Durban author publishes book to honour loving father

DURBAN’S Jill Roberts and her family recently completed compiling a book aimed at honouring her late father, a man who left an indelible mark on theirs and many other people’s lives.

Jill, a librarian at Glenmore Primary School, published the book I knew a man… He showed me God, a personal story of her father, Dr Cecil Orchard, who had been well-known in the community, working as the first medical superintendent of McCord Zulu Hospital.

Jill said she made the decision to write the book as on the day that her father died, when she was 31 years old, she was given a chance to spend some time with Jim.

She said all she could think of saying was that she loved him, and ever since, she has felt this was so inadequate for her to express how much he meant to her.

“My father had a huge impact on my life. He was quietly spoken and an unassuming man, but you always knew where you stood with him, and he had a wicked sense of humour!” said Jill.

Cecil started off in a home where he had nothing, his prospects in life were dismal, but he was happy. The loss of his father at the age of 10 left a big gap in his life, but he gave his life to serving God, and this changed the course of his life

Cecil fought in the war, and military men were given a grant to go to university. This was the only way he would ever have been able to go to medical school.

He worked at McCord for his internship and then moved to Venda Land where he later started Jubilee Mission Hospital, the first Baptist mission hospital in South Africa, under the auspices of the South African Baptist Assembly, as it was then known.

As he didn’t want to send his four children to boarding school, he moved back to Durban where he was appointed as medical superintendent at McCord, which was originally founded by the American Board of Missions. Jill said that with God as his guide, he steered the hospital through the turbulent days of apartheid with unstilted perseverance.

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“He was a Godly man, and we lived knowing God through him. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a man of prayer and he led us in the way of the Lord.

He was calm and quiet but he had an authority about him, although he never threw his weight around. Working at a black hospital in a white area during the apartheid years, he stood out as he didn’t see colour, and we had people of every race and colour at our dinner table. He fought for salaries to be equal, and at the 100th anniversary of the hospital, Dr Zweli Mkhize spoke about the equality at the hospital at the time,” she said.

Jill said two superintendents who followed after him contributed to the book, having worked under him at the hospital, and she had included stories her father had told her and her siblings from the 33 years he was a doctor.

She said the book was a team effort – her daughter Samantha and sister Cheryl contributed to the cover design, and her sister Brenda and her husband Gavin assisted with proofreading.

“This was all glory to God, and if this book can inspire anyone it will be wonderful. It is a short, two-hour read and will also appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of the hospital during this time,” she said.

Anyone interested in a copy of the book is encouraged to email robertsjil@gmail.com.

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