Laurie Curtis Smith (1931 - 1938) Laurie was born on 3rd March 1922,the younger son ofa Stanger lawyer. On leaving school Laurie was keen to follow in his father's footsteps and enrolled at Pietermaritzburg University. However,with the outbreak of war in 1939 he,like so many of his contemporaries,enlisted in the armed forces and in due course was sent up North to the battle zone where, with the fall of Tobruk, he was captured and spent the rest ofthe war in prison camps in Italy and Germany. On his return to the Union he returned to University to continue his studies in Law,and on qualifying,he joined the family legal practice in Stanger where he had a long and distinguished career. hauriejoinedthefamily legal practice in Stanger where he hada longanddistinguished career. Laurie was always interested in community development and as a Round-Tablet he became Area Chairman for Natal and East Griqualand. He also served on the Council ofthe Law Society ofNatal from I960 until 1972. His Civic career commenced in 1966,when he was elected to the Stanger Council. In 1968 he was elected Deputy Mayor and subsequently elected Mayor in 1971, which fittingly coincided with the Centenary year ofthe Town. Laurie passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday 5th May 2001 at the age of 79Peter Robin Davidson Peter Robin Davidson! What an unforgettable personality! I knew him for 60 years,and vividly remember the first time I ever saw him. I was a humble little junior at Kearsney College at the beginning of 1941. Peter immediately made his presence felt. He was selected right away for the Kearsney 1st Cricket XI and in no time at all became the team's leading all-rounder. At the start of the rugby season he became a strong contender for the fullback position in the first XV. Later came the annual athletics meeting and Peter immediatley made his presence felt at high jump and field events. At the end of 1941, he was confidently expected to be selected for the Natal Schools Cricket XI - that he didn't make it, as he told me with that wry smile of his, was due entirely to some "disciplinary problems". On leaving school, he joined the SA Air Force, where as a pilot he was to earn his "wings" in one of the shortest times on record and saw service in Italy until the end of the war. Following the demobilisation in 1945,he moved to Maritzburg where he married Sheila Silk in 1946. They then moved to the Pretoria area for a few years and it was there that he began his first class cricket career, playing for Northern Transvaal for two seasons during which he proved himselfa prolific run scorer,including a Currie Cup century. Later he moved to Maritzburg where he joined his father's motor business. In 1955 he came to Umzinto to join Reynolds Bros as transport manager and so began an association with the district that lasted some 46 years. Peter and Sheila retired to Pennington in 1985 where he still retained an intense interest in sport. He was especially proud ofhis twin sister Wendy's grandson, Frrol Stewart, who played for both Natal and South Africa at cricket. It was there at Minerva Ave that the melanoma in his arm first revealed itself a few years ago. Despite pain and discomfort, and the trama of his treatment, he always remained positive and was ever the same cheerful self. Peter was a well loved and caring husband, a loving father and grandfather. DENISBARKER 165
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