In the September edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, we carried the last article in a series that highlighted memories of Cape Town in the 1930s and 40s. The article focused on what the writer, Professor Philip Lanzkowsky, recalled of the years during and immediately after World War II.
We asked readers to share their recollections of this period, and Carol Wener sent this information to us:
My maternal grandfather (of blessed memory), Louis Metliss, was born in 1898 to a large family that had left Poland for London. His mother owned a pub; the family lived above it. During World War I, at the age of 16, Grandpa Louis faked his mother’s permission for him to join the army and ran away from home to join up. He became a mule tender in the trenches in France and was a victim of the gas used by the Germans.
A later medical assessment resulted in his decision to come to Cape Town – where the warmer climate would be good for his damaged lungs.
He served as a British officer training the South African troops during the Second World War, and was the recipient of a number of military medals.
Unfortunately, he was a man of few words, and one of my biggest regrets today was that we never had a chance to speak to him about his experiences in the trenches. ●
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