Meet Sylvia du Preez

As the daily routine unfolds at Le Domaine Care Centre, Sylvia du Preez (88) must have fond memories of when she was a nurse many years ago in England. She studied paediatrics and now, as a resident of Le Domaine Care, enjoys the care and attention from others who had a similar calling in life.

She hails from England and at age 17, found herself at the Queen Mary Children’s Hospital in Castleton. She studied paediatrics for a year and then went to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington where she completed her three-year registered nursing diploma.

With that training under her belt, at age 22, she decided to leave England. “It was the cold that made me leave. I hated it and wanted somewhere a little more comfortable to live,” she said.  “I had heard a little about South Africa and, knowing it was way warmer, I took the plunge.”

She booked herself on the Edinburgh Castle ship for the four to five week voyage from England to Cape Town. “I had an absolute ball on the ship and can honestly say those few weeks were the best days of my life! My parents and two brothers who I had left behind were devastated, particularly by my choice of Africa,” said Sylvia. “They still thought it was wild with lions and other dangerous creatures roaming freely.”

Sylvia found her way to Johannesburg where she worked as a general nurse at the Florence Nightingale Hospital. After six weeks and having settled into the South African lifestyle, not forgetting the weather being a touch more pleasant, she started looking for some company.

“I asked one of my fellow nurses one day where the dickens someone could find a man in Johannesburg. My friend said she would introduce me to her ex-boyfriend and this duly happened,”

“I asked one of my fellow nurses one day where the dickens someone could find a man in Johannesburg. My friend said she would introduce me to her ex-boyfriend and this duly happened,” said Sylvia. “He was also in the medical field, studying pharmacy technology at the technikon in Johannesburg and to my surprise, after six weeks, he popped the question.”

There was no messing about back in those days and while Sylvia agreed, she faced another dilemma. “He was as Afrikaans as I was English,” she said. “It was still a thing in those days that like should marry like and here we were, going completely against the norm. Here I was, a Mayberry, wanting to marry a Du Preez.”

Today, we laugh at such a situation but it was a serious concern, given the history between the Boer and Brit. Sylvia had to break the news to her family and that itself took courage. “Off we went to let my parents know what we had decided and the reactions were interesting. My mother kept saying she just knew something like this would happen, while my father went to the toilet and never came out! It was as if they were all expecting a death in the family,” she said. “Perhaps, with me marrying an Afrikaner it was as if I had died.”

Regardless, Sylvia married and the couple had a daughter who is a qualified engineer, living in Ireland. She only emigrated in January this year having lived in Pretoria. She wanted to take Sylvia with but Mom dug in her heels.

That means Sylvia has nobody to visit but Sister Myra Burton has become a good friend and the pair often play rummy together. According to Myra, Sylvia loves it but it’s a special time reserved just for the two of them, with no outsiders allowed to play.

Like all the residents of Le Domaine, Sylvia has a story to tell. According to Sister Myra, she is a real salt of the earth character who tells it like it is and people must just accept her as she is.