteen times.

Post rugby

Morkel remained in Southern Rhodesia as a farmer. Rhodesia's

Unilateral Declaration of Independence A unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) is a formal process leading to the establishment of a new state by a subnational entity which declares itself independent and sovereign without a formal agreement with the state which it is secedi ...

and subsequent UN sanctions affected his work. By 1974, he owned a 15,000-acre farm that housed over 200 workers and members of the local community. Morkel's family would be subject to attack by

ZANLA Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

guerrillas, which would necessitate

Rhodesian Army The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel ...

soldiers to be located on their land by 1978 to defend it during the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia). The conflict pitted three for ...

. During the Bush War, he was a reservist for the

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, from ...

. When Rhodesia was reconstituted as Zimbabwe, Morkel moved to

Chiredzi Chiredzi is a town in Masvingo province in south-east Zimbabwe. It is located near the Runde River, which has a tributary called the ' Chiredzi'. As the administrative center for Chiredzi District, it is where both the rural and district counci ...

and served as their mayor. He remained in Zimbabwe until 2009 when he moved to

Howick, KwaZulu-Natal Howick is a town located in the UMngeni Local Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The town is 1050 m above sea level, and about 88 kilometres from the port city of Durban. It enjoys warm summers and cool dry winters. A snappy ch ...

, South Africa. He died on 4 July 2010 in Pietermaritzburg following complications from hip replacement surgery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morkel, John 1928 births Rhodesian rugby union players South African rugby union players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union locks South African military personnel of World War II British South Africa Police officers Mayors of places in Zimbabwe Stellenbosch University alumni South African farmers Rhodesian farmers 2010 deaths Child soldiers in World War II Rugby union players from Cape Town Politicians from Cape Town South African Air Force personnel of World War II Alumni of South African College Schools