Alexander Fry (1942S) | 1924 - 2020

Alex Fry passed away on June 24, 2020, in Cape Town. Alex was a land surveyor. 
 

Dennis and Dad and grandson James on the avenue and range rugby fields

Alex Fry, the last of “the Fry brothers” as they are collectively remembered at Bishops, died on 24th May 2020 – 3 weeks short of his 96th birthday. One of Alex’s strongest memories of his time at Bishops was the evening after supper, in 1941, when the housemaster, Mr Payne, stood up at the high table and said, “would Fry 1, 2 and 3 please come and see me in my study.” They knew that it could only be bad news about their eldest brother Anthony who was in the RAF flying bombers in the Coastal Command, and indeed it was.  Anthony’s plane had been shot down near the Hook of Holland, and he was missing, presumed dead.

Alex had good and varied memories of school, particularly the sport, and he, Anthony, Stephen and Dennis all played rugby at First Team level – Alex serving as Vice-Captain of the team. He was also Captain of Athletics and Drum Major in the Cadet Corps Band. It was at Bishops that he formed friendships that were to last a lifetime – particularly John Bettison, Tony and Clive van Ryneveld.

When the youngest brother, Dennis, left Bishops in 1943, Hubert Kidd wrote to Mr and Mrs Fry “I know of no family that has kept up so good a tradition of service and loyalty to the school, or on whom we shall look back with more affection and gratitude.”
 

Alex and Dennis strutting down a street in town and being captured by a street photographer - Bishops hats very

All five brothers served in the war in different regiments, and Alex recounted their experiences in his mini-autobiography “How I Won the War”! After the war, Stephen, Alex and Dennis went and studied at the University of Cape Town – and they all represented UCT on the rugby field.  (Robert studied at Stellenbosch University). After Alex qualified as a land surveyor in 1949, his first job took him to Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) where he was to remain for the next 35 years.  His marriage to Janet Gordon in 1955 took place in the Bishops, Memorial Chapel. 

Alex’s career took him across the breadth of Zimbabwe, as well as into Malawi, Zambia and Botswana. 
As with his memories of WWII, Alex wrote another mini-autobiography “How I surveyed Rhodesia” which is full of his experiences – walking miles and miles through the deep bush, looking for and establishing beacons, walking the length of what would become Lake Kariba, facing wild animals and challenges with vehicles in isolated areas.  In his memoirs, he wrote, with perhaps a hint of sadness: “The advance of technology in survey equipment has been remarkable but as a result, the challenge of the bush has gone and the need to climb to the top of hills and mountains is no longer necessary.”  He and Janet returned to Cape Town in 1985 where he worked at the Surveyor General’s office for another 10 years before retiring. 

At his death, the many tributes that came in, identified him as a gentle-man, a man of integrity, honesty, loyalty, professionalism and kindness.  These attributes were reflected in his profession where he always expected the highest standards from himself and those who worked with him, and he would never leave a job incomplete or badly done. 
If necessary, he would re-visit a challenge that a colleague had thought impossible, finding that missing beacon that had eluded someone who did not have the same application or work ethic.

Many years after his retirement, Alex received an aerogramme letter from a land surveyor, also retired and now living in Australia, who had tracked him down, in order to thank him for his kindness and mentorship when this man was a new land surveyor about 30 years previously.  This was the impact that Alex had on many that he met and worked with.  He treated everyone with kindness and respect and in turn was deeply respected.
In his retirement, Alex continued to enjoy sport – from the comfort of his armchair and quite frequently lamented how the game of rugby had changed. He recognised the value of good leadership and always spoke of the importance of the role of the captain to lead the ‘team’, whether it be a rugby team, a school, university, political party or country.  

He was a wonderful role model for his children and grandchildren, and throughout his life he remained steadfast to the character that Harold Birt had identified in his referral letter for Alex, over seventy years previously: “…[Alex] often showed himself willing to neglect his own interests in order to do his job well. He has good judgement, good sense, and a very good disposition.”  (March 1943).

This obituary was prepared by Alex's daughter, Mary. 

 

Letter from Hubert Kidd to Mr and Mrs Fry