Betty celebrates a century of memories
To say Addison has lead an interesting life would be an understatement for the brave woman who was a member of special signal units during World War II.
ALTHOUGH she was never a fitness fanatic, Margaret Elizabeth (Betty) Addison, who turned 100 recently, has always stayed active and enjoyed many hours on the tennis court.
Betty, who was born on 8 June 1921 in Ngqeleni in the Transkei, celebrated this special milestone with friends and family at the Kloof Rest Home.
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Part of her achievements also include being one of the very first women to be ordained as an Anglican deacon in South Africa. This took place in the parish of St Francis, in Waterkloof, Pretoria, in the late 1980s. She worked in that parish until she and her husband, Pat, moved to KwaZulu-Natal in 1990, when she became involved with the parish of St Agnes in Kloof.
According to Betty, her recipe for longevity is a combination of fitness and moderation.
Since her father was a magistrate, she grew up in various parts of South Africa, including Pretoria, Zululand and Durban. As an adult she lived for many years in Pretoria but moved to Kloof in 1990.
She completed her high school years at St Anne’s Diocesan College at Hilton, where she was the headgirl in 1938. While she was there she played hockey for Natal girls’ schools and was captain of their team in her final year.
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After high school she obtained a BA degree at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. At the age of 20, she joined the special signals unit, where she was one of the first people to work with, and even to know the existence of radar.
As part of the team using this brand-new technology, she was moved to secret locations around the South African coast during the war years.
When the war ended, she trained as a teacher and married Patrick Julian Addison, who had returned from the UK where he was seconded as an RAF pilot. They lived in Maritzburg and Ladysmith in the first years of their marriage, during which Betty taught at various schools and Pat trained as an attorney.
In the early 1950s they moved to Pretoria, where Pat eventually became a partner at a local firm of attorneys and Betty stopped working to raise their children: Elizabeth (who died at the age of six), Timothy, Catherine and Mark. While they were growing up she registered at UNISA, first for an Honours degree and then a Master’s degree in English.
During the 1960s and 70s Betty also ran a feeding scheme for children at a number of schools in local townships such as Mamelodi, Attridgevile and Winterveld.
Betty’s husband died in 1996.
In addition to her three surviving children, Betty has eight grandchildren, only two of whom live in South Africa; the others are in Canada and Australia. She has four great-grandchildren, all in Australia.
In more recent times she has mainly stayed fit by taking long walks around her part of Kloof.
“I have always eaten healthy,” she said
Betty enjoys whisky and soda in the evenings.
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